Claiming maintenance
Service description
Parents are obliged to provide for their children. If you are bringing up your child on your own, the other parent must pay maintenance. As a mother, you are entitled to maintenance whilst on maternity leave; as a father, you are entitled to it immediately after the child’s birth. If the other parent fails to fulfil their obligation, the Youth Welfare Office can provide you with legal advice and offer further support.
You should discuss the steps that need to be taken with the Youth Welfare Office during a face-to-face meeting. The Youth Welfare Office will then help you to draft letters, work out the amount of maintenance payments or initiate a garnishment order, if necessary.
Guardianship
You can also arrange for the Youth Welfare Office to act as your child’s guardian. Guardianship is a special form of legal representation for children and young people. The Youth Welfare Office can then legally represent the child in the relevant proceedings, thereby relieving you of this burden. For example, it may
- require the father to acknowledge paternity and to provide the necessary documents,
- to initiate legal proceedings to establish paternity,
- calculate your child’s maintenance entitlement,
- review the maintenance claim on a regular basis,
- draw up a maintenance order,
- enforce the maintenance claim through the courts,
- collect and monitor maintenance payments,
- ascertain the place of residence and employer of the parent liable for maintenance, and
- Initiate enforcement proceedings.
You can apply for guardianship even before the child is born if you are not married and have not made any joint declarations of parental responsibility. After the birth, you can apply for guardianship at any time until the child reaches the age of majority. This will not restrict your parental responsibility.
Terminate guardianship
You can terminate the guardianship at any time by submitting a written declaration. It ends automatically when the child reaches the age of majority. The child can then seek advice and support from the Youth Welfare Office themselves until their 21st birthday.
Who should I contact?
Please contact your local youth welfare office.
Prerequisites
- You are a single parent and your child, who is under 18, is entitled to maintenance from the other parent, or
- You are aged between 18 and 21 and are yourself entitled to maintenance from one of your parents.
Which documents are required?
- For a consultation: no documents required
- For guardianship: an informal written application
What fees are incurred?
Advance payment: NoLegal proceedings conducted as part of a guardianship may, in individual cases, give rise to costs.What deadlines do I have to observe?
There is no deadline.
Legal basis
Legal remedy
Not applicable