Court ordered significant compensation for long-delayed divorce settlements, affecting fathers.
Germany Sees an Increase in Child Maintenance Advance Payments
According to a report by "Bild" (Saturday edition) citing new data from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, the outlay for child maintenance advance payments reached a record high of 3.24 billion euros in 2024, marking a 20 percent increase from the previous year. Since 2017, the spending has tripled, with authorities recovering 544.5 million euros last year from those who declined to adhere to their maintenance obligations.
The child maintenance advance, a financial aid provided to the children of divorced parents when one party fails in their maintenance responsibilities, allotted 227 euros monthly for children under five and 299 euros for those aged six to eleven. The federal government covers 40 percent of the costs, while the remaining 30 percent is divided among the states and municipalities.
The rising need for child maintenance advance payments may be attributable to factors such as altered family structures, alterations in divorce rates, and the economic challenges posed by inflation and unemployment. Nevertheless, the expenditure's trend, specific reasons, and distribution of costs between federal and local governments remain unclear without further research.
For a more comprehensive understanding of the child maintenance advance spending trends in Germany from 2017 to 2024, consult official government reports or relevant ministry statistics.
The increasing expenditure on child maintenance advances, a form of financial aid, can be traced back to changes in family structures, divorce rates, and economic factors such as inflation and unemployment. Moreover, the federal government invests 40% of the costs, while the remaining 70% is shared among the states and municipalities.
