The Central Authority of the requesting State shall assist you to ensure that the application contains all the documents and information necessary to its examination to the knowledge of that authority.

• The Central Authority then transmits the application documents and any necessary translations to the Central Authority in Germany, the Federal Office of Justice.
• If the request is complete, the Federal Office of Justice shall take all appropriate steps to enforce the maintenance claim.
• Pursuant to Paragraph 5(5) of the AUG, 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 is carried out beforehand.
• As far as possible, a voluntary payment of maintenance is encouraged.
• If no payments are made, enforcement is initiated.
• Depending on the international agreement, German courts may grant free legal aid for all applications made by a beneficiary in relation to maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship against a person who has not yet reached the age of 21.