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Advice and assistance in establishing paternity

  • Partnerschaft und Familie 



    	    

		    
You have or will have a child and the father of the child does not want to acknowledge his paternity or is unknown? Get advice on what you can do and who can help you.

		    


                					    

						    

							    Competent Department
						    

						    
					    

                        
					    

						    

							    Basic information
						    

						    

							    

								    
If you have a child and you are not married to the father of the child, the father does not automatically become the legal father of the child. This is done by voluntarily acknowledging paternity (only if the mother is not married to another man). 

If the father does not voluntarily acknowledge paternity or it is unclear who the father is, there is also the way of judicial determination of paternity. 

Consultation 

You can get advice on this from the Office for Social Services. The Office of Social Services will also assist you in establishing paternity. 

With paternity established, you can clarify other matters: 


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

The child also has a right to know its origin. 

Legal guardianship 

You can apply for a guardianship for the determination of paternity. 

The guardianship does not restrict parental care. The guardian represents the child in the process of establishing paternity. The guardian can act on behalf of the child out of court and in court. Once legal paternity has been established, the guardian can also resolve issues of child support.  

Specifically, the Advocate can do the following: 


  • Requesting the father to acknowledge paternity and recording the necessary documents.
  • Arranging for the paternity to be clarified by the court
  • Calculation of your child's maintenance entitlement
  • Regular review of the child support claim
  • Recording of a deed of support
  • judicial enforcement of the maintenance claim
  • Collection and control of alimony payments
  • Determination of the residence and employer of the parent liable to pay maintenance
								    

									    Requirements
You can seek advice on the subject at any time. 

The expectant mother can apply for guardianship before the child is born if the expectant mother is not married and the parents have not made joint declarations of custody. 

After the birth, the guardianship can be applied for at any time until the child reaches the age of majority.