Guardianship and guardianship of minors

Description

Guardianship and guardianship means legal representation for children or young people when parents or guardians are unable to exercise parental care.

Guardianship takes place in the following cases:

• if parental custody has been withdrawn by the local court or the parent is prevented from exercising parental custody and there is no suitable person to act as sole guardian.
• if the mother, who is not married to the child's father, cannot represent her child herself because she is still a minor
• if the mother, who is not married to the child's father, dies and she had sole parental custody.
• if parental custody is suspended in the adoption proceedings due to the consent of one parent to the adoption of the child by adoptive parents.

Supplementary guardianship

• occurs if the parents (or the guardian) are legally prevented from settling a certain matter for the child or if there is a conflict of interests.
• supplementary guardianship is also established in particular in court proceedings relating to parentage and maintenance matters.

The guardian or carer is obliged to act solely in the best interests of the child. He or she is responsible for representing the interests and legal rights of children and young people in a partisan and independent manner in order to support the development of the child or young person, even under difficult circumstances. Particular attention is paid to vocational and educational qualifications to secure their own livelihood after they reach the age of majority, taking into account the individual interests, needs and abilities of the child or young person.

Prerequisites

Guardianship or guardianship occurs in the following cases:

• The local court has withdrawn parental custody from the parents in whole or in part due to a risk to the child's welfare and transferred it to the youth welfare office.

• The local court has determined that the parents are unable to exercise parental custody in whole or in part and has transferred it to the youth welfare office, for example
  - due to the unknown whereabouts of the parents
  - after the death of the parent with sole custody
  - due to conflicting interests of parents and child (such as in parentage and maintenance proceedings or property matters)

• The child's mother is a minor and no other guardian was appointed by the local court before the child was born.

• The child's parents have consented to the adoption of their child at a notary's office.

Required documents

In most cases, guardianship or curatorship by the Youth Welfare Office is preceded by proceedings and a decision by the local court (Family Division). The local court informs the Youth Welfare Office if it has been appointed guardian or carer for a child. The youth welfare office then contacts the child and the parents.

In the case of guardianship for a child of a minor mother:
As soon as the Youth Welfare Office has been informed of the child's birth (by the maternity clinic, the family, the registry office or other bodies), it is responsible for the child as guardian. In these cases, no decision by the local court is necessary.

Legal basis

Civil Code (BGB), Book 4 Family Law, Section 3:

§§ Sections 1773 to 1813

Social Code, Book 8 (SGB VIII):

§§ Sections 53 to 58