If you have a child and are not married to the child's father, the father does not automatically become the legal father of the child. 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.

With a determined paternity, you can clarify other things:

• Maintenance claims of the child
• Maintenance claims of the mother
• Custody
• Inheritance rights of the child
• Giving the father's name

Conservatorship

You can apply for a conservatorship for the determination of paternity. A conservatorship is a special form of legal representation of children and adolescents. The Youth Welfare Office can then legally represent the child in the relevant proceedings and thus relieve you.

It can, for example,

• ask the father to acknowledge paternity and to take the necessary documents,
• arrange for the judicial clarification of paternity,
• calculate your child's maintenance claim,
• regularly review the maintenance claim,
• draw up 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
• initiate enforcement measures.

You can apply for conservatorship before the birth of the child if you are not married and have not submitted joint declarations of custody. After the birth, you can apply for the conservatorship at any time until the child is of age. Your custody is not restricted.

End Conservatorship

You can terminate the conservatorship at any time by means of a written declaration. It ends automatically when the child reaches the age of majority. It can then seek advice and support from the Youth Welfare Office until its 21st birthday.