Every underage child and every child in general school education has a legal entitlement to maintenance. As a rule, the entitlement to maintenance exists until the completion of training or studies. In order to be able to assert the claim in the case of unmarried parents, paternity must be established.
The prerequisite for the maintenance claim is that the child also lives in the household of the caring parent. It is irrelevant whether this is the caring parent's own household (e.g. the entitlement to maintenance also remains if the single-parent family lives in the grandparents' household).

The parent who does not have primary responsibility or does not look after the child at all has a so-called cash maintenance obligation, i.e. they are obliged to make maintenance payments from the birth of the child. The amount of maintenance to be paid is based on the income of the person liable for maintenance.
Under the following link you will find the current Düsseldorf table with notes. This table can be used as a guideline for calculating maintenance claims.

If the parent liable for maintenance does not fulfil their maintenance obligations or only fulfils them irregularly or does not pay at least the standard amount of maintenance according to the standard amount ordinance, the single parent can apply for an advance on maintenance for children up to the age of 18. Special regulations apply for children over the age of 12. The amount of the maintenance advance, like the maintenance, is based on the standard amounts set for the relevant age group.
Orphan's benefits or any maintenance payments are offset against the maintenance advance. International students who only have a residence permit for the purpose of studying do not receive a maintenance advance for their children.

The application for maintenance advance must be submitted in writing to the responsible maintenance advance office of the youth welfare office. The city of Paderborn and the district of Paderborn provide information on the maintenance advance fund, where the application form and the UVG leaflet are available.

The brochure "Der Unterhaltsvorschuss. An aid for single parents and their children" can be downloaded/ordered here.

The brochure "Beistandschaft. And other help from the Youth Welfare Office in establishing paternity and claiming child maintenance" can be downloaded/ordered here. It provides information on the counselling and support services offered by the Youth Welfare Office in establishing paternity and claiming child support, in particular through the institution of a guardianship for the child.