Division 3. Guardianship, legal curatorship, custodianship (Section 1773 – 1895)

Last Updated on July 1, 2021 by LawEuro

German Civil Code (BGB) German law

Division 3
Guardianship, legal curatorship, custodianship

Title 1
Guardianship

Subtitle 1
Creation of guardianship

Section 1773
Requirements

(1) A minor is given a guardian if he is not subject to parental custody or if the parents are not entitled to represent the minor either in matters affecting the person or in matters affecting property.

(2) A minor is also given a guardian if his personal status cannot be determined.

Section 1774
Order by the court of its own motion

The family court must order guardianship of its own motion. If it is to be assumed that a child needs a guardian upon birth, then even before the birth of the child a guardian may be appointed; the appointment takes effect on the birth of the child.

Section 1775
More than one guardian

The family court may appoint a married couple jointly as guardians. Apart from this, the family court, insofar as there are no special reasons to appoint more than one guardian, should appoint only one guardian for the ward and, if guardians are to be appointed for siblings, for all wards.

Section 1776
Right of the parents to name the guardian

(1) The person who is named by the parents of the ward as guardian is designated guardian.

(2) If the father and the mother have named different persons, the naming by the parent who died later applies.

Section 1777
Requirements of the right to name the guardian

(1) The parents may only name a guardian if at the time of their death they have the parental custody for the person and the property of the child.

(2) The father may name a guardian for a child that is born only after his death where he would be entitled to do this if the child had been born before his death.

(3) The guardian is named by testamentary disposition.

Section 1778
Passing over the guardian named

(1) A person who under section 1776 is designated guardian may be passed over without his consent only

1. if under sections 1780 to 1784 he cannot or should not be appointed guardian,

2. if he is prevented from assuming the guardianship,

3. if he delays the assumption,

4. if his appointment would endanger the best interests of the ward,

5. if the ward, who has reached the age of fourteen, opposes the appointment, unless the ward is incapable of contracting.

(2) If the person designated is prevented only temporarily, the family court must, after the obstacle ends, appoint him guardian in place of the previous guardian upon his application.

(3) For a minor spouse, the other spouse may be appointed guardian before the persons designated under section 1776.

(4) In addition to the person designated, a co-guardian may be appointed only with the approval of that person.

Section 1779
Selection by the family court

(1) If the guardianship is not to be transferred to a person designated under section 1776, the family court must select the guardian after hearing the youth welfare office.

(2) The family court should choose a person who is suitable to act as guardian in view of his personal circumstances and his financial situation, and also in view of the other circumstances. When a selection is made between several suitable person, the presumed wishes of the parents, the personal ties of the ward, the relationship by blood or marriage with the ward and the religious denomination of the ward are to be taken into account.

(3) In selecting the guardian, the family court should hear relatives by blood or marriage of the ward if this can be done without substantial delay and without disproportionate costs. The relatives by blood and marriage may require reimbursement of their expenses from the ward; the amount of the expenses is specified by the family court.

Section 1780
Lack of capacity to be a guardian

A person who is incapable of contracting may not be appointed a guardian.

Section 1781
Unsuitability to be a guardian

The following persons should not be appointed guardians:

1. a person who is a minor,

2. a person for whom a custodian has been appointed.

Section 1782
Exclusion by the parents

(1) A person should not be appointed a guardian who has been excluded from the guardianship by a direction of the parents of the ward. If the parents have given directions that contradict each other, the direction of the parent who died later applies.

(2) The exclusion is governed by the provisions of section 1777.

Section 1783
(repealed)

Section 1784
Official or church officer as guardian

(1) An official or church officer, who under Land legislation needs a special authorisation to assume a guardianship, should not be appointed guardian without the prescribed authorisation.

(2) This authorisation may only be refused if there is a compelling official reason.

Section 1785
Duty to assume guardianship

Every German must assume the guardianship for which he is selected by the family court insofar as his appointment as guardian is not prevented by one of the reasons set out in sections 1780 to 1784.

Section 1786
Right to refuse

(1) The assumption of the guardianship may be refused by the following:

1. a parent who principally cares for two or more children who are not yet of school age or credibly establishes that the care for the family for which he is responsible permanently makes the exercise of the office particularly difficult,

2. a person who has reached the age of sixty,

3. a person who has the care for the person or the property of more than three minor children,

4. a person who as the result of illness or of infirmity is prevented from conducting the guardianship properly,

5. a person who, because of the distance of his residence from the seat of the family court, cannot conduct the guardianship without particular inconvenience,

6. (repealed)

7. a person who is to be appointed to conduct the guardianship jointly with another person,

8. a person who conducts more than one guardianship, custodianship or curatorship; the guardianship or curatorship of more than one sibling is regarded as only one; conducting two supervisory guardianships is equivalent to conducting one guardianship.

(2) The right to refuse expires if it is not asserted to the family court before the appointment.

Section 1787
Consequences of unjustified refusal

(1) A person who refuses to assume the guardianship without a reason is, if he is at fault, responsible for the damage that the ward suffers as a result of the appointment of the guardian being delayed.

