Enforcing maintenance claims of a child living abroad in Germany in court

The Central Authority of the requesting state will assist you in ensuring that the application contains all documents and information which, to the knowledge of this authority, are necessary for its examination.

• The Central Authority will then forward the application documents, together with any necessary translations, to the Central Authority in Germany, the Federal Office of Justice.
• If the request is complete, the Federal Office of Justice will take all appropriate steps to enforce the maintenance claim.
• Pursuant to Section 5 (5) AUG, the Federal Office of Justice is deemed to be authorized to take extrajudicial or judicial action on behalf of the person entitled to maintenance upon receipt of a request.
• This essentially involves checking the place of residence of the person liable to pay maintenance and their financial capacity.
• Depending on the case, a foreign title is declared enforceable in Germany or a maintenance title is obtained for the first time.
• If paternity has not yet been established, paternity establishment proceedings will be carried out first.
• As far as possible, voluntary payment of maintenance is encouraged.
• If payments are not made, enforcement proceedings will be initiated.
• Depending on the international agreement, German courts may grant free legal aid for all applications made by an entitled person in relation to maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship with a person who has not yet reached the age of 21.

• The parent claiming maintenance for the child is abroad.
• The application for child maintenance can be made by the parent who has parental custody.
• The application can also be made before the child is born.
• The child must be a minor.

• Identity card of the applicant
• Birth certificate of the child
• All documents proving the maintenance obligation of the person able to pay

The foreign central authorities and the Federal Office of Justice generally work free of charge for applicants.

However,the possible appointment of a lawyer or other associations is associated with costs that must be borne by the applicants. However, in the event of losing the case, the costs incurred by the opposing lawyer must be reimbursed (Section 20 AUG in conjunction with Section 123 ZPO).

Costs may be incurred for the translation of documents, but no costs are incurred vis-à-vis state authorities.

The child must still be a minor.

The question of processing time can only be answered in general terms. It depends on the course of proceedings in the respective countries, including any necessary court proceedings. There is no uniformity here; in addition, there may be special features in individual cases. A longer processing time is to be expected in particular if the German office has to carry out all investigations into the residence and then conduct court proceedings to enforce maintenance. Applicants can contribute to speedy processing by submitting complete application documents. Nevertheless, the processing time depends on the individual case and also on the cooperation of the person liable to pay maintenance.

• §§ 1 ff. Act on the Assertion of Maintenance Claims in Relations with Foreign States (Foreign Maintenance Act - AUG), including for incoming requests
• § Section 14 Act on the Assertion of Maintenance Claims in Relations with Foreign States (Foreign Maintenance Act - AUG)
• Hague Maintenance Convention 2007
• COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations (EC Maintenance Regulation)
• UN Convention of 20.06.1956 on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance Claims
• § Section 1601 of the German Civil Code (BGB)
• § Section 58 of the Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Non-Contentious Jurisdiction (FamFG) on the right of appeal against a court decision issued in Germany

Yes

09.10.2020