Parents are obliged to support their children. If a parent does not live in the same household as their child, they are obliged to make maintenance payments in cash. However, this parent does not always do so. There can be various reasons for this. For those affected, the question arises as to how they can proceed.

A child has a legal right to maintenance. The youth welfare office can provide legal advice to a parent who is actually caring for a child and offer further support in suitable cases. In some cases, simple letters can be drafted to the other parent. If the financial circumstances of the parent liable to pay are known, it can be determined which maintenance claim appears realistic.

However, the means are always individual and can be discussed in a personal meeting.#

If the single parent wishes, a guardianship can be set up. The youth welfare office can then approach the parent liable for payment independently on behalf of the child.
It can, for example

• calculate the amount of maintenance,
• request the parent to make payments,
• monitor the receipt of payments,
• file a lawsuit if necessary and
• have maintenance arrears seized.

Even if a guardianship is set up, there is no guarantee that maintenance payments can actually be collected.
A guardianship ends automatically when the child reaches the age of majority.

Young adults can be advised by the youth welfare office on maintenance issues until their 21st birthday. They can also be offered support in suitable cases.

In the case of adults, only the children, not the parents, are advised by the Youth Welfare Office.

The mother of a child has her own maintenance claim against the father during the maternity protection period. The Youth Welfare Office can advise the mother of a child on her own maintenance claims in the period six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth of the child and provide support in suitable cases.

If the mother cannot work because she is unable to do so due to the pregnancy or an illness caused by the pregnancy or birth, she herself has a maintenance claim against the father. This also applies if the mother cannot be expected to be gainfully employed because she is responsible for the care and upbringing of the child. The youth welfare office can also offer advice and support in these cases.

If the father looks after the child immediately after the birth, he has a maintenance claim against the mother. In this case too, the youth welfare office can offer advice and, in appropriate cases, support.