(2) If the family court declares that the refusal is unjustified, the person who refused, notwithstanding the appeals to which he is entitled, must provisionally assume the guardianship at the request of the family court.

Section 1788
Coercive fine

(1) The family court may enjoin the person selected to be guardian to assume the guardianship by imposing coercive fines.

(2) The coercive fines may be imposed only at intervals of at least one week. More than three coercive fines may not be imposed.

Section 1789
Appointment by the family court

The guardian is appointed by the family court committing him to conduct the guardianship faithfully and conscientiously. The undertaking should be given by a handshake in lieu of an oath.

Section 1790
Appointment subject to a reservation

When the guardian is appointed, there may be a reservation of the removal of the guardian in the eventuality that a particular event occurs or does not occur.

Section 1791
Certificate of appointment

(1) The guardian receives a certificate of appointment.

(2) The certificate of appointment should contain the name and the date of birth of the ward, the name of the guardian, of the supervisory guardian and the co-guardians, and in the case of the division of the guardianship the nature of the division.

Section 1791a
Guardianship by association

(1) An association having legal personality may be appointed guardian if it has been declared to be suitable for this by the Land youth welfare office. The association may be appointed guardian only if a person suitable as voluntary sole guardian is not available or if it is designated as guardian under section 1776; the appointment requires the consent of the association.

(2) The appointment is made by order of the family court; sections 1789 and 1791 do not apply.

(3) In conducting the guardianship, the association avails itself of individual members or employees of the association; a person who cares for the ward as an educator in a home of the association may not exercise the tasks of the guardian. The association is answerable to the ward for the fault of the member or of the employee in the same way as for the fault of an agent appointed under its constitution.

(4) If the family court wishes to have a co-guardian together with the association or if it wishes to appoint a supervisory guardian, it should hear the association before the decision.

Section 1791b
Official guardianship of the youth welfare office by appointment

(1) If a person suitable as a voluntary sole guardian is not available, the youth welfare office may be appointed guardian. The youth welfare office may be neither named nor excluded by the parents of the ward.

(2) The appointment is made by order of the family court; sections 1789 and 1791 do not apply.

Section 1791c
Statutory official guardianship of the youth welfare office

(1) Upon the birth of a child whose parents are not married to each other and which requires a guardian, the youth welfare office becomes the guardian if the child has its habitual residence in the area of application of this Code; this does not apply if a guardian is appointed even before the birth of the child. If paternity under section 1592 no. 1 or 2 has been cancelled by contestation and if the child needs a guardian, the youth welfare office becomes the guardian at the time at which the decision becomes final and absolute.

(2) If the youth welfare office has been the curator of a child whose parents are not married to each other, and if the curatorship ends by operation of law and the child needs a guardian, the youth welfare office that was previously the curator becomes the guardian.

(3) The family court must without undue delay issue to the youth welfare office a certificate on the beginning of the guardianship; section 1791 does not apply.

Section 1792
Supervisory guardian

(1) In addition to the guardian, a supervisory guardian may be appointed. If the youth welfare office is the guardian, no supervisory guardian may be appointed; the youth welfare office may be supervisory guardian.

(2) A supervisory guardian should be appointed if management of assets is connected with the guardianship, unless the management is not material or the guardianship is to be conducted jointly by more than one guardian.

(3) If the guardianship of more than one guardian is not to be conducted jointly, one guardian may be appointed supervisory guardian of the other.

(4) The designation and appointment of the supervisory guardian are governed by the provisions applying to the creation of the guardianship.

Subtitle 2
Conducting of the guardianship

Section 1793
Duties of the guardian, liability of the ward

(1) The guardian has the right and the duty to care for the person and the property of the ward, and in particular to represent the ward. Section 1626 (2) applies with the necessary modifications. If the ward is taken into the household of the guardian for a long period, sections 1618a, 1619 and 1664 also apply with the necessary modifications.

(1a) The guardian must maintain personal contact with the ward. He/she should as a rule visit the ward once per month in his/her customary environment unless shorter or longer visiting intervals or a different place are required in individual cases.

(2) For liabilities that arise against the ward in connection with the power of agency under subsection (1), the ward is liable under section 1629a with the necessary modifications.

Section 1794
Restriction as a result of curatorship

The right and the duty of the guardian to care for the person and the property of the ward does not extend to matters of the ward for which a curator has been appointed.

Section 1795
Exclusion of power of agency

(1) The guardian may not represent the ward:

1. in a legal transaction between his spouse, his civil partner or one of his lineal relatives on the one hand and the ward on the other hand, unless the legal transaction consists solely in the performance of an obligation,

2. in a legal transaction the subject of which is the transfer or encumbrance of a claim of the ward against the guardian secured by pledge, mortgage, ship mortgage or suretyship or the cancellation or reduction of this security or which creates an obligation of the ward to effect such a transfer, encumbrance, cancellation or reduction,

3. in a legal dispute between the persons designated in no. 1 and in a legal dispute on a matter of the kind designated in no. 2.

(2) The provision of section 181 is unaffected.

Section 1796
Revocation of power of agency

(1) The family court may revoke from the guardian the power of agency for individual matters or for a specified group of matters.

