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

If the other parent liable for maintenance lives in Germany and you want to claim maintenance for your child living abroad, you can have this claim enforced in court.

As a parent authorised to represent your child, you can submit applications to the Federal Office of Justice on behalf of your child via the central authority of the contracting state in which you and your child reside. If the request is complete, the latter shall take all appropriate steps to enforce the maintenance claim. Pursuant to § 5 (5) AÜG, the Federal Office of Justice is deemed to be authorised to act out of court or in court on behalf of the person entitled to maintenance in the event of incoming requests.

This essentially includes checking the whereabouts of the person liable for maintenance and his or her economic 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 clarified, a paternity determination procedure will be carried out beforehand. As far as possible, efforts are being made to ensure a voluntary payment of maintenance. If payments are not made, foreclosure will be initiated.

There are international conventions designed to simplify international maintenance matters. The Convention applies depends on the country in which you and your child have their habitual residence.

• Central authority of the requesting State
• Federal Office of Justice as the central authority of the requested State of Germany
• An application for the assertion of a maintenance claim under the Aliens Maintenance Act shall be decided by the district court having jurisdiction for the seat of the Higher Regional Court in whose jurisdiction the person against whom the title is directed habitually resides
• District Court – Family Court

Please contact the Central Authority of the requesting State.

• Applicant's identity card
• Birth certificate of the child
• All documents from which the maintenance obligation of the able-bodied person results

• Forms: yes
• Online procedure possible: no
• Written form required: yes
• Personal appearance necessary: no, but it is possible

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

Appeal pursuant to §§ 58 et seq. FamFG against the family court decision within one month

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

• Subsequently, the Central Authority transmits 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 § 5 (5) AÜG, the Federal Office of Justice is deemed to be authorised to act out of court or in court on behalf of the person entitled to maintenance in the event of incoming requests.
• This essentially includes checking the whereabouts of the person liable for maintenance and his or her economic 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 clarified, a paternity determination procedure will be carried out beforehand.
• As far as possible, efforts are being made to ensure a voluntary payment of maintenance.
• If payments are not made, foreclosure will be initiated.
• Depending on the international agreement, German courts may grant free legal aid for all applications made by a entitled person in relation to maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship to a person who has not yet reached the age of 21.

The child must still be a minor.

The question of the processing time can only be answered in a very general way. It depends on the course of the proceedings in the respective countries, including any court proceedings that may be required. There is no uniformity here; in addition, special features may arise from the individual case. A longer processing time is to be expected, especially if the German authority has to carry out all investigations into the residence and then legal proceedings to titulate maintenance. Applicants can contribute to speedy processing by submitting complete application documents. Nevertheless, the processing time remains case-by-case and also dependent on the cooperation behaviour of the person liable for maintenance.

In principle, the foreign central authorities and the Federal Office of Justice work free of charge for applicants.

A possible Hiring a lawyer or other associations, on the other hand, entails costs that must be borne by the applicants. In the event of defeat in the lawsuit, however, the costs incurred by the opposing party must be reimbursed by the opposing lawyer (§ 20 AÜG in conjunction with § 123 ZPO).

There may be costs for the translation of documents, but there are no costs to government agencies.

Further information and documents are available on the website of the Federal Office of Justice:

Useful information can also be found on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law: