Request assistance from the youth welfare office

The guardianship service is offered by the youth welfare office. At your request, it will support you in establishing paternity or asserting maintenance claims. You decide which area you need help with.

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

  • You are entitled to sole parental custody or
  • the child lives predominantly with you despite joint parental custody.

Responsible department

the local youth welfare office

Youth Welfare Office is,

  • if you live in an urban district: the city administration
  • if you live in a rural district: the district office

Note: The city of Constance fulfils the tasks of the local youth welfare office itself. The city of Villingen-Schwenningen handed over the municipal youth welfare office to the Schwarzwald-Baar district on 1 July 2023.

Procedure

If you have become a mother and are not married, you will receive an offer of support from the Youth Welfare Office immediately after the birth. This offer concerns the establishment of paternity and the assertion of child maintenance claims.

The application for assistance must be made in writing. Although this can be replaced by electronic form, you will need a qualified electronic signature for this. Discuss the application with the future guardian beforehand.

The guardianship begins as soon as your application has been received by the youth welfare office. You will not receive a confirmation.

The guardianship ends at the latest when the child reaches the age of majority. You can terminate it in writing at any time and apply for it again at any time. The guardianship also ends if the child usually lives abroad.

You can limit it at any time, even retrospectively, to individual tasks, for example establishing paternity.

When establishing paternity, the guardian first contacts the alleged father. If paternity is not recognised, he or she applies to the competent family court on behalf of the child to establish paternity.

When asserting maintenance claims for the child, the legal adviser asks the parent liable for maintenance to provide information on his or her income and financial circumstances and to voluntarily recognise the maintenance claim subsequently calculated by the legal adviser in the form of an enforceable deed. If the parent refuses to recognise the claim, for example because they consider the calculation to be incorrect, court proceedings will ensue.

Deadlines

none

Required documents

  • Identity card
  • Copy of the birth certificate
  • proof of paternity, if applicable
  • if available: Maintenance certificates or decisions or judgements on maintenance obligations

Costs

Counselling and support at the youth welfare office, including in the form of guardianship, is free of charge.

Miscellaneous

none

Appeal

none

Legal basis

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB):

  • §§ 1712 - 1717 Beistandschaft des Jugendamts

Achtes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB VIII):

  • § 52a Beratung und Unterstützung bei Vaterschaftsfeststellung und Geltendmachung von Unterhaltsansprüchen

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 10.10.2024

Französisch: généré par la m