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

Prerequisites

If the parent liable for maintenance lives abroad, then maintenance must be claimed abroad.
Demanding maintenance from a person living abroad is associated with various problems, including how the income situation and living costs there affect the amount of maintenance. Furthermore, German courts have no authority to issue instructions abroad.
A request must therefore be forwarded to the relevant country. There are international conventions designed to simplify international maintenance matters. Central authorities are responsible in almost all countries. In Germany this is the Federal Office of Justice. However, the application is submitted via the local court responsible for the applicant's place of residence at the seat of a higher regional court. The district court provides information and advice on what options exist for collecting maintenance abroad and what documents are required for this. After the application has been completely submitted to the district court, it will forward it to the Federal Office of Justice after an examination. The Federal Office of Justice acts as the central authority under the AUG. It corresponds with the responsible authorities abroad throughout the entire process and forwards your request there. The application is made using a form that you receive from the local court and which includes all the necessary documents from which your claim to maintenance can be derived. For child support, you need in particular your child's birth certificate as well as an enforceable copy of the maintenance title. The district court will then forward your request to the Federal Office of Justice. From there, the application for enforcement of maintenance goes to the respective central authority of the foreign state. In general, however, you can contact the guardianship and ask them to claim maintenance against the parent living abroad. According to Section 1712 Paragraph 1 No. 2 of the Civil Code (BGB for short), the assertion of maintenance claims is one of the tasks of the youth welfare office as assistance. The representative acts as the legal representative of the child entitled to maintenance and is therefore authorized to fill out the application forms provided for in the context of cross-border maintenance and to submit them to the preliminary examination court. The youth welfare office can also take action if it has paid advance maintenance payments and would like to take recourse against the maintenance debtor abroad.

Documents required

• Child's birth certificate
• ID of the applicant parent
• Enforceable copy of the maintenance title

Deadlines

The child must still be a minor.

Procedure

Make an appointment with the Office for Social Services - Youth Welfare Office - Specialist Assistance/Maintenance Service for Minors.

Processing time

• No general information can be given regarding the processing time. It depends on the procedural process in the respective countries, including any court proceedings that may be necessary. There is no uniformity here; In addition, special circumstances may arise in individual cases.


• A longer processing time is to be expected, especially if the foreign office has to carry out all investigations into the stay and then carry out legal proceedings to determine maintenance.


• Applicants can contribute to rapid processing by providing complete application documents. Nevertheless, the processing time remains case-by-case and also dependent on the cooperative behavior of the person liable for maintenance.

Fees

Setting up a guardianship is generally free of charge.


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


There may be costs for translating documents, but there are no costs to government authorities.

Legal remedies

The legal assistance and the district court only provide support and mediation when pursuing maintenance claims against a person living abroad, which is why no legal remedies can be lodged.

Legal basis

Left:

• Law on the assertion of maintenance claims in dealings with foreign countries (AUG):
  https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aug_2011/


• Hague Maintenance Convention 2007
  https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/Themen/Buergerdienste/AU/HUUE2007/HUUE2007/HUUE2007_node.html