Family court; involvement of the youth welfare office in court proceedings

The Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Non-Contentious Jurisdiction (FamFG) stipulates that the youth welfare office must be heard before the court makes a decision in certain family court proceedings. As a competent specialist authority, the youth welfare office must carry out the necessary investigations for its opinion and inform the court of the facts found. Against the background of its professional experience, it comments on the measures intended by the court and, if necessary, should submit a specific proposal for a decision to the court itself.

In particular, the youth welfare office must be heard in all proceedings concerning the person of a child, e.g:

• Decisions on contact with the child (§ 1632 Para. 2 BGB, §§ 1684, 1685 BGB),
• Decisions on judicial measures in cases where the welfare of the child is at risk (Section 1666 BGB),
• Decisions on parental custody if the parents are separated (Section 1671 BGB), after the death of one parent (Section 1680 Para. 2, Section 1681 BGB) or after parental custody has been withdrawn (Section 1680 Para. 3 BGB).