Custody; Sue the Youth Welfare Office?!
February 26, 2010 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
I applied for a support service at the responsible youth welfare office last September. The lady went on maternity leave at the end of September and according to information from the youth welfare office, there is still no replacement for this position (as of January). I also complained about this issue to the local mayor by email and requested clarification. I am a single mother of three children and do not receive any maintenance from my ex-husband for them. I receive child maintenance benefit for one of them, which will expire this year. Since my ex-husband was working until the end of January (and will work again from March), I believe that I have missed out on maintenance that could have been collected by the youth welfare office, as there are relevant court orders in place. Unfortunately, aside from the child maintenance benefit, I have not received any payments because the position is not filled and the application has not been processed yet.
Can I sue the youth welfare office for this and demand the maintenance costs incurred?
Dear seeker,
Thank you for your inquiry!
I would like to address your questions considering the circumstances you have described as follows:
Unfortunately, I do not see high chances of success for a lawsuit against the Youth Welfare Office. Such a lawsuit could only be based on the aspect of official duty violation. The right to compensation for damages due to official duty violation is regulated in § 839 of the German Civil Code.
In your case, it is unlikely that there was intent, but rather negligence that may have led to the harm. According to § 839 para. 1 sentence 2 of the German Civil Code, a claim for damages under these circumstances is only possible if the injured party (which is you) cannot obtain compensation in any other way.
This means that you would have to have unsuccessfully sought compensation from the child's father before even considering holding the office accountable.
I would like to point out the following to you:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only a preliminary legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the circumstances. Adding or omitting relevant information can result in a completely different legal assessment.
I hope that my explanations have been helpful to you. You are welcome to contact me through the follow-up option on this platform or via my email address.
I wish you a pleasant Friday afternoon and a relaxing weekend!
Kind regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Phone: 0471/3088132
Fax: 0471/3088316
