Check maintenance claims against a person living abroad and forward them to the competent authorities.

If the parent liable for maintenance lives abroad, maintenance must be claimed abroad.

Claiming maintenance from a person living abroad is associated with various problems, including the need to clarify how the income situation and living costs there affect the amount of maintenance. Furthermore, German courts abroad have no authority to issue instructions. A request must therefore be forwarded to the relevant country.

There are international agreements that are intended to simplify international maintenance matters. Central authorities are responsible in almost all countries. In Germany, this is the Federal Office of Justice.
However, applications are made via the local court responsible for the applicant's place of residence at the seat of a higher regional court. The local court will provide information and advice on the options for recovering maintenance abroad and the documents required for this. Once the application has been submitted in full to the local court, it is forwarded to the Federal Office of Justice following an examination. The Federal Office of Justice acts as the central authority under the AUG. It will correspond with the competent authorities abroad throughout the entire procedure and forward your request to them.

The application is made using a form which you receive from the local court and which is accompanied by all the necessary documents from which your entitlement to maintenance can be derived. For child maintenance, you will need your child's birth certificate and an enforceable copy of the maintenance order. The local court will then forward your request to the Federal Office of Justice. From there, the application for the enforcement of maintenance is sent to the respective central authority of the foreign state.

In general, however, you can contact the guardianship office and ask them to enforce the maintenance against the parent living abroad. According to § 1712 Para. 1 No. 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the assertion of maintenance claims is one of the tasks of the youth welfare office as a guardian. The guardian acts as the legal representative of the child entitled to maintenance and is therefore authorized to complete the application forms provided for in the context of cross-border maintenance realization and submit them to the preliminary review court.
The youth welfare office can also take action if it has paid advance maintenance payments and wishes to take recourse against the maintenance debtor abroad.