AboutAndreas Moser Expertise International family law with connections to Germany. Separation, divorce, alimony, child support, custody, visitation, adoption, international child abduction, military divorces, etc. Representing clients all over Germany.
Experience After getting my 2 German law degress, I interned with the US Army JAG Corps for half a year, supporting US soldiers in Germany and helping them with their family law questions.
Since 2002, I have my own law firm (www.moser-law.com) specializing on international family law. Extensive experience in German-American and German-British cases, including hundreds of military divorces. Bar-certified Specialist for Family Law.
Organizations German-American Lawyers Association, German-Israeli-Lawyers Association, and others
Publications A list of published court decisions of my cases is available on http://moser-law.com/anwaelte-e.htm
Education/Credentials My CV is available on www.moser-law.com/anwaelte-e.htm
Expert: Andreas Moser Date: 7/11/2008 Subject: child support in germany
Question QUESTION: My husband pays child support for two children in germany. We live in the US and are US citizens. The oldest child has now turned 18 and is out of school. Our payments are sent to the child support government office and not the mother directly. My question is- if we continue to pay support at the rate of two children, does the extra money get sent onto the mother, or does the goverment keep it? We do not mind sending a bit extra, but I do want to make sure it will go onto her and not be held by the government for other reasons.
Thank you so much.
ANSWER: Hello Barbara,
it might indeed be the case that the government keeps the payments or part of the payments, if they had paid out money to the mother or the children in the past and now want to recover (part of) that.
I would therefore recommend that you send the money directly to the mother or the adult child.
As it sounds that you have quite a good communication with the mother, I would also recommend that you speak with her about this before to find out if there are any reasons on her end why she would want the money to be sent to the German government instead.
All the best!
Andreas Moser
Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für Familienrecht
(Attorney at Law and Family Law Specialist)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gustav-von-Schlör-St 10, 92249 Vilseck, Germany
phone: 49-9662-289981 - fax: 49-9662-701391
cell phone: 49-172-8100726
www.moser-law.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Our payments go to the Sozial und Jugenbehorde by order of the Court in Germany and so that we have a record of support paid. The relationship between the two houses actually is not good, we aren't even sure where the oldest child is, only found out recently that he flunked out of school. I know she has gotten goverment assistance over the years, but I don't know how it all works now with the oldest thrown out of school and probably going to get drafted. Dusseldorf tables put us at 288 euros for the 2nd child, and I know the child support agency no longer collects for the first, I have a letter from them saying that. So it is possible that the government will only send on the 288 and not the extra? If so, we will do as you advise and send only to them the 288.
Thank you so much
Answer As I said, that is entirely possible, yes.
You should also note that the child that is no longer in school and doesn't live with the mother has a very reduced claim for child support anyway, if at all.
If you still have a court order against you, you would need to get that amended or get a statement from the mother and the adult kid that they won't enforce it anymore.
