Financial assistance for children of single parents
Are you a single parent and the other parent pays no or insufficient child support? It's possible your child is entitled to child support advance payments. These help secure your child's financial livelihood.
Certain conditions must be met to claim maintenance advance payments.
Here you can check whether your child meets the requirements for an application: To the "Quick Check"
Apply now!
You are not currently receiving child support advance payments for your child, but would like to apply? Click here to go directly to the online application for child support advance payments.
Annual Review:
Are you already receiving child support advances for your child and would like to submit the annual review form to continue receiving support? Click here to go directly to the annual review.
Submitting additional information:
Have you already submitted an application and would like to provide additional information? Here you can conveniently upload your attachments or documents to your online application and supplement existing information.
What is child support advance payment?
Child support advance payments are a government benefit for children of single parents. They help secure your child's financial livelihood if the other parent does not pay child support, pays only partial support, or does not pay regularly. The other parent must repay the advance later if they fail to pay child support, even though they could pay in full or in part.
Is my child entitled to benefits under the Child Support Advance Act?
Your child is generally entitled to benefits under the Maintenance Advance Act (hereinafter referred to as entitlement to maintenance advance) if you and your child meet the following requirements:
- You live with your child in Germany,
- Your child has not yet reached the age of 18,
- Your child lives with only one parent in a shared household
- They receive no or insufficient child support from the other parent.
- Children living abroad are only entitled to maintenance advances in rare exceptional cases.
For a child aged 12 to 18, one of the following two conditions must also be met:
- Your child is not dependent on benefits under the Second Book of the Social Code (SGB II) or
- You receive SGB II benefits and have a gross monthly income of at least 600 euros without child benefit or
- You or your child receive SGB II benefits and do not have a gross monthly income of at least 600 euros, but due to the granting of maintenance advance payments, the child is no longer dependent on basic income support (elimination of the need for assistance).
When is my child not entitled to benefits under the Child Support Advance Act?
There is no entitlement to maintenance advance payments if
- They live in the same household as the other parent,
- You are married, even if you are married to a third party who is not the other parent of the child,
- They live in a registered same-sex civil partnership,
- the other parent shares a large part of the childcare,
- the child is no longer cared for by a parent, but is in a home, a boarding school, a foster home (day and night), or a (detention) institution,
- The parent with whom your child lives refuses to provide the information and evidence required to implement the law
- the mother does not cooperate in establishing paternity,
- the other parent is released from the obligation to pay maintenance by means of a court or out-of-court settlement,
- the other parent has fulfilled their maintenance obligation through advance payment,
- If, of two children they have together, one lives with each parent and the respective parent provides for the maintenance of the child living with them.