Beratung und Unterstützung bei der Geltendmachung von Unterhaltsansprüchen erhalten

If you are a single parent, you can seek advice from the Youth Welfare Office and receive help with claiming child maintenance.

Parents are obliged to support their children. If a parent does not live in the same household as their child, they are obliged to make maintenance payments in cash. However, this parent does not always do so. There can be various reasons for this. For those affected, the question arises as to how they can proceed.

A child has a legal right to maintenance. The youth welfare office can provide legal advice to a single parent and offer further support. For example, letters can be written to the other parent and, if the financial circumstances of the other parent are known, the amount of maintenance payments can be determined. If the latter is the case, a title can be drawn up with which the maintenance can be enforced.

However, the means are always individual and can be discussed in a personal meeting.

If the single parent wishes, a guardianship can be set up. The youth welfare office can then approach the parent liable to pay independently on behalf of the child.
It can, for example

• calculate the amount of maintenance,
• request the parent to make payments,
• monitor the receipt of payments,
• file a lawsuit if necessary and
• have maintenance arrears seized.

Even if a guardianship is set up, there is no guarantee that maintenance payments can actually be collected.
A guardianship ends automatically when the child reaches the age of majority.

Young adults can be advised by the youth welfare office on maintenance issues until their 21st birthday. They can also be offered support in suitable cases.

In the case of adults, only the children, not the parents, are advised by the Youth Welfare Office.

The mother of a child has her own maintenance claim against the father during the maternity protection period. The Youth Welfare Office can advise the mother of a child on her own maintenance claims in the period six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth of the child and provide support in suitable cases.

If the father looks after the child immediately after the birth, he has a maintenance claim against the mother. In this case too, the youth welfare office can offer advice and, in appropriate cases, support.

Any documents that may already exist can be helpful.

These can be, for example

• letters from lawyers,
• court decisions on maintenance,
• if applicable, the divorce decree and
• the birth certificate(s) of the child(ren)
• payslips

be.

You must also bring

• Identity card of the applicant
• Account details, if applicable
• Birth certificate of the child

What else is required in individual cases will be clarified in a personal meeting. It is advisable to make an appointment by telephone before visiting the Youth Welfare Office.

• Parents receive counseling until their child reaches the age of 18.
• Children receive counseling from the age of 18 to 21.

The advice and support offered is free of charge.

Costs may be incurred in individual cases as a result of court proceedings conducted within the framework of a guardianship.

The advice and support services are offered by the youth welfare offices on their own responsibility. Consultation hours vary depending on the youth welfare office.

A guardianship is set up by means of a written application. This application is informal and can be written by yourself or submitted to the local youth welfare office.

Before visiting the youth welfare office, it is usually advisable to contact them by telephone.

The youth welfare offices are active in the area of counseling and support as well as in the management of a guardianship in the area of "private law".
Individual factors play a significant role here.
When the first steps can be taken and what success they have depends heavily on the individual case. There can be no guarantee that the desired result will be achieved.
For the aforementioned reasons, it is not possible to estimate the processing time.

There are no deadlines to be observed. As a rule, however, the Youth Welfare Office will only be able to offer assistance for future maintenance claims.

Not applicable

• Parents are obliged to provide maintenance for their children.
• If a parent does not live in the same household as their child, this maintenance must be paid.
• Parents who are entitled to parental custody of the child and the child is in their care can be advised by the Youth Welfare Office on maintenance issues for their child or children, provided the child is a minor and the entitled parent has their habitual residence in Germany.
• The Youth Welfare Office can also become a "guardian" of a child. The Youth Welfare Office can then sue for maintenance payments and, if necessary, have maintenance seized.
• Young adults up to their 21st birthday can obtain advice and support from the Youth Welfare Office on maintenance issues.
• The Youth Welfare Office can advise and support the parents of a child concerned with their own maintenance claims during the maternity protection period.

Youth welfare office

Youth welfare office

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