Declaration of marital status
The declaration of marriage existed until June 30, 1998 in German family law . It was a notarized declaration by the father of a child born out of wedlock, who thereby received the legal status of a legitimate child and also the father's family name .
The child thereby acquired full inheritance claims against the father (and his family), the father became the owner of sole custody . In return, the mother lost custody and was no longer obliged to pay maintenance . It was a matter of integrating the child into the paternal family with the simultaneous exclusion of the mother.
The old family law did not provide for joint parental responsibility . The regulation of § 1738 BGB, according to which the mother lost parental custody when the child declared marriage, was found to be unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1991 in cases in which the parents were willing and able to care for their child together.
At the time, the declaration of marriage required the express consent of the mother (as well as the child, usually represented by the youth welfare office as the official guardian ). In addition, approval from the Guardianship Court was required.
The so-called legitimation was to be distinguished from the declaration of marriage : This was the subsequent marriage of the parents of an illegitimate child, who thereby also became marital (with simultaneous establishment of joint parental custody), which, however, did not necessarily take place automatically in the past decades.
Since July 1, 1998, the distinction between illegitimate and legitimate children has been abolished in German child law ; this also meant that the declaration of marriage was omitted. Since this date, joint parental custody of unmarried child parents has been possible through a declaration of custody .
Individual evidence
- ↑ BVerfG, decision of May 7, 1991 - 1 BvL 32/88 -, BVerfGE 84, 168 ; FamRZ 1991, 913.
