Declare paternity recognition
If you have a child and are not married to the child's father, the father does not automatically become the child's legal father. In this case, he must voluntarily acknowledge paternity. If the father does not voluntarily acknowledge paternity or it is...
If you have a child and are not married to the child's father, the father does not automatically become the child's legal father. In this case, he must voluntarily acknowledge paternity. If the father does not voluntarily acknowledge paternity or it is unclear who the father is, paternity can also be established in court. You can get advice from the youth welfare office. The youth welfare office also supports you in determining paternity.
Once paternity has been established, you can clarify other things:
- Child support claims
- Maintenance claims of the mother
- care
- Inheritance rights of the child
- Granting the father's name
assistance
You can apply for guardianship to establish paternity. Legal representation is a special form of legal representation for children and young people. The youth welfare office can then legally represent the child in the relevant proceedings and thus relieve you of the burden. It can for example
- ask the father to acknowledge paternity and record the necessary documents,
- arrange for the paternity to be clarified in court,
- calculate your child's maintenance entitlement,
- regularly check the maintenance claim,
- record a certificate of maintenance,
- enforce the maintenance claim in court,
- collect and control maintenance payments,
- determine the residence and employer of the parent liable for maintenance and
- Foreclosure measures
You can apply for guardianship before the child is born if you are not married and have not submitted joint custody declarations. After the birth, you can apply for guardianship at any time until the child comes of age. This does not affect your custody rights.
End assistance
You can terminate your support at any time by submitting a written statement. It ends automatically when the child comes of age. They can then seek advice and support from the youth welfare office until their 21st birthday.
Important notes
Prerequisites
- The recognition and consent must be publicly documented. * The recognition of paternity can be submitted to any municipal office, the local court, youth welfare offices and notaries.
- The recognition does not require receipt and does not require receipt by a specific registry office or other authority to be effective.
- The ban on improper recognition of paternity applies in accordance with Section 1597a. BGB
- A recognition of paternity of a child is not effective as long as the paternity of another man exists (blocking effect).
- Recognition under conditions or a time limit is invalid.
- There may be no effective revocation by the person acknowledging.
- Recognition requires the mother's consent.
- Recognition also requires the consent of the child if the mother is not entitled to parental responsibility.
- The effectiveness of the declaration of paternity recognition does not depend on the actual parentage relationships; (legal) paternity arises solely through the effective submission of the recognition and all necessary declarations of consent. The acknowledgment of paternity can also be made before the birth of the child.
- Anyone who has limited legal capacity can only recognize this themselves, but requires the consent of their legal representative. For those who are incapacitated, the legal representative can, with the approval of the family court, recognize; If the legal representative is a guardian, the approval of the guardianship court is required.
- The same rules apply to the mother's consent.
- For a child who is legally incompetent or a child who is not yet 14 years old, only the legal representative can agree to the recognition.
- Acknowledgments or consents cannot be declared by an authorized person.
Documents required
- Proof of identity for both parents (ID cards/passports)
- Proof of the existing pregnancy (one page of the maternity record, certificate from the doctor)
Deadlines
The declaration of recognition can be made for an unlimited period of time, even before the birth of the child (prenatal recognition), after the child's death (postmortem recognition) and also for stillborn children.
Procedure & Fees
Procedure
The appreciative man declares that he is the father of the child. The notary must check the declaration of recognition in order to prevent ineffective recognition as far as possible. In particular, the following is checked:
- The identity of the acknowledger, the mother and the child
- The business capacity of those involved
- The mother's marital status
- The notarizing person provides information about the rights and obligations of paternity and the legal consequences of acknowledging paternity. The acknowledgment is publicly certified.
Processing time
The certification takes approx. 20-30 minutes.
In difficult individual cases, e.g. where interpreters are involved or there is a high need for advice, this will take longer.
Fees
no
Legal notes
Legal remedies
none
Legal basis
§ 59 Book Eight of the Social Security Code (SGB VIII)
URL: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_8/__59.html
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Last updated: 16.05.2024