(2) The revocation should occur only if the interest of the ward is to a substantial degree contrary to the interest of the guardian or of a third party represented by the guardian or of one of the persons designated in section 1795 no. 1.

Section 1797
More than one guardian

(1) More than one guardian conduct the guardianship jointly. In the case of a difference of opinion, the family court decides, unless otherwise provided upon the appointment.

(2) The family court may allocate the conducting of the guardianship between more than one guardian according to specified spheres of responsibility. Within the sphere of responsibility allocated to him, each guardian conducts the guardianship independently.

(3) Provisions which the father or the mother has made for the determination of differences of opinion between the guardians named by them and for the distribution of the transactions among them in accordance with section 1777 must be followed by the family court except to the extent that pursuing them would endanger the interest of the ward.

Section 1798
Differences of opinion

If the care for the person and the care for the property of the ward are the responsibility of different guardians, then in the case of a difference of opinion on the undertaking of an act relating to both the person and the property of the ward the family court decides.

Section 1799
Duties and rights of the supervisory guardian

(1) The supervisory guardian must take care that the guardian conducts the guardianship in accordance with his duty. He must notify the family court without undue delay of breaches of duty by the guardian and of every case in which the family court is called on to intervene, in particular the death of the guardian or the occurrence of another circumstance as a result of which the office of the guardian ends or the removal of the guardian becomes necessary.

(2) On request, the guardian must give information to the supervisory guardian on the conducting of the guardianship and permit inspection of the papers relating to the guardianship.

Section 1800
Scope of care for the person

The right and the duty of the guardian to care for the person of the ward are governed by sections 1631 to 1633. The guardian must personally promote and guarantee the care and upbringing of the ward.

Section 1801
Religious education

(1) The care for the religious education of the ward may be removed from the sole guardian by the family court if the guardian does not belong to the denomination in which the ward is to be brought up.

(2) If the youth welfare office or an association as guardian has to decide on the accommodation of the ward, then in this connection the religious denomination or the ideology of the ward and of his family are to be taken into account.

Section 1802
Inventory of property

(1) The guardian must make a list of the assets that are available when the guardianship is ordered or that accrue to the ward later and submit the list to the family court, after providing it with a declaration of correctness and completeness. If there is a supervisory guardian, the guardian must involve him when making the list; the list must be provided with a declaration of correctness and completeness by the supervisory guardian too.

(2) The guardian, when making the list, may avail himself of the help of an official, a notary or another expert.

(3) If the inventory submitted is inadequate, the family court may order that the inventory is made by a competent public authority or by a competent official or notary.

Section 1803
Management of assets in the case of inheritance or donation

(1) The guardian must manage whatever the ward acquires as a result of death or is gratuitously bestowed on him by a third party inter vivos in accordance with the instructions of the deceased or of the third party if the instructions are made by the deceased by testamentary disposition or by the third party at the time of the gift.

(2) With the approval of the family court, the guardian may deviate from the instructions if complying with them would endanger the interest of the ward.

(3) For a deviation from the instructions made by a third party at the time of a disposition inter vivos, the approval of the third party, during his lifetime, is necessary and sufficient. The approval of the third party may be substituted by the family court if the third party is permanently unable to make a declaration or the abode of the third party is permanently unknown.

Section 1804
Donations made by the guardian

The guardian may not, in representation of the ward, make donations. An exception applies to donations that are made to comply with a moral duty or to show consideration to decency.

Section 1805
Use for the guardian

The guardian may not use assets of the ward either for himself nor for the supervisory guardian. If the youth welfare office is the guardian or supervisory guardian, the investment of money held in trust for a ward under section 1807 is also admissible in the corporation in which the youth welfare office is established.

Section 1806
Investment of money held in trust for a ward

The guardian must invest the money that is part of the assets of the ward at interest, except to the extent that it is to be held ready to satisfy expenses.

Section 1807
Nature of investment

(1) The investment of money held in trust for a ward laid down in section 1806 should occur only

1. in debts for which there is a secure mortgage of a plot of land within the country, or in secure land charges or annuity land charges on plots of land within the country;

2. in securitised debts of the Federal Government or a Land and in debts that are entered in the Federal Debt Register or Land Debt Register of a Land;

3. in securitised debts whose interest is guaranteed by the Federal Government or by a Land;

4. in securities, in particular mortgage bonds, and in securitised debts of all kinds of a domestic municipal corporation or the credit institution of such a corporation, to the extent that the securities or the debt have been declared by the Federal Government with the approval of the Federal Council [Bundesrat] to be suitable for the investment of money held in trust for a ward;

5. with a domestic public savings bank if it has been declared by the competent public authority of the Land in which it has its seat suitable for the investment of money held in trust for a ward, or with another credit institution which belongs to an institution furnishing security that is sufficient for the investment.

(2) The Land legislation may lay down, for the plots of land situated within its area of application, the basic principles under which the security of a mortgage, a land charge or an annuity land charge is to be determined.

Section 1808
(repealed)

Section 1809
Investment with blocking note

The guardian should invest money held in trust for a ward under section 1807 (1) no. 5 only subject to the provision that the approval of the supervisory guardian or of the family court is required for the collection of the money.

Section 1810
Cooperation of supervisory guardian or family court

The guardian should effect the investment laid down in sections 1806 and 1807 only with the approval of the supervisory guardian; the approval of the supervisory guardian is substituted by the approval of the family court. If there is no supervisory guardian, the investment should be made only with the approval of the family court, to the extent that the guardianship is not conducted by more than one guardian jointly.

Section 1811
Other investment

The family court may permit the guardian to make a different investment than that laid down in section 1807. The permission should be refused only if the intended manner of investment, in the circumstances of the case, would be contrary to the efficient management of assets.

Section 1812
Dispositions of claims and securities

(1) The guardian may dispose of a claim or of another right by which the ward may demand performance, and of a security of the ward, only with the approval of the supervisory guardian, except to the extent that the approval of the family court is required under sections 1819 to 1822. The same applies to the assumption of the duty to make such a disposition.

(2) The approval of the supervisory guardian is substituted by the approval of the family court.

(3) If there is no supervisory guardian, the approval of the family court takes the place of the approval of the supervisory guardian, except to the extent that the guardianship is conducted by more than one guardian jointly.

Section 1813
Transactions not requiring approval

(1) The guardian does not require the approval of the supervisory guardian to accept performance owed:

1. if the object of the performance does not consist in money or securities,

2. if the claim is for not more than 3,000 euros,

3. if the claim concerns the balance of a giro or current account or money that the guardian invested is paid back,

4. if the claim is part of the emoluments of the property of the ward,

5. if the claim is directed to the reimbursement of the costs of giving notice or to the prosecution of rights or to other collateral performance.

(2) The exemption under subsection (1) nos. 2 and 3 does not extend to the collection of money upon the investment of which a provision to the contrary was made. Nor does the exemption under subsection (1) no. 3 apply to the collection of money which is invested under section 1807 (1) nos. 1 to 4.

Section 1814
Deposit of bearer instruments

The guardian must deposit the bearer instruments that are part of the property of the ward, together with the renewal certificates, with a depositary institution or with one of the credit institutions named in section 1807 (1) no. 5, subject to the condition that the return of the instruments may be demanded only with the approval of the family court. The deposit of bearer instruments that under section 92 are consumable things, and of interest, annuity or dividend coupons is not necessary. Instruments made out to order and endorsed in blank are equivalent to bearer instruments.

Section 1815
Change of registration and conversion of bearer instruments

(1) The guardian may, instead of depositing the bearer instruments under section 1814, have their registration changed to the name of the ward, subject to the condition that he may dispose of them only with the approval of the family court. If the instruments are issued by the Federal Government or a Land, he may have them converted, subject to the same condition, into Debt Register claims against the Federal Government or the Land.

(2) If bearer instruments that may be converted into Debt Register claims against the Federal Government or a Land are to be deposited, the family court may order that they are converted into Debt Register claims under subsection (1).

Section 1816
Blocking of registered claims

If Debt Register claims against the Federal Government or a Land are part of the property of the ward at the time when the guardianship is ordered, or if the ward later acquires such claims, the guardian is to have a memorandum entered in the Debt Register that he may dispose of the claims only with the approval of the family court.

Section 1817
Exemption

(1) The family court may, on the application of the guardian, exempt him from the duties imposed on him under sections 1806 to 1816, to the extent that

1. the scope of the management of assets justifies this and

2. an endangerment of the assets is not to be feared.

The requirements of no. 1 are as a rule satisfied if the value of the property, without taking real property into account, does not exceed 6,000 euros.

(2) The family court may, for special reasons, exempt the guardian from the duties imposed on him under sections 1814 and 1816 even if the requirements of subsection (1) no. 1 are not satisfied.

Section 1818
Order of deposit

The family court may, for special reasons, order that the guardian is also to deposit in the manner set out in section 1814 such securities as are part of the property of the ward which he is not obliged under section 1814 to deposit, and also valuables of the ward; on the application of the guardian, the deposit of interest, annuity and dividend coupons may be ordered, even if there is not a special reason.

Section 1819
Approval in the case of deposit

As long as the securities or valuables deposited under section 1814 or under section 1818 have not been taken back, the guardian requires the approval of the family court for a disposition of them and, if mortgage, land charge or annuity land charge certificates have been deposited, for a disposition of the mortgage claim, the land charge or the annuity land charge. The same applies to the assumption of the duty to make such a disposition.

Section 1820
Approval after change of registration and conversion

(1) If bearer instruments have had their registration changed to the name of the ward or been converted to Debt Register claims under section 1815, the guardian also requires the approval of the family court for the assumption of the duty to make a disposition of the principal claims arising from the change of registration or the conversion.

(2) The same applies if, in the case of a Debt Register claim of the ward, the memorandum referred to in section 1816 is entered.

Section 1821
Approval of transactions relating to plots of land, ships or ships under construction

(1) The guardian requires the approval of the family court:

1. for a disposition of a plot of land or of a right in a plot of land;

2. for a disposition of a claim that is directed to the transfer of the ownership of a plot of land or to the creation or transfer of a right in a plot of land or to the release of a plot of land from such a right;

3. for a disposition of a registered ship or ship under construction or of a claim that is directed to the transfer of the ownership of a registered ship or ship under construction;

4. for the assumption of a duty to make one of the dispositions set out in nos. 1 to 3;

5. for a contract which is directed at the nongratuitous acquisition of a plot of land, a registered ship or ship under construction or a right in a plot of land.

(2) The rights in a plot of land in the meaning of this provision do not include mortgages, land charges and annuity land charges.

Section 1822
Approval for other transactions

The guardian requires the approval of the family court:

1. for a legal transaction by which the ward is obliged to make a disposition of his property as a whole or of an inheritance that has accrued to him or of his future share of the inheritance on intestacy or of his future compulsory portion, and a disposition of the share of the ward in an inheritance,

2. to disclaim an inheritance or a legacy, to waive a compulsory portion and for a contract for the division of an inheritance,

3. for a contract which is directed to the nongratuitous acquisition or the disposal of a trade or business and for a shareholders’ or partnership agreement that is entered into to operate a trade or business,

4. for a usufructuary lease of a farm or a commercial business,

5. for a lease or usufructuary lease or another contract which obliges the ward to make periodical payments, if the contractual relationship is to continue for more than one year after the ward reaches the age of majority,

6. for an apprenticeship agreement that is entered into for longer than one year,

7. for a contract directed to the assumption of a service or employment relationship if the ward is to be obliged to render performance in person for longer than one year,

8. for taking out a loan against the credit of the ward,

9. for issuing a bearer bond or for the assumption of an obligation under a bill of exchange or another instrument that may be transferred by endorsement,

10. for the assumption of the liability of a third party, in particular for the assumption of a guarantee,

11. for the granting of a full commercial power of agency,

12. for a settlement or an arbitration agreement, unless the object of the dispute or of the uncertainty can be assessed in money and does not exceed the value of 3,000 euros, or the settlement corresponds to a judicial settlement suggestion made in writing or recorded by the court,

13. for a legal transaction that cancels or reduces the existing security for a claim of the ward or creates a duty to cancel or reduce it.

Section 1823
Approval where the ward has a trade or business

The guardian should not without the approval of the family court commence a new trade or business in the name of the ward or terminate an existing trade or business of the ward.

Section 1824
Approval for the permission for the ward to use objects

The guardian may not permit the ward to use objects for the disposal of which the approval of the supervisory guardian or of the family court is necessary, for the performance of a contract entered into by the ward or at the free disposal of the ward, without this approval.

Section 1825
General authorisation

(1) The family court may give the ward a general authorisation for legal transactions for which under section 1812 the approval of the supervisory guardian is necessary and for the legal transactions set out in section 1822 nos. 8 to 10.

(2) The authorisation should only be given if it is necessary for the purpose of management of assets, in particular for the operation of a trade or business.

Section 1826
Hearing of the supervisory guardian before giving the approval

Before the decision on the approval necessary for an act of the ward, the family court should hear the supervisory guardian, if one exists and the hearing is convenient.

Section 1827
(repealed)

Section 1828
Pronouncement of approval

The family court may pronounce the approval of a legal transaction only to the guardian.

Section 1829
Subsequent approval

(1) If the guardian enters into a contract without the necessary approval of the family court, the effectiveness of the contract is subject to the subsequent approval of the family court. The approval and its refusal take effect in relation to the other party only when the guardian notifies the other party of it.

(2) Where the other party requests the guardian to notify it whether the approval has been granted, the notification of the approval may occur only before the end of a period of four weeks after the receipt of the request; if it is not given, the approval is deemed to have been refused.

(3) If the ward has reached the age of majority, the approval of the ward takes the place of the approval of the family court.

Section 1830
Right of revocation of the other party

If the guardian has claimed to the other party, untruthfully, that the family court has given its approval, the other party is entitled to revoke the contract until it is informed of the subsequent approval of the family court, unless it knew of the lack of approval when it entered into the contract.

Section 1831
Unilateral legal transaction without approval

A unilateral legal transaction which the guardian enters into without the necessary approval of the family court is ineffective. Where the guardian, with this approval, enters into such a legal transaction with another person, the legal transaction is ineffective if the guardian does not provide the approval and the other person for this reason and without undue delay rejects the legal transaction.

Section 1832
Approval of the supervisory guardian

To the extent that the guardian requires the approval of the supervisory guardian for a legal transaction, the provisions of sections 1828 to 1831 apply with the necessary modifications; by way of derogation from section 1829 (2), the period for notification of approval of the supervisory guardian is two weeks.

Section 1833
Liability of the guardian

(1) The guardian is answerable to the ward for the damage arising from a breach of duty if he is at fault. The same applies to the supervisory guardian.

(2) If more than one person together are responsible for the damage, they are liable as joint and several debtors. If, in addition to the guardian, the supervisory guardian or a co-guardian is responsible only by reason of breach of his duty to supervise, then as between them the guardian alone is liable.

Section 1834
Duty to pay interest

If the guardian uses money belonging to the ward for his own purposes, he must pay interest on it from the date when it is used.

