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Advance on maintenance payments; application

You can apply for an advance on maintenance payments if you are a single parent and the parent liable to pay maintenance does not pay any or too little maintenance for the child.

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Procedure details

You can apply for an advance on maintenance payments for your child if the other parent does not pay maintenance for the child, pays less than the advance on maintenance payments or pays irregularly and if you raise the child in your household predominantly without the other parent. The child's main place of residence must be in your household. You have not (re)married.
The benefit is also payable if the other parent is deceased.

If the eligibility requirements are met, the maintenance advance will be paid to you until your child reaches the age of majority.

The amount of the maintenance advance depends on the age of the children and since January 1, 2025 has been a maximum of

  • for children aged 0 to 5 up to 227 euros,
  • up to 299 euros for children aged 6 to 11,
  • up to 394 euros for children aged 12 to 17.

Together with child benefit (since 1.1.2025: €255/month), the benefit covers the child's minimum maintenance.

The Free State of Bavaria reclaims maintenance from the other parent in the amount of the advance payment, provided that the requirements under maintenance law are met.

The child

  • receives no, little or only irregular maintenance from the other parent or orphan's benefits that are below the amount of the maintenance advance,
  • lives in Germany,
  • lives with a parent who is single, widowed, divorced or permanently separated.

Special additional requirements apply to children aged twelve and over. They are only entitled if

  • the child does not receive benefits in accordance with the German Social Security Code II (Bürgergeld) or
  • the child's need for assistance can be avoided through the maintenance advance or
  • the parent caring for the child has an income of at least €600.

There is therefore no entitlement in the following cases, for example:

  • Both parents live together in the same household or the child is significantly co-cared for by the other parent.
  • The parent with whom the child lives has remarried.
  • The child lives in a home or in full-time care.
  • The mother, who is not married to the father, does not cooperate in establishing paternity and his whereabouts.
    Cooperation also includes the mother making every reasonable effort to find the father as soon as the pregnancy is established.

Children with foreign nationality are entitled to an advance on maintenance payments under certain conditions.

Certain income is offset against the maintenance advance, in particular

  • maintenance payments received
  • orphan's benefits
  • for children who no longer attend a general school, their own income.

  • Central documents are
    • Birth certificate of the child
    • Identity card or passport of the single parent
    • for foreign children or parents not entitled to freedom of movement: identity card and a valid residence permit
    • Confirmation of registration (or, if applicable, consent to information from the registration office)
  • and, for example, depending on the individual case
    • Maintenance title (e.g. current maintenance determination, maintenance certificate, judgment or order)
    • divorce decree
    • for unmarried parents: Acknowledgment or establishment of paternity
    • Proof of
      • maintenance payments
      • Reminders for maintenance payments
    • Jobcenter notices (for children aged 12 and over)
    • School certificate (for children aged 15 and over)
    • Notification of half-orphan's pension
    • Notices of approval/cancellation of benefits under the Maintenance Advance Act from other maintenance advance offices

    Depending on the individual case, different documents may be required. Evidence from other authorities can possibly be replaced by consent to the provision of information by this authority. Information on this can be obtained from the maintenance advance office.

  • You can apply for advance maintenance payments in writing to the youth welfare office responsible for your place of residence. An electronic application is possible if the authority provides a corresponding online procedure.

  • The documents required in addition to the application form (see "Required documents") depend on the individual case.

Advance maintenance payments can also be granted retroactively for one month if the requirements were already met at the time and maintenance has already been claimed from the other parent.

You are obliged to inform the Youth Welfare Office of any changes, for example if

  • you move house,
  • you get married,
  • you move in with the other parent,
  • the amount of childcare provided by the other parent increases more than just slightly,
  • the other parent pays maintenance,
  • you become aware of the previously unknown whereabouts of the other parent,
  • your child no longer attends a general school and the child's income changes or
  • your child no longer lives with you.

The information in the application form, information sheet and notification from the maintenance advance office is important.

(Optional) objection procedure, administrative court action;
important information, e.g. on deadlines and responsibilities, can be found in the information on legal remedies in notices from the maintenance advance offices

Status: 22.01.2025
Editorial responsibility Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Familie, Arbeit und Soziales
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