Guardian's Allowance
Eligibility
To get Guardian’s Allowance all of the following must apply:
- you’re bringing up someone else’s child
- the child’s parents are dead (see conditions for one surviving parent below)
- you qualify for Child Benefit
One of the parents must also have been either:
- born in the UK or a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
- living in the UK since the age of 16 for at least 52 weeks in any 2-year period
If you adopt a child you may still get Guardian’s Allowance as long as you were getting it before you adopted the child.
If there is one surviving parent
You could get Guardian’s Allowance if one of the following is true:
- you do not know where the surviving parent is and you’ve made a reasonable effort to contact them
- the parents were divorced or their civil partnership had ended (‘dissolved’), the surviving parent does not have custody and is not maintaining the child and there is not a court order in place saying they should
- the parents were not married, the mother has died and the father is unknown
- the surviving parent will be in prison for at least 2 years from the date of death of the other parent
- the surviving parent is in a hospital by court order
Use a benefits calculator to check the benefits you’re entitled to.