Section 1835
Reimbursement of outlays

(1) If the guardian, for the purpose of conducting the guardianship, incurs outlays, then under the provisions applying to mandate of sections 669 and 670 he may require an advance or reimbursement from the ward; the reimbursement of travelling expenses is governed by the arrangement made for experts in section 5 of the Court Payment and Reimbursement Act [Justizvergütungs- und -entschädigungsgesetz] with the necessary modifications. The supervisory guardian has the same right. Claims for reimbursement are extinguished if they are not asserted at court within fifteen months after they arise; here, the assertion of the claim at the family court is also deemed to be an assertion vis-à-vis the ward.

(1a) The family court may lay down a period deviating from subsection (1) sentence 3 of a minimum of two months. The fixing of the period must contain information on the consequences of failure to observe the time limit. On application, the period may be extended by the family court. The claim expires to the extent that it is not quantified within the period.

(2) Outlays also include the costs of reasonable insurance against damage that may be caused to the ward by the guardian or the supervisory guardian or that may be suffered by the guardian or supervisory guardian because he is obliged to compensate a third party for damage caused by the conduct of the guardianship; this does not apply to the costs of the third-party liability insurance of the keeper of a motor vehicle. Sentence 1 does not apply if the guardian or supervisory guardian receives payment under section 1836 (1) sentence 2 in conjunction with the Guardians and Custodians Payment Act [Vormünder- und Betreuervergütungsgesetz].

(3) Such services of the guardian or of the supervisory guardian as belong to his business, trade or profession are also deemed to be outlays.

(4) If the ward is destitute, the guardian may require advance payment and reimbursement from the public treasury. Subsection (1) sentence 3 and subsection (1)a apply with the necessary modifications.

(5) The youth welfare office or an association, as guardian or supervisory guardian, may require no advance payment and may require reimbursement only to the extent that the income and property of the ward to be applied is sufficient. General management costs including the costs under subsection (2) are not reimbursed.

Section 1835a
Reimbursement for expenses

(1) For the discharge of his claim to compensation for expenses, the guardian, as reimbursement for expenses, may demand, for each guardianship for which he is not entitled to payment, a sum of money which for one year corresponds to nineteen times the amount that may be granted to a witness as the maximum amount of reimbursement for one lost working hour (section 22 of the Court Payment and Reimbursement Act [Justizvergütungs- und -entschädigungsgesetz]) (reimbursement for expenses). If the guardian has already received an advance payment or compensation for such outlays, the reimbursement for expenses is correspondingly reduced.

(2) The reimbursement for expenses is to be paid annually, for the first time one year after the appointment of the guardian.

(3) If the ward is destitute, the guardian may demand the reimbursement for expenses from the public treasury; maintenance claims of the ward against the guardian are not to be taken into account in this respect when income is assessed under section 1836c no. 1.

(4) The claim to reimbursement for expenses expires if it is not asserted within three months after the end of the year in which the claim arises; the assertion of the claim at the family court is also deemed to be an assertion vis-à-vis the ward.

(5) No reimbursement for expenses may be granted to the youth welfare office or to an association.

1. under section 87 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] his income, to the extent that, together with the income of his spouse or civil partner who is not living apart, it exceeds the conclusive income limit under sections 82, 85 (1) and 86 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] for help under the Fifth to Ninth Chapters of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch]. If, in the individual case, the provision of part of the income to satisfy a particular need as part of the help under the Fifth to Ninth Chapters of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] is expected or required, this part of the income may no longer be taken into account in the assessment as to how far the provision of the income is to be used to pay the costs of the guardianship. Income is also deemed to include maintenance claims and the annuities payable by reason of the revocation of such a claim;

2. his property under section 90 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch].

Section 1836
Payment of the guardian

(1) The guardianship is conducted gratuitously. It is, exceptionally, conducted nongratuitously if the court finds when the guardian is appointed that the guardian is conducting the guardianship as an occupation or profession. The details are governed by the Guardians and Custodians Payment Act [Vormünder- und Betreuervergütungsgesetz].

(2) Where the court does not make a finding under subsection (1) sentence 2, it may nevertheless grant to the guardian, and for special reasons also to the supervisory guardian, a reasonable payment if the extent or the difficulty of the guardianship transactions justifies this; this does not apply if the ward is destitute.

(3) No payment may be granted to the youth welfare office or to an association.

Sections 1836a and 1836b
(repealed)

Section 1836c
Funds to be provided by the ward

The ward must provide the following:

1. under section 87 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] his income, to the extent that, together with the income of his spouse or civil partner who is not living apart, it exceeds the conclusive income limit under sections 82, 85 (1) and 86 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] for help under the Fifth to Ninth Chapters of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch]. If, in the individual case, the provision of part of the income to satisfy a particular need as part of the help under the Fifth to Ninth Chapters of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] is expected or required, this part of the income may no longer be taken into account in the assessment as to how far the provision of the income is to be used to pay the costs of the guardianship. Income is also deemed to include maintenance claims and the annuities payable by reason of the revocation of such a claim;

2. his property under section 90 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch].

