Custody and contact rights

In short: Custody covers the legal responsibility for a child, contact rights regulate personal contact. Both usually remain with both parents after a separation.

In more detail: Joint custody is the statutory default in Germany, even when the parents live apart.

In detail

• Parental custody: Covers decisions about the child’s health, school and place of residence.
• Right to determine residence: Part of custody, sets where the child mainly lives.
• Contact rights: Generally belong to both parents and often to grandparents too.
• Child’s best interests: Always decisive for all arrangements, not the parents’ wishes alone.
• Shared residence model: The child lives roughly equally with both parents.
• Conflicts: The family court can decide in cases of persistent disputes.
• Advice: Youth welfare offices offer free advice on custody and contact questions (unterhaltspflicht-grundlagen).