Demography

Almost one in five households with children in Germany is headed by a lone parent. Germany has a high marriage rate and a fairly low divorce rate; only 15 per cent of births are to unmarried women. Women marry later in West Germany than in the former GDR, and teenage births are very much higher, at 44 per thousand, in the former GDR than in the old Länder.

Provision for Lone Parents

There is no special provision for lone parents in Germany. Lone parents have fairly low rates of employment, especially when their children are young, but only around 10% are in receipt of social assistance. Maintenance payments appear to be an important source of income for lone parents.

Calculation for Child Support

All non-resident parents are obliged to pay child support. The resident parent is viewed as having fulfilled their obligation in kind in the form of care, provision, and accommodation. The statutory rule that child support should be granted according to the parents' 'station in life' is now interpreted by reference to the child's needs and the parents' financial ability. This has led to the development of 'support tables' used by the courts, the most famous which are the 'Dusseldorf tables' which calculate a fixed amount according to the monthly net income of the non-resident parent and the age of the child. There is an overall limit to liability at each income level which is set at around 2.5 times the for a level a young person aged 18 or more. These are used as guidelines rather than rigid requirements. The amounts due are set at the minimum (see below) for incomes below £800 per month, and increase in line with income up to £2,667 per month. The amounts for this highest income level are:

• £222 per child under 7 years
• £268 per child aged 7-12
• £315 per child aged 13-18
• £362 per child (over 18 years)

Above this, no guidelines are suggested and child support is assumed to be negotiated.

Minimum Amount

The minimum amount was established in 1969 for child born out of wedlock. It is calculated on the basis of the needs of a child cared for by the mother at what is generally regarded as a very modest living standard. The amount is fixed independently of the non-resident parent's income at three different levels according to the age of the child. From 1 July 1998, these are:

• £116 per child aged under 7 years (£115 in former East)
• £140 per child aged 7-12 (£127 in former East)
• £167 per child aged 13-18 (£150 in former East)

These amounts had previously been uprated irregularly, but are now to be uprated every two years in line with the index used for pension rates. Child allowances are deducted from the amount. Minimum amounts can be enforced through a simplified procedure, which eliminated lengthy investigations into the outcome of the non-resident parent.

Guaranteed Payments

A system for the advance payment of maintenance (Unterhaltvorschuss) was set up in 1979. Payments can be made for children under the age of 13, for a maximum of six years. The amounts of the advance payments are based on the minimum child support amounts for children born outside marriage, but they are also available to all children with a non-resident parent who is not paying maintenance. The Land decides which organisation should administer it (usually the Office of Child and Youth Welfare). The costs of this measure are shared equally between the Federal State and the Länder.

Enforcement

Action is taken to collect maintenance from liable parents, but the recovery rate is poor, at around only 15 per cent. Responsibility for enforcement has been devolved to the district and municipal authorities in most Länder.

Current Issues

There have been recent reforms of the German maintenance system, which have extended the administrative procedure which had been developed for children born outside marriage and made it available to divorcing couples as an alternative to legal proceedings, which are slower and more costly. Those who wish to do so, usually in cases where the non-resident parent has a high income, are still entitled to seek higher amounts of maintenance through the courts.

For payments set at anything up to 1.5 times the minimum amount, the order can be made by a court officer, and no evidence of income need be supplied if there is no dispute between the parents. If the non-resident parent disputes the amount, litigation is necessary. Claims for maintenance at a rate higher than 1.5 times the compulsory minimum involve legal action. In divorce cases, this will be dealt with as part of the overall divorce procedure. Subsequent changes (eg. because of income changes) can be made under the simplified procedure by a court official.