Section 1836d
Destitution of the ward

The ward is deemed to be destitute if, with regard to the compensation for expenses or the payment from his income or property to be applied,

1. he cannot raise it or can raise it only in part or in instalments or

2. he can raise it only by the judicial assertion of maintenance claims.

Section 1836e
Statutory passing of claim

(1) To the extent that the public treasury satisfies the guardian or supervisory guardian, claims of the guardian or supervisory guardian against the ward pass to the public treasury. After the death of the ward, his heir is liable only for the value of the estate available at the date of the devolution of the inheritance; section 102 (3) and (4) of the Twelfth Book of the Social Security Code [Sozialgesetzbuch] applies with the necessary modifications; section 1836c does not apply to the heir.

(2) To the extent that claims under section 1836c no. 1 sentence 3 are to be applied, section 850b of the Code of Civil Procedure [Zivilprozessordnung], for the benefit of the public treasury, does not apply.

Subtitle 3
Care and supervision of the family court

Section 1837
Advice and supervision

(1) The family court advises the guardians. It assists in introducing them to their tasks.

(2) The family court is to supervise all the activity of the guardian and of the supervisory guardian and to intervene against breaches of duty by suitable orders and prohibitions. It is to particularly supervise compliance with the necessary personal contacts between the guardian and the charge. It may instruct the guardian and the supervisory guardian to take out insurance against damage that they may cause to the ward.

(3) The family court may enjoin the guardian and the supervisory guardian to observe its directions by imposing coercive fines. No coercive fine is imposed on the youth welfare office or an association.

(4) Sections 1666 and 1666a and section 1696 apply with the necessary modifications.

Section 1838
(repealed)

Section 1839
Duty of information of the guardian

The family court must, on request, at any time give information to the guardian and the supervisory guardian on the conduct of the guardianship and on the personal circumstances of the ward.

Section 1840
Report and rendering of account

(1) The guardian must report to the family court at least once a year on the personal circumstances of the ward. The report must also contain information on the guardian’s personal contacts with the ward.

(2) The guardian must render an account to the family court of his management of the assets.

(3) The account is to be rendered annually. The accounting year is laid down by the family court.

(4) If the management is of a small extent, the family court, after the account has been rendered for the first year, may order that the account is to be rendered for longer periods, of a maximum of three years.

Section 1841
Contents of the account

(1) The account should contain an organised record of the receipts and expenditure, on disposals and acquisitions of assets and, to the extent that it is customary to provide supporting documents, to be provided with supporting documents.

(2) If a trade or business is operated with commercial bookkeeping, then a financial statement drawn up from the books is sufficient as an account. The family court may, however, require the books and other supporting documents to be submitted.

Section 1842
Cooperation of the supervisory guardian

If there is a supervisory guardian or a supervisory guardian is to be appointed, the guardian must submit the account to him, with proof of the amount of the assets. The supervisory guardian must make on the account the annotations which the examination gives him cause to make.

Section 1843
Examination by the family court

(1) The family court must examine the account from an accounting point of view and objectively and, to the extent that this is necessary, arrange for its correction and supplementation.

(2) Claims that remain disputed between the guardian and the ward may be judicially asserted even before the termination of the guardianship relationship.

Section 1844
(repealed)

Section 1845
(repealed)

Section 1846
Interim measures of the family court

If a guardian has not yet been appointed or if the guardian is prevented from carrying out his duties, the family court must take the measures that are necessary in the interest of the person affected.

Section 1847
Hearing of the relatives

In important matters, the family court should hear relatives by blood or marriage of the ward if this can be done without substantial delay and without disproportionate costs. Section 1779 (3) sentence 2 applies with the necessary modifications.

Section 1848
(repealed)

Subtitle 4
Cooperation of the youth welfare office

Sections 1849, 1850
(repealed)

Section 1851
Duties of notification

(1) The family court must notify the youth welfare office of the order of guardianship, designating the guardian and the supervisory guardian, and of a change of the person and the termination of the guardianship.

(2) If the habitual residence of a ward is moved to the area of another youth welfare office, the guardian must notify the youth welfare office of the previous habitual residence, and that youth welfare office must notify the youth welfare office of the new habitual residence, of the move.

(3) If an association is guardian, subsections (1) and (2) do not apply.

Subtitle 5
Exempted guardianship

Section 1852
Exemption by the father

(1) The father may, when he names a guardian, exclude the appointment of a supervisory guardian.

(2) The father may direct that the guardian named by him should not be subject in the investment of money to the restrictions laid down in sections 1809 and 1810 and should not require the approval of the supervisory guardian or of the family court for the legal transactions set out in section 1812. These directions are to be regarded as having been made if the father has excluded the appointment of a supervisory guardian.

Section 1853
Exemption from deposit and blocking

The father may exempt the guardian named by him from the duty to deposit bearer instruments and instruments made out to order and to have the memorandum mentioned in section 1816 entered in the Federal Debt Register or the Debt Register of a Land.

Section 1854
Exemption from duty to render an account

(1) The father may exempt the guardian named by him from the duty to render account for the duration of his office.

(2) In such a case, the guardian must, after a period of two years in each case, file with the family court a summary of the amount of the assets subject to his management. The family court may direct that the summary is filed at longer intervals of a maximum of five years.

(3) If there is a supervisory guardian or a supervisory guardian is to be appointed, the guardian must submit the summary to him, with proof of the amount of the assets. The supervisory guardian must make on the summary the annotations which the examination gives him cause to make.

Section 1855
Exemption by the mother

If the mother designates a guardian, she may make the same directions as the father may under sections 1852 to 1854.

Section 1856
Requirements of exemption

The directions admissible under sections 1852 to 1855 are governed by the provisions of section 1777. If the parents have given directions that contradict each other, the direction of the parent who died later applies.

Section 1857
Cancellation of the exemption by the family court

The directions of the father or the mother may be cancelled by the family court if compliance with them would endanger the interest of the ward.

Section 1857a
Exemption of the youth welfare office and the association

The youth welfare office and an association as guardian are entitled to the exemptions admissible under section 1852 (2) and sections 1853 and 1854.

Sections 1858 – 1881
(repealed)

Subtitle 6
Termination of the guardianship

Section 1882
Cessation of the requirements

The guardianship ends when the requirements laid down for the commencement of the guardianship in section 1773 cease to be satisfied.

Section 1883
(repealed)

Section 1884
Ward missing and declaration of death of the ward

(1) If the ward is missing, the guardianship ends only when it is cancelled by the family court. The family court must cancel the guardianship if it obtains knowledge of the death of the ward.

(2) If the ward is declared to be dead or if his date of death is determined under the provisions of the Missing Persons Act [Verschollenheitsgesetz], the guardianship ends when the order on the declaration of death or the determination of the time of death becomes final and absolute.

Section 1885
(repealed)

Section 1886
Removal of the sole guardian

The family court must remove the sole guardian if the continuation of the office, in particular by reason of conduct in breach of duty of the guardian, would endanger the interest of the ward or if one of the reasons set out in section 1781 is present in the person of the guardian.

Section 1887
Removal of the youth welfare office or association

(1) The family court must remove the youth welfare office or the association as guardian and appoint another guardian if this serves the welfare of the ward and another suitable person is available as guardian.

(2) The decision is made by the court of its own motion or on application. A ward who is fourteen years of age, and every person who asserts a justified interest of the ward, is entitled to apply. The youth welfare office or the association should make the application as soon as they learn that the requirements of subsection (1) are satisfied.

(3) The family court should, before its decision, also hear the youth welfare office or the association.

Section 1888
Removal of officials and church officers

Where an official or a church officer is appointed guardian, the family court must remove him if the authorisation that is necessary under the Land statutes on the assumption of guardianship or for the continuation of the guardianship assumed before entry into the civil service or service relationship ends or is revoked or if the prohibition of continuation of the guardianship that is admissible under the Land statutes occurs.

Section 1889
Removal on the application of the guardian himself

(1) The family court must remove the sole guardian on his application if there is a compelling reason; a compelling reason includes but is not limited to the occurrence of a circumstance that would entitle the guardian under section 1786 (1) nos. 2 to 7 to refuse the assumption of the guardianship.

(2) The family court must remove the youth welfare office or the association as guardian on its application if another person suited as guardian is available and this measure is not inconsistent with the best interests of the ward. In addition, an association is to be removed on its application if there is a compelling reason.

Section 1890
Delivery of assets and rendering an account

After the termination of his office, the guardian must deliver to the ward the assets managed and render an account of the management. To the extent that he has rendered an account to the family court, reference to this account is sufficient.

Section 1891
Cooperation of the supervisory guardian

(1) If there is a supervisory guardian, the ward must submit the account to the supervisory guardian. The supervisory guardian must make on the account the annotations which the examination gives him cause to make.

(2) The supervisory guardian must, on request, provide information on the conduct of the supervisory guardianship and, to the extent that he is capable of doing this, on the assets managed by the guardian.

Section 1892
Examination and approval of the account

(1) The guardian must file the account, after he has submitted it to the supervisory guardian, with the family court.

(2) The family court must examine the account from an accounting point of view and objectively and arrange its acceptance by negotiation with the parties involved, involving the supervisory guardian. To the extent that the account is approved as correct, the family court must record the acceptance.

Section 1893
Continuation of transactions after the termination of the guardianship, return of certificates

(1) In the case of the termination of the guardianship or of the office of guardian, the provisions of sections 1698a and 1698b apply with the necessary modifications.

(2) After the termination of his office, the guardian must return the certificate of appointment to the family court. In the cases of sections 1791a and 1791b, the order of the family court is to be returned, and in the case of section 1791c the certificate on the commencement of the guardianship.

Section 1894
Notification on death of the guardian

(1) The heir of the guardian must notify the family court without undue delay of the death of the guardian.

(2) The guardian must give notification without undue delay of the death of the supervisory guardian or of a co-guardian.

Section 1895
Termination of office of the supervisory guardian

The provisions of sections 1886 to 1889, 1893 and 1894 apply with the necessary modifications to the supervisory guardian.

Table of contents (German Civil Code)

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