Establishing paternity Receive advice
Source: BUS Rheinland-PfalzIf you have a child and are not married to the child's father, the father does not automatically become the child's legal father. This can be done by voluntarily acknowledging paternity.
If the father does not voluntarily acknowledge paternity or it is unclear who the father is, there is also the option of establishing paternity in court.
You can obtain advice on this from the Youth Welfare Office. The Youth Welfare Office will also support you in establishing paternity.
Once paternity has been established, you can clarify other matters:
- Child maintenance claims
- Maintenance claims of the mother
- custody rights
- Inheritance claims of the child
- Granting of the father's name
However, the child also has a right to know its origins.
You can apply for a guardianship to establish paternity.
The guardianship does not restrict parental custody. The guardian represents the child in the process of establishing paternity. The guardian can act on behalf of the child in and out of court. Once legal paternity has been established, the guardian can also clarify questions of maintenance.
Specifically, the guardian can do the following:
- Request the father to acknowledge paternity and record the necessary documents
- Arrange for the paternity to be clarified in court
- Calculating your child's maintenance entitlement
- Regular review of the maintenance claim
- Recording a deed of maintenance
- Judicial enforcement of the maintenance claim
- Collection and monitoring of maintenance payments
- Determining the whereabouts and employer of the parent liable for maintenance
- Initiation of enforcement measures
You can terminate the guardianship at any time by means of a written declaration.