Jens Michaelis - Notar | Rechtsanwalt

Prenuptial agreement / Marriage contract

Acknowledgment of paternity / declaration of custody

Spouses can make arrangements in a prenuptial agreement regarding, among other things, the property regime concerning their assets in which they wish to live during the marriage; but they can also make precautionary arrangements in the event of a possible later breakdown of the marriage (e.g. regarding maintenance, equalization of pension rights, marital property) in order to avoid lengthy legal disputes in connection with the divorce in the event of separation.

However, even after a separation, arrangements regarding concrete consequences of separation and divorce can be made in a separation or divorce settlement agreement.

If you do not already know exactly, for example, that you only want to exclude the equalization of pensionsrights (i.e. the equalization of the pension rights acquired by both spouses during the marriage, which would otherwise have to be carried out ex officio by the family court in every divorce proceeding) for an upcoming divorce proceeding, it is usually advisable - unless both spouses have already been advised by a lawyer - to arrange a preliminary meeting in which the possible arrangements in a prenuptial agreement or a separation or divorce settlement agreement can be discussed. A separation or divorce agreement for your specific marital situation will be discussed in detail.

In a further appointment - after preparation of a draft sent to you in advance - the notarization of the desired regulations would then take place.

For the subsequent preparation of the draft contract, we require, among other things the personal details of the parties involved (name, address, date of birth, place of birth), the date of marriage (if already known), for separation and divorce agreements the date of separation and whether divorce proceedings are already pending or imminent, whether children have been born of the marriage and their ages; For maintenance arrangements, we need information on the net income of both spouses; for arrangements on the matrimonial property regime, we need information on the assets of the spouses; for arrangements on the equalization of pensions, we need information on the pension entitlements earned during the marriage (if specific information is available from the individual pension insurance institutions, then this information; otherwise, if possible, the annual information from the pension insurers, in each case from the year of the marriage and the most recent notice issued).

The best thing to do is to call us and arrange a preliminary meeting, in which you will provide us with the necessary information, or you can send us an e-mail in which you briefly summarize what is important to you and give us a telephone number where we can call you back to arrange a meeting.

If, on the other hand, you already have a more precise idea of what you want to regulate in the prenuptial agreement, then, in order to speed up the matter, we can also dispense with a preliminary meeting and, on the basis of the above-mentioned information, a draft would then already be prepared and sent to you. Questions can then be clarified on the basis of the draft by e-mail or telephone and finally at the later notarization appointment.

Only if both the father and mother of the child come from member states of the European Union or both have valid residence permits (see residence permits: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/DE/themen/migration/aufenthaltsrecht/aufenthaltsrecht-liste.html) do we currently certify acknowledgments of paternity at all.

In cases where these requirements are not met, we will no longer be able to make appointments for paternity acknowledgments in the foreseeable future after we have been presented with forged documents and false information on several occasions. The volume of documents and information to be examined in detail is simply too high to fulfill our obligation under § 1597 a BGB (examination of abusive paternity acknowledgement) carefully enough. We no longer have the personnel capacity to do this.

Therefore, if both parents come from member states of the European Union or have valid residence permits, you can send us the necessary information to prepare the certificate (see below), but you must expect a lead time of approx. six weeks from receipt of this information here to the allocation of a notarization date.

In order to prepare an appointment for the notarization of the acknowledgement of paternity and joint custody, we need the following information in advance:

2. copies of the father's and mother's identity documents (or passports) and the current residential addresses of both parents;
3. information about the expected date of birth of the child. If the child has already been born, we need a copy of the birth certificate;
4. information on whether the mother is single or married to another man. If divorce proceedings are in progress, please let us know.
5. if there is already a joint child, please send us a copy of the birth certificate.

If persons who do not have German citizenship are involved, we also require:

1. 1. Information on how long the child's mother and father have each had their habitual residence in Germany;
   2. All of the mother's and father's nationalities;
   3. Information on the residence status and copies of the residence permits,

When the joint custody is notarized, the last name of the child can (and should) also be determined. Please include this as well. If no name is to be specified in the document, we would like to point out that a name should be specified in accordance with § 1617 BGB within one month of the birth, otherwise the court will assign the right to determine the name to one parent. The surname of the first child must also be the surname of all further children in accordance with § 1617 para. 1 no. 4 BGB.

Please let us know whether the parties involved all have sufficient command of the German language or whether the document needs to be translated into English. This can be done by the notary. If the parents do not speak and understand sufficient German or English, an interpreter would have to be consulted. If this is the case, please also send us a copy of their identification document. The interpreter does not have to be generally sworn in, but they may not be related to either the father or the mother.

Please also send us a phone number where we can reach you to clarify any questions or to make an appointment.

Notary fees of approximately €92 will be incurred for the notarization, which must be brought in cash to the notarization appointment. If it is necessary for the notary to translate the certificate into English, the fees will be approximately €118.

The provision of the required documents constitutes an order for the preparation of a draft that is subject to a fee.

On the A 100 take exit 20-Tempfelhofer Damm, then head north on the B96 (Tempelhofer Damm/Mehringdamm) until you reach Mehringdamm (on the left approx. 100 m before the Mehringdamm/Gneisenaustr. intersection).

Take the subway to U-Bhf Mehringdamm (U6/U7), then walk south on Mehringdamm to Mehringdamm 50 (approx. 300 m).

Alternatively, you can reach us by bus M19 (station U-Mehringdamm) or by bus 140 (station Yorckstr./Großbeerenstr.).

Directions PDF

Mehringdamm 50 | 10961 Berlin

Tel.: 030 68 83 65 89 | Fax.: 030 7889 7245

notar[at]j-michaelis[dot]de (notary issues)

ra[at]j-michaelis[dot]de (lawyer issues)