Apply for assistance from the youth welfare office
The guardianship is a service offered by the Youth Welfare Office. At your request, it supports you in having paternity established or in asserting maintenance claims. You decide which area you need help with.
Note: The guardianship does not restrict your parental care. Only if thethe youth welfare office represents the child in court, representation by you or a lawyer by you or a lawyer excluded.
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 a city district: the city administration
- if you live in a rural district: the Landratsamt (district administration office)
Note: The city of Constance performs the tasks as the local youth welfare agency itself. The city of Villingen-Schwenningen has handed over the municipal youth welfare office to the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis as of 01.07.2023.
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 maintenance claims of the child.
You must apply for this assistance in writing. There is no form. Discuss the application with the future guardian beforehand.
The guardianship begins as soon as the Youth Welfare Office receives your application. 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 to individual tasks at any time, even retrospectively, for example to establishing paternity.
When establishing paternity, the guardian first contacts the alleged father. If he does not obtain an acknowledgement of paternity, he files an application for the establishment of paternity with the competent family court on behalf of the child.
When asserting maintenance claims for the child, the guardian requests the parent liable for maintenance to provide information on his or her income and financial circumstances and to voluntarily acknowledge the maintenance claim subsequently calculated by the guardian in the form of an enforceable deed. If he or she refuses to recognise the claim, for example because he or she considers the calculation to be incorrect, court proceedings will ensue.
Deadlines
none
Required documents
- Identity card
- Copy of birth certificate
- if applicable, proof of paternity establishment
- if available: Maintenance certificates or orders or judgments on maintenance obligations
Costs
Counselling and support at the Youth Welfare Office, also in the form of assistance, is free of charge.
Miscellaneous
none
Appeal
No
Release note
28.08.2023; Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg