FAMILY LAW
Separating unmarried: what cohabiting couples are entitled to
Anyone who lives together without being married has, on separation, neither an equalisation of accrued gains nor a pension rights adjustment, and nobody owes separation maintenance here. What counts is what stands in the land register, the tenancy agreement and the loan agreement, and for a child in common there are separate rules. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law at DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL in Cologne, and I establish with you which claims actually exist.
Without a marriage there is no matrimonial property law
The community of accrued gains is the statutory property regime for spouses. Anyone who is not married lives in no property regime at all. There is no equalisation of accrued gains, not even after twenty years together. Nor is there a pension rights adjustment. Whoever cared for the children and therefore worked part-time carries the gap in their pension provision alone.
There is no separation maintenance and no post-marital maintenance. The allocation of the home that spouses can demand on separation and divorce (sections 1361b and 1568a German Civil Code) is not available to unmarried partners. A cohabiting partner does not belong to the statutory succession and has no compulsory share. Anyone who wants to provide for their partner has to arrange it themselves, by will or contract of inheritance.
The house: what counts is the land register, not the relationship
Ownership of land depends on who is entered in the land register. Anyone not registered does not become an owner by having paid towards the instalments for years, helped build the roof structure or laid out the garden.
Both in the land register: a community anyone can end
Where both are registered, there is a community by fractional shares (section 741 German Civil Code). Each co-owner can demand the dissolution of the community at any time (section 749(1)). For land, dissolution takes place by compulsory auction and division of the proceeds (section 753(1)). Whoever wants to stay has to buy the other out, otherwise the other can pursue a partition auction.
Until then section 745(2) applies. That is the route through which compensation for use runs where one person stays in the house alone. It has to be demanded, and applies from the demand onwards. The buy-out is a calculation: market value minus outstanding debt gives the net value, of which each is entitled to their registered share. Corrections follow, and that is where the dispute arises.
Only one in the land register: what the other can still claim
The unregistered partner has no share in the house, and compensation in money is the exception, not the rule. It comes into question where the contribution went considerably beyond what partners in a relationship usually do for each other, and where it served a common purpose that has fallen away with the separation.
Building a house in the expectation of living in it together can be such a purpose; a share of the rent for the shared flat cannot. It has to be pleaded and evidenced: bank statements, tradespeople's invoices, building documents, messages in which the contribution was discussed. Anyone who has co-financed for ten years without paper ends up running a case about evidence rather than about law.
A right of residence does not arise from living together
A right of residence is a limited personal servitude (section 1093 German Civil Code). It binds everyone and survives even a sale, but only if it is entered in the land register. Without registration there is at most a contractual permission between the partners, and that ends with the separation.
Anyone whose partner said “you can stay living here” has no right of residence, only a promise.
The joint tenancy: moving out ends nothing
If both signed the tenancy agreement, both are tenants and owe the rent as joint and several debtors. The landlord can demand performance from either debtor, in whole or in part, as they choose (section 421 German Civil Code). So whoever moves out remains liable until the landlord releases them from the agreement, and both can only give notice together.
Spouses have a tool that unmarried couples lack: allocation of the home with entry into the tenancy (section 1568a). Without a marriage the route runs solely through the landlord. The result belongs in writing in an addendum to the tenancy agreement. An arrangement between the partners alone does not bind the landlord.
Care maintenance under section 1615l German Civil Code: the claim that exists without a marriage
A maintenance claim does exist, and it is regularly overlooked. The father has to provide the mother with maintenance for six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth (section 1615l(1) German Civil Code), and beyond that so far as she cannot be expected to work because of caring for or bringing up the child (section 1615l(2)).
The obligation begins at the earliest four months before the birth and lasts for at least three years after it. It is extended so far as that is equitable (section 1615l(2)). The three years are a floor, not a ceiling. Where the father cares for the child, he has the claim against the mother (section 1615l(4)).
Paternity and custody where the parents are not married
Without a marriage the father is not automatically the father. The father of a child is the man who has acknowledged paternity or whose paternity has been established by a court (section 1592 German Civil Code). The acknowledgement requires the mother's consent (section 1595(1)) and has to be publicly recorded (section 1597(1)).
Parental custody does not follow from that. Parents who are not married to each other hold custody jointly where they make declarations of custody or where the family court awards it to them jointly; otherwise the mother holds parental custody (section 1626a(1) and (3)). Anyone who has merely acknowledged paternity is the father but has no say about school, place of residence or health questions.
What goes wrong in a separation without marriage
01
Moving out and leaving the tenancy running
Moving out does not end your position as a tenant. Whoever co-signed continues to owe the full rent, and the landlord chooses whom to collect it from. First the release from the contract, then the move.
02
Co-financing without being in the land register and without writing anything down
For spouses the equalisation of accrued gains absorbs such contributions; without a marriage it does not. Anyone who has shared instalments and renovations for years ends up with a claim they have to prove.
03
Not asserting care maintenance
The claim under section 1615l German Civil Code exists by operation of law, but brings nobody any money as long as nobody asks for it. Maintenance for past periods is only available to a limited extent, so every month without a demand costs money.
04
Confusing the declaration of custody with acknowledging paternity
Acknowledgement makes the father a father. It gives him no say. On separation the father discovers that he has no part in deciding about the child moving to another city.
How I proceed
01
Taking stock
Taking stock is more extensive than for spouses, because there is no cut-off date: the land register extract, loan agreements with the outstanding balance, the tenancy agreement, bank statements covering the jointly borne costs, evidence of larger contributions by one side.
02
Separating the questions
Then I separate the questions that are negotiated together but rest on different bases: ownership of the house, liability towards the bank and the landlord, care maintenance, child maintenance, custody and contact.
03
Negotiating out of court
Negotiation follows in that order, out of court and with a deadline. An agreement is recorded in writing and notarially recorded where the law requires it. For maintenance, an enforceable title belongs with it.
04
Proceedings where there is no agreement
If that route does not lead to an agreement, the proceedings run separately: children's and maintenance matters before the family court, the dispute about the house before the civil court.
A typical situation
01
The starting position
A couple have lived together for ten years and have a child. The house is registered in his name alone, both financed it, and she reduced to part-time. After the separation she wants to stay in the house with the child; he wants to sell.
02
Three questions first
What did she actually contribute and for what purpose, what maintenance does he owe for the period of care and for the child, and in which home can the child stay if the house is sold. A right to remain in the house she does not have.
Separating unmarried in Cologne: office and jurisdiction
My office is at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Custody, contact and maintenance in Cologne are decided by the family court at the Cologne Local Court, with appeals going to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Anyone who was neither married nor engaged settles a dispute about the house, the accounts and any compensation before the ordinary civil court as a rule (section 266(1) FamFG).
Two sets of proceedings, two benches, one set of facts: that is why an out-of-court overall solution is worth even more here than in a divorce. Clients come from Cologne and the surrounding area, from Bergisch Gladbach, Leverkusen, Bruehl, Huerth, Kerpen, Frechen and Pulheim, but also from further afield. I can also represent you throughout Germany, wherever the court happens to sit.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
The market value less the outstanding debt gives the net value, of which each is entitled to their registered share. Corrections then follow: repayments made after the separation, any compensation for use that was demanded (section 745(2) German Civil Code), larger investments by one side. If the co-owners cannot agree, each can demand the dissolution of the community (section 749(1)), for land by partition auction (section 753(1)).
As a rule, no. A right of residence is a limited personal servitude and has to be entered in the land register (section 1093 German Civil Code). Without registration there is at most the owner's permission to live in the property, and they can end it. Allocation of the home (sections 1361b and 1568a) presupposes a marriage. Where children live in the household, that shifts the negotiating position, not the legal position.
Yes. The parent providing care has their own maintenance claim (section 1615l German Civil Code), independently of any marriage. It begins at the earliest four months before the birth and lasts for at least three years after it. It is extended so far as that is equitable (section 1615l(2)). Maintenance for past months is only available to a limited extent, which is why the demand belongs at the beginning.
You have no share in the house itself if you are not in the land register. Compensation in money presupposes that your contributions went considerably beyond what partners usually do for each other and that they served a common purpose which has fallen away with the separation. You have to prove that. You should check the loan agreement: there you remain liable regardless of the land register.
Initially the mother. Custody is joint where both have made declarations of custody or where the family court awards it jointly (section 1626a(1) and (3) German Civil Code). The father can apply for joint custody, and the court awards it where that does not conflict with the child's welfare (section 1626a(2)). Acknowledging paternity does not replace a declaration of custody. The right of contact exists independently of this.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, with a detailed record of the work done. The statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG) form the minimum. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee. The initial consultation is also billed by time.
Separating unmarried: sort the points out before they lock together
Bring what you have: the land register extract, the loan agreement, the tenancy agreement, evidence of larger contributions, and where there are children the documents on acknowledgement and custody. In the initial consultation we sort out what you are entitled to, what you have to prove and in what order to negotiate.
FAMILY LAW
Separating unmarried: what cohabiting couples are entitled to
Anyone who lives together without being married has, on separation, neither an equalisation of accrued gains nor a pension rights adjustment, and nobody owes separation maintenance here. What counts is what stands in the land register, the tenancy agreement and the loan agreement, and for a child in common there are separate rules. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law at DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL in Cologne, and I establish with you which claims actually exist.
Without a marriage there is no matrimonial property law
The community of accrued gains is the statutory property regime for spouses. Anyone who is not married lives in no property regime at all. There is no equalisation of accrued gains, not even after twenty years together. Nor is there a pension rights adjustment. Whoever cared for the children and therefore worked part-time carries the gap in their pension provision alone.
There is no separation maintenance and no post-marital maintenance. The allocation of the home that spouses can demand on separation and divorce (sections 1361b and 1568a German Civil Code) is not available to unmarried partners. A cohabiting partner does not belong to the statutory succession and has no compulsory share. Anyone who wants to provide for their partner has to arrange it themselves, by will or contract of inheritance.
The house: what counts is the land register, not the relationship
Ownership of land depends on who is entered in the land register. Anyone not registered does not become an owner by having paid towards the instalments for years, helped build the roof structure or laid out the garden.
Both in the land register: a community anyone can end
Where both are registered, there is a community by fractional shares (section 741 German Civil Code). Each co-owner can demand the dissolution of the community at any time (section 749(1)). For land, dissolution takes place by compulsory auction and division of the proceeds (section 753(1)). Whoever wants to stay has to buy the other out, otherwise the other can pursue a partition auction.
Until then section 745(2) applies. That is the route through which compensation for use runs where one person stays in the house alone. It has to be demanded, and applies from the demand onwards. The buy-out is a calculation: market value minus outstanding debt gives the net value, of which each is entitled to their registered share. Corrections follow, and that is where the dispute arises.
Only one in the land register: what the other can still claim
The unregistered partner has no share in the house, and compensation in money is the exception, not the rule. It comes into question where the contribution went considerably beyond what partners in a relationship usually do for each other, and where it served a common purpose that has fallen away with the separation.
Building a house in the expectation of living in it together can be such a purpose; a share of the rent for the shared flat cannot. It has to be pleaded and evidenced: bank statements, tradespeople's invoices, building documents, messages in which the contribution was discussed. Anyone who has co-financed for ten years without paper ends up running a case about evidence rather than about law.
A right of residence does not arise from living together
A right of residence is a limited personal servitude (section 1093 German Civil Code). It binds everyone and survives even a sale, but only if it is entered in the land register. Without registration there is at most a contractual permission between the partners, and that ends with the separation.
Anyone whose partner said “you can stay living here” has no right of residence, only a promise.
The joint tenancy: moving out ends nothing
If both signed the tenancy agreement, both are tenants and owe the rent as joint and several debtors. The landlord can demand performance from either debtor, in whole or in part, as they choose (section 421 German Civil Code). So whoever moves out remains liable until the landlord releases them from the agreement, and both can only give notice together.
Spouses have a tool that unmarried couples lack: allocation of the home with entry into the tenancy (section 1568a). Without a marriage the route runs solely through the landlord. The result belongs in writing in an addendum to the tenancy agreement. An arrangement between the partners alone does not bind the landlord.
Care maintenance under section 1615l German Civil Code: the claim that exists without a marriage
A maintenance claim does exist, and it is regularly overlooked. The father has to provide the mother with maintenance for six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth (section 1615l(1) German Civil Code), and beyond that so far as she cannot be expected to work because of caring for or bringing up the child (section 1615l(2)).
The obligation begins at the earliest four months before the birth and lasts for at least three years after it. It is extended so far as that is equitable (section 1615l(2)). The three years are a floor, not a ceiling. Where the father cares for the child, he has the claim against the mother (section 1615l(4)).
Paternity and custody where the parents are not married
Without a marriage the father is not automatically the father. The father of a child is the man who has acknowledged paternity or whose paternity has been established by a court (section 1592 German Civil Code). The acknowledgement requires the mother's consent (section 1595(1)) and has to be publicly recorded (section 1597(1)).
Parental custody does not follow from that. Parents who are not married to each other hold custody jointly where they make declarations of custody or where the family court awards it to them jointly; otherwise the mother holds parental custody (section 1626a(1) and (3)). Anyone who has merely acknowledged paternity is the father but has no say about school, place of residence or health questions.
What goes wrong in a separation without marriage
01
Moving out and leaving the tenancy running
Moving out does not end your position as a tenant. Whoever co-signed continues to owe the full rent, and the landlord chooses whom to collect it from. First the release from the contract, then the move.
02
Co-financing without being in the land register and without writing anything down
For spouses the equalisation of accrued gains absorbs such contributions; without a marriage it does not. Anyone who has shared instalments and renovations for years ends up with a claim they have to prove.
03
Not asserting care maintenance
The claim under section 1615l German Civil Code exists by operation of law, but brings nobody any money as long as nobody asks for it. Maintenance for past periods is only available to a limited extent, so every month without a demand costs money.
04
Confusing the declaration of custody with acknowledging paternity
Acknowledgement makes the father a father. It gives him no say. On separation the father discovers that he has no part in deciding about the child moving to another city.
How I proceed
01
Taking stock
Taking stock is more extensive than for spouses, because there is no cut-off date: the land register extract, loan agreements with the outstanding balance, the tenancy agreement, bank statements covering the jointly borne costs, evidence of larger contributions by one side.
02
Separating the questions
Then I separate the questions that are negotiated together but rest on different bases: ownership of the house, liability towards the bank and the landlord, care maintenance, child maintenance, custody and contact.
03
Negotiating out of court
Negotiation follows in that order, out of court and with a deadline. An agreement is recorded in writing and notarially recorded where the law requires it. For maintenance, an enforceable title belongs with it.
04
Proceedings where there is no agreement
If that route does not lead to an agreement, the proceedings run separately: children's and maintenance matters before the family court, the dispute about the house before the civil court.
A typical situation
01
The starting position
A couple have lived together for ten years and have a child. The house is registered in his name alone, both financed it, and she reduced to part-time. After the separation she wants to stay in the house with the child; he wants to sell.
02
Three questions first
What did she actually contribute and for what purpose, what maintenance does he owe for the period of care and for the child, and in which home can the child stay if the house is sold. A right to remain in the house she does not have.
Separating unmarried in Cologne: office and jurisdiction
My office is at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Custody, contact and maintenance in Cologne are decided by the family court at the Cologne Local Court, with appeals going to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Anyone who was neither married nor engaged settles a dispute about the house, the accounts and any compensation before the ordinary civil court as a rule (section 266(1) FamFG).
Two sets of proceedings, two benches, one set of facts: that is why an out-of-court overall solution is worth even more here than in a divorce. Clients come from Cologne and the surrounding area, from Bergisch Gladbach, Leverkusen, Bruehl, Huerth, Kerpen, Frechen and Pulheim, but also from further afield. I can also represent you throughout Germany, wherever the court happens to sit.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
The market value less the outstanding debt gives the net value, of which each is entitled to their registered share. Corrections then follow: repayments made after the separation, any compensation for use that was demanded (section 745(2) German Civil Code), larger investments by one side. If the co-owners cannot agree, each can demand the dissolution of the community (section 749(1)), for land by partition auction (section 753(1)).
As a rule, no. A right of residence is a limited personal servitude and has to be entered in the land register (section 1093 German Civil Code). Without registration there is at most the owner's permission to live in the property, and they can end it. Allocation of the home (sections 1361b and 1568a) presupposes a marriage. Where children live in the household, that shifts the negotiating position, not the legal position.
Yes. The parent providing care has their own maintenance claim (section 1615l German Civil Code), independently of any marriage. It begins at the earliest four months before the birth and lasts for at least three years after it. It is extended so far as that is equitable (section 1615l(2)). Maintenance for past months is only available to a limited extent, which is why the demand belongs at the beginning.
You have no share in the house itself if you are not in the land register. Compensation in money presupposes that your contributions went considerably beyond what partners usually do for each other and that they served a common purpose which has fallen away with the separation. You have to prove that. You should check the loan agreement: there you remain liable regardless of the land register.
Initially the mother. Custody is joint where both have made declarations of custody or where the family court awards it jointly (section 1626a(1) and (3) German Civil Code). The father can apply for joint custody, and the court awards it where that does not conflict with the child's welfare (section 1626a(2)). Acknowledging paternity does not replace a declaration of custody. The right of contact exists independently of this.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, with a detailed record of the work done. The statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG) form the minimum. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee. The initial consultation is also billed by time.
Separating unmarried: sort the points out before they lock together
Bring what you have: the land register extract, the loan agreement, the tenancy agreement, evidence of larger contributions, and where there are children the documents on acknowledgement and custody. In the initial consultation we sort out what you are entitled to, what you have to prove and in what order to negotiate.
FAMILY LAW
Separating unmarried: what cohabiting couples are entitled to
Anyone who lives together without being married has, on separation, neither an equalisation of accrued gains nor a pension rights adjustment, and nobody owes separation maintenance here. What counts is what stands in the land register, the tenancy agreement and the loan agreement, and for a child in common there are separate rules. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law at DR. SCHMIDT LEGAL in Cologne, and I establish with you which claims actually exist.
Without a marriage there is no matrimonial property law
The community of accrued gains is the statutory property regime for spouses. Anyone who is not married lives in no property regime at all. There is no equalisation of accrued gains, not even after twenty years together. Nor is there a pension rights adjustment. Whoever cared for the children and therefore worked part-time carries the gap in their pension provision alone.
There is no separation maintenance and no post-marital maintenance. The allocation of the home that spouses can demand on separation and divorce (sections 1361b and 1568a German Civil Code) is not available to unmarried partners. A cohabiting partner does not belong to the statutory succession and has no compulsory share. Anyone who wants to provide for their partner has to arrange it themselves, by will or contract of inheritance.
The house: what counts is the land register, not the relationship
Ownership of land depends on who is entered in the land register. Anyone not registered does not become an owner by having paid towards the instalments for years, helped build the roof structure or laid out the garden.
Both in the land register: a community anyone can end
Where both are registered, there is a community by fractional shares (section 741 German Civil Code). Each co-owner can demand the dissolution of the community at any time (section 749(1)). For land, dissolution takes place by compulsory auction and division of the proceeds (section 753(1)). Whoever wants to stay has to buy the other out, otherwise the other can pursue a partition auction.
Until then section 745(2) applies. That is the route through which compensation for use runs where one person stays in the house alone. It has to be demanded, and applies from the demand onwards. The buy-out is a calculation: market value minus outstanding debt gives the net value, of which each is entitled to their registered share. Corrections follow, and that is where the dispute arises.
Only one in the land register: what the other can still claim
The unregistered partner has no share in the house, and compensation in money is the exception, not the rule. It comes into question where the contribution went considerably beyond what partners in a relationship usually do for each other, and where it served a common purpose that has fallen away with the separation.
Building a house in the expectation of living in it together can be such a purpose; a share of the rent for the shared flat cannot. It has to be pleaded and evidenced: bank statements, tradespeople's invoices, building documents, messages in which the contribution was discussed. Anyone who has co-financed for ten years without paper ends up running a case about evidence rather than about law.
A right of residence does not arise from living together
A right of residence is a limited personal servitude (section 1093 German Civil Code). It binds everyone and survives even a sale, but only if it is entered in the land register. Without registration there is at most a contractual permission between the partners, and that ends with the separation.
Anyone whose partner said “you can stay living here” has no right of residence, only a promise.
The joint tenancy: moving out ends nothing
If both signed the tenancy agreement, both are tenants and owe the rent as joint and several debtors. The landlord can demand performance from either debtor, in whole or in part, as they choose (section 421 German Civil Code). So whoever moves out remains liable until the landlord releases them from the agreement, and both can only give notice together.
Spouses have a tool that unmarried couples lack: allocation of the home with entry into the tenancy (section 1568a). Without a marriage the route runs solely through the landlord. The result belongs in writing in an addendum to the tenancy agreement. An arrangement between the partners alone does not bind the landlord.
Care maintenance under section 1615l German Civil Code: the claim that exists without a marriage
A maintenance claim does exist, and it is regularly overlooked. The father has to provide the mother with maintenance for six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth (section 1615l(1) German Civil Code), and beyond that so far as she cannot be expected to work because of caring for or bringing up the child (section 1615l(2)).
The obligation begins at the earliest four months before the birth and lasts for at least three years after it. It is extended so far as that is equitable (section 1615l(2)). The three years are a floor, not a ceiling. Where the father cares for the child, he has the claim against the mother (section 1615l(4)).
Paternity and custody where the parents are not married
Without a marriage the father is not automatically the father. The father of a child is the man who has acknowledged paternity or whose paternity has been established by a court (section 1592 German Civil Code). The acknowledgement requires the mother's consent (section 1595(1)) and has to be publicly recorded (section 1597(1)).
Parental custody does not follow from that. Parents who are not married to each other hold custody jointly where they make declarations of custody or where the family court awards it to them jointly; otherwise the mother holds parental custody (section 1626a(1) and (3)). Anyone who has merely acknowledged paternity is the father but has no say about school, place of residence or health questions.
What goes wrong in a separation without marriage
01
Moving out and leaving the tenancy running
Moving out does not end your position as a tenant. Whoever co-signed continues to owe the full rent, and the landlord chooses whom to collect it from. First the release from the contract, then the move.
02
Co-financing without being in the land register and without writing anything down
For spouses the equalisation of accrued gains absorbs such contributions; without a marriage it does not. Anyone who has shared instalments and renovations for years ends up with a claim they have to prove.
03
Not asserting care maintenance
The claim under section 1615l German Civil Code exists by operation of law, but brings nobody any money as long as nobody asks for it. Maintenance for past periods is only available to a limited extent, so every month without a demand costs money.
