Requirements for maintenance advance

Advanced maintenance payments are financial support that single parents can claim if the other parent does not meet their maintenance obligations.

Do you have questions about the conditions you need to meet in order to receive maintenance advance, for example when you are considered a single parent or whether there is an age limit for paying maintenance? Here you will find answers to the most important questions.

You can receive maintenance advance if

• your child is under 18 years of age,
• you are a single parent and your child lives in your household and
• your child receives no or no regular maintenance from the other parent or the maintenance payments are below the statutory minimum maintenance.

You can also receive maintenance advance if the other parent is involved in looking after the child. However, you must have the primary responsibility for raising the child. Maintenance advance is also paid if you have joint custody with the other parent.

If your child is between 12 and 17 years old, one of the following two conditions must also be met:

• Your child is not dependent on citizen's allowance or
• You receive citizen's allowance and have at least 600 euros gross per month available without child benefit.

Children under the age of 12 also receive maintenance advance if they receive citizen's allowance. However, the maintenance advance is offset against the citizen's allowance.

In these cases, entitlement to advance maintenance payments for your child may be refused or excluded:

• If you live with the other parent, whether married or not, or are not permanently separated.
• If you are married or partnered with a new partner and live together.
• If your child lives with the other parent.
• If you do not provide any information about the other parent.
• If you do not cooperate in establishing paternity or clarifying the whereabouts of the other parent.

If you have a new partner at your side, you can continue to receive advance maintenance payments, even if you live together in the same household. However, this changes if you remarry or live in a registered partnership. The entitlement to maintenance advance then ends.