In short
The law lays down no standard model; what counts is what serves the child in the particular case. Short distances between the two homes and low-conflict coordination decide more than any wish for fairness between the parents.
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Shared care and the residence model: the difference
After a separation the question arises of where the child will live in future. For everyday care, two basic models have emerged.
In the residence model the child has its center of life with one parent; the other exercises regulated contact, for instance at weekends and in the holidays. In the Wechselmodell (shared care model), also called the parity model, the child lives roughly in equal halves with both parents and is cared for by both in roughly equal parts.
The shared care model is not a standard case that establishes itself on its own. It is a deliberate decision, and it works only under certain conditions.
No model prescribed by statute
The law prescribes no particular model of care. It names neither the residence model nor the shared care model as the standard case. The yardstick is solely the child’s welfare in the specific case.
The legal frame is formed by two areas: contact rights, under which the child has a right of its own to contact with both parents and each parent is both entitled and obliged to have contact (§ 1684 BGB), and the rules on parental responsibility (§§ 1626 et seq., 1671 BGB).
The law does not ask what the parents want but what serves the child best.
That also means a shared care model cannot be forced through because one parent considers it fair. It has to fit the child and the child’s everyday life.
Can the court order shared care?
Ideally parents agree on a model of care themselves. Where that does not work out, the Familiengericht (family court) can decide.
The Federal Court of Justice has made clear that a Familiengericht (family court) can order a shared care model as a contact arrangement even against the will of one parent, but only where that model best serves the child’s welfare in the individual case BGH, order of 1 February 2017, XII ZB 601/15.
That is not a predetermination in favor of shared care. The court examines each case individually and does not order the parity model where the factual conditions are missing.
What makes shared care work in practice
For the model to carry, several conditions have to come together. They concern the lived everyday life more than the legal position.
- Physical proximity of the two households, short distances and ideally the same school or nursery.
- Workable, low-conflict communication between the parents about the child’s everyday life.
- An honest willingness on both parents’ part to coordinate and to settle into a routine.
The younger the child, the higher the demands; small children need particularly reliable structures. And the greater the conflict between the parents, the more difficult the model becomes: a strongly escalated parental conflict as a rule speaks against shared care, because the constant coordination then becomes a burden for the child.
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What to bear in mind for maintenance
The model of care affects maintenance. In the residence model, simplified: one parent makes their contribution through care, the other through payment.
In genuine parity shared care that shifts. Here both parents are in principle liable in money, and the child’s need is calculated differently from the residence model. Specific rates or amounts cannot be given in a blanket way; they depend on the income position and on the exact division and should be calculated by a lawyer in the individual case. How child maintenance is determined in the standard case, under the Düsseldorf table and the guidelines of the Frankfurt higher regional court, is explained by child maintenance: reading the Düsseldorf table properly.
Shared care in Frankfurt am Main
The local frame plays a part as well. For family matters within the city, the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main (local court) has jurisdiction as the Familiengericht (family court).
In practical terms, the short distances within Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main area make shared care easier: where the two homes are close to each other, the child keeps the same school, the same circle of friends and the same everyday life, and that is what makes the model workable day to day.
What comes next
Shared care is a question of contact, not of Sorgerecht (custody); the two are frequently confused and follow quite different rules. What applies in each case and what the court decides by is set out under custody & contact rights.
Where the care arrangement is to be recorded together with the other consequences of the divorce, the divorce settlement agreement is the place for it, with the limitation that arrangements on Sorgerecht (custody) and contact do not bind the court. And what else applies at once with the separation is dealt with by separation before the divorce.
Whether shared care works is decided by the circumstances of daily life: the child’s age, the distance between the two households and whether the parents can talk to each other about the everyday. We give you an honest assessment, including when the answer goes against the model.
This post describes the rule, not your case. What applies to you depends on circumstances that no text can cover. For an assessment we need your documents and a conversation.
Arguing about the care schedule?
60 minutes, at our office or by Zoom. You describe your situation, and we tell you what lies ahead. You are under no obligation to hire us afterwards.
Under § 34 RVG (German Lawyers’ Fees Act), the first consultation costs at most €226.10 including VAT. If we take on your case, this fee does not apply. How the fees are calculated
- Shared care
- Contact rights
- Best interests of the child
She handles uncontested and contested divorces as well as maintenance proceedings, and alongside the divorce she also settles parental responsibility and contact, always with an eye on what it means for your family’s everyday life. View profile