04
Confusing the declaration of custody with acknowledging paternity
Acknowledgement makes the father a father. It gives him no say. On separation the father discovers that he has no part in deciding about the child moving to another city.
How I proceed
01
Taking stock
Taking stock is more extensive than for spouses, because there is no cut-off date: the land register extract, loan agreements with the outstanding balance, the tenancy agreement, bank statements covering the jointly borne costs, evidence of larger contributions by one side.
02
Separating the questions
Then I separate the questions that are negotiated together but rest on different bases: ownership of the house, liability towards the bank and the landlord, care maintenance, child maintenance, custody and contact.
03
Negotiating out of court
Negotiation follows in that order, out of court and with a deadline. An agreement is recorded in writing and notarially recorded where the law requires it. For maintenance, an enforceable title belongs with it.
04
Proceedings where there is no agreement
If that route does not lead to an agreement, the proceedings run separately: children's and maintenance matters before the family court, the dispute about the house before the civil court.
A typical situation
01
The starting position
A couple have lived together for ten years and have a child. The house is registered in his name alone, both financed it, and she reduced to part-time. After the separation she wants to stay in the house with the child; he wants to sell.
02
Three questions first
What did she actually contribute and for what purpose, what maintenance does he owe for the period of care and for the child, and in which home can the child stay if the house is sold. A right to remain in the house she does not have.
Separating unmarried in Cologne: office and jurisdiction
My office is at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Custody, contact and maintenance in Cologne are decided by the family court at the Cologne Local Court, with appeals going to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Anyone who was neither married nor engaged settles a dispute about the house, the accounts and any compensation before the ordinary civil court as a rule (section 266(1) FamFG).
Two sets of proceedings, two benches, one set of facts: that is why an out-of-court overall solution is worth even more here than in a divorce. Clients come from Cologne and the surrounding area, from Bergisch Gladbach, Leverkusen, Bruehl, Huerth, Kerpen, Frechen and Pulheim, but also from further afield. I can also represent you throughout Germany, wherever the court happens to sit.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
The market value less the outstanding debt gives the net value, of which each is entitled to their registered share. Corrections then follow: repayments made after the separation, any compensation for use that was demanded (section 745(2) German Civil Code), larger investments by one side. If the co-owners cannot agree, each can demand the dissolution of the community (section 749(1)), for land by partition auction (section 753(1)).
As a rule, no. A right of residence is a limited personal servitude and has to be entered in the land register (section 1093 German Civil Code). Without registration there is at most the owner's permission to live in the property, and they can end it. Allocation of the home (sections 1361b and 1568a) presupposes a marriage. Where children live in the household, that shifts the negotiating position, not the legal position.
Yes. The parent providing care has their own maintenance claim (section 1615l German Civil Code), independently of any marriage. It begins at the earliest four months before the birth and lasts for at least three years after it. It is extended so far as that is equitable (section 1615l(2)). Maintenance for past months is only available to a limited extent, which is why the demand belongs at the beginning.
You have no share in the house itself if you are not in the land register. Compensation in money presupposes that your contributions went considerably beyond what partners usually do for each other and that they served a common purpose which has fallen away with the separation. You have to prove that. You should check the loan agreement: there you remain liable regardless of the land register.
Initially the mother. Custody is joint where both have made declarations of custody or where the family court awards it jointly (section 1626a(1) and (3) German Civil Code). The father can apply for joint custody, and the court awards it where that does not conflict with the child's welfare (section 1626a(2)). Acknowledging paternity does not replace a declaration of custody. The right of contact exists independently of this.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, with a detailed record of the work done. The statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG) form the minimum. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee. The initial consultation is also billed by time.
Separating unmarried: sort the points out before they lock together
Bring what you have: the land register extract, the loan agreement, the tenancy agreement, evidence of larger contributions, and where there are children the documents on acknowledgement and custody. In the initial consultation we sort out what you are entitled to, what you have to prove and in what order to negotiate.