If one parent is in the situation that the other parent does not pay maintenance, possibly because he does not want to pay or may not be able to (unemployment, death, etc.), the single parent can turn to the conservatorship to receive support and have the maintenance determined. The maintenance advance payment office can advance the maintenance or, in some cases, replace it completely.

Even if the father does not want to acknowledge paternity, the mother of the child can set up a deputyship of the Youth Welfare Office to determine paternity and then claim maintenance if successful.

Parents are obliged to provide maintenance for their children. If one of the parents does not provide maintenance, the parent with whom the child lives may set up a conservatorship. The conservatorship can determine the maintenance claim and possibly certify it. The amount of maintenance depends on the income and financial circumstances.

Once it is clear how much maintenance is to be paid, this maintenance obligation should be established. The registration takes place in the form of a special certificate by the notary person in the Youth Welfare Office. This special deed is called a maintenance order. If maintenance is not paid, enforcement can be applied for immediately at the competent district court on the basis of the maintenance order.

A conservatorship can be made by appointment at the Youth Welfare Office or informally in writing. Such an application may be made before the birth of the child. Either if the father still has to be determined or it is already foreseeable that no maintenance will be paid. All you need is the identity card or passport of the applicant parent. You should also bring all other documents that may already be available in the maintenance matter (debt instruments, correspondence of a lawyer, etc.).

If the other parent pays no or insufficient maintenance, your child will be granted an advance on maintenance in accordance with the Maintenance Advance Act (UVG). An application for an advance on maintenance can be submitted to the Youth Welfare Office.

This is how much money you can currently get (as of January 2023):

• for children up to 5 years EUR 187 per month
• for children from 6 to 11 years EUR 252 per month
• for children from 12 to 17 years EUR 338 per month.

This money is immediately reclaimed from the defaulting parent by the maintenance advance payment office.

An important prerequisite for the payment of advance maintenance is in particular that your child lives with you and is under 18 years of age.

For children after the age of 12, it is also a prerequisite that they themselves are not dependent on benefits according to the Second Book of the Social Code (SGB II), or fall out of the SGB II receipt due to the maintenance advance payment or that the single parent earns his own income of at least 600 EURO gross per month in the SGB II reference.

If the other parent would be able to pay maintenance for your child, it is an advance on the maintenance that the maintenance advance office recovers from the parent actually liable for maintenance.

If the other parent is unable and therefore not obliged to pay maintenance for your child, a loss payment will be paid.

For foreign nationals who are not citizens of member states of the European Economic Area or Switzerland, eligibility must be checked on a case-by-case basis.