German family law distinguishes 2 types of cases in court proceedings. These are family matters and family disputes. The first of them include proceedings regarding custody and contact with the child. Here, the Family Court conducts its own proceedings and the parties involved must cooperate in providing relevant evidence. The scope of these matters is listed in the Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and Voluntary Judiciary Matters. These include, for example, establishing paternity, marital disputes, child adoption, matters relating to shared household, etc.
Disputes between spouses in the case of joint debts or jointly established companies are also considered to be family court disputes. Here, the parties involved must present the facts on which they base their claims against the other party. It is necessary to use lawyers here (so-called lawyer compulsion).
Mediation is an increasingly popular alternative method of resolving disputes. They are conducted in 5 stages, starting with an introductory interview and ending with a written determination of positions. Such an agreement may constitute the basis for a court judgment or an agreement concluded before a notary.
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