If you as parents are not married to each other at the time of the birth of your child, only the mother is entitled to custody. Written information can be provided about the mother's sole custody.

The mother is not entitled to sole custody if you each declare that you wish to have joint custody, if you marry each other or if a court has made a different decision regarding custody.

You can make declarations of custody even if your child has not yet been born but has already been conceived. However, it is also possible and necessary to submit declarations of custody after the birth of the child if you do not want to marry each other and do not want to seek a court ruling.

In order to be entitled to joint custody with the mother, the man must first become the legal father of the child, for example by acknowledging paternity.

A declaration of custody must be publicly notarized. You can arrange this at your local youth welfare office or, for a fee, at a notary's office.

Once a declaration of custody has been made, parental custody can only be changed by a decision of the family court.