Guardianship

The youth welfare office offers all mothers and fathers of minor children advice and support within the framework of custodianship. The prerequisite is that the child is a minor and has their habitual residence in Germany. Citizenship does not matter.

Custodianship is established upon informal application. The application can be submitted to the youth welfare office by the parent who has sole custody or (in cases of joint custody) by the parent with whom the child lives.

Custodianship comprises two areas of responsibility:

• determination of paternity
  and/or

• assertion of maintenance claims.

Determination of paternity is necessary if the mother of a child is not married at the time of the child's birth. Voluntary official acknowledgment of paternity by the biological father, with the consent of the child's mother, can be carried out at the registry office in the presence of a registrar from the youth welfare office after scheduling an appointment. 

In some cases, determining paternity can be difficult and potentially burdensome for the mother. For this reason, the youth welfare office offers assistance in determining paternity. In judicial paternity determination proceedings, the custodian represents the child in court. 

The assertion of maintenance claims includes determining the amount of maintenance to be paid until it is set out in official form or through judicial proceedings, as well as the (if necessary, enforced) implementation of the maintenance claim.

The youth welfare office responsible for the place of residence of the parent applying for custodianship is in charge of setting up custodianship, where the parent lives with the child. If custodianship is established, the custodian becomes the representative of the child's interests, not of the applying parent's interests.

Custodianship can also be applied for before the birth of a child if the expectant mother is not married and the parents have not provided a joint custody declaration. After the birth of a child, it can be applied for at any time until the child reaches the age of majority.

Custodianship ends immediately if the applicant declares the end of custodianship in writing. It also ends if the applying parent loses parental custody of the child or if the child moves abroad. Custodianship automatically ends when the child reaches the age of 18.

If you wish to apply for custodianship, it is strongly recommended to contact the responsible caseworker by phone and seek preliminary advice.