There are round 14 million households living with children in Germany. Legal dealings with children are therefore of omnipresent importance.
In addition to the fundamental change in the life situation, the birth of a child also brings about legal changes. These affect not only broken families, but also intact ones.
Problems can already arise when paternity is acknowledged. Unlike the birth of a child within a marriage, the legal relationship of the child to the father does not arise automatically within the framework of a non-marital partnership. Rather, the relationship must have been effectively recognised or judicially established.
However, the cohabitation of children and parents also involves legal challenges. Above all, custody is of considerable importance. This is because custody not only includes personal custody, i.e. the right to determine the child’s whereabouts, upbringing and care, or the right of access to third parties. Custody also includes the right to determine property, so that the custodian in particular manages the child’s property and assets.
If the parents are married to each other at the birth of the child, joint custody is established by law. This also applies in the event of divorce. In the case of unmarried parents, however, joint custody is not self-evident. Rather, for joint custody to come into being, both parents must declare that they wish to have joint custody. Because of the importance of custody, it is a recurring subject of dispute between parents. In this case it is necessary to find solutions based on the best interests of the child, taking into account the parental interests.
If the family is not to be extended by a natural child, adoption plays a significant role. Adoption serves to establish a parent-child relationship between the adopter and the children, irrespective of a biological relationship. It is not only a matter of taking in a new family member, but often one’s own stepchildren are to be adopted. This process entails legal risks, but also considerable advantages, which should be considered when deciding to adopt.
We rightly talk about these topics in our Round Table meetings. The Round Table is an action of Herfurth & Partner and serves to clarify and secure wishes and decisions in the family in connection with assets, provision and succession.
The next dates can be found in the Round Table section (welcome homepage).
Further information on many topics can be found in the Publications section (welcome homepage).
Angelika Herfurth
Attorney at law and specialist lawyer for family law