If you are entitled to maintenance, it is often difficult to enforce your claim if the maintenance debtor lives in another country. Against this background, so-called Central Authorities have been established worldwide in the field of international maintenance law to assist with the cross-border enforcement of maintenance claims. For Germany, the Federal Office of Justice is the central authority responsible for the cross-border enforcement of maintenance claims in accordance with Section 4 (1) of the Foreign Maintenance Act (AUG). In the majority of cases handled by the Federal Office of Justice, the maintenance claimants are minor children. Under certain conditions, the Federal Office of Justice can also assist with the cross-border enforcement of spousal maintenance.

Maintenance recipients living in Germany cannot send applications directly to the Federal Office of Justice. Applications are submitted via the local court - family court - at the seat of a higher regional court responsible for the applicant's place of residence. Forms must be used for the application, which you can obtain from the local court. The local court will provide information and advice on the options for recovering maintenance abroad and the documents required for this. Once the application has been submitted in full to the local court, it will be forwarded to the Federal Office of Justice following an examination. The Federal Office of Justice acts as the central authority under the AUG. It corresponds with the competent authorities abroad throughout the entire procedure.

The following applies to child maintenance: You can contact the youth welfare office and ask them to claim maintenance from the parent living abroad. According to § 1712 Para. 1 No. 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the assertion of maintenance claims is one of the tasks of the Youth Welfare Office as a guardian. The guardian acts as the legal representative of the child entitled to maintenance and is therefore authorized to complete the application forms provided for in the context of cross-border maintenance enforcement and submit them to the preliminary review court