In mid-July 2026, a private message ignited one of the biggest political debates of the summer in Germany. Jens Spahn, a senior German politician who was then chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group (the Union faction) in the Bundestag, and his husband, Daniel Funke, became fathers of a son, carried by a surrogate mother [...]
Our name accompanies us through life, shapes our identity, and influences how we are perceived by others. But what happens when our name no longer fits our life? Until now, German name law offered only little flexibility in this regard. This has now significantly changed: On May 1, 2025, the Law Amending the Marital [...]
Surrogacy has become a significant option worldwide for couples with an unfulfilled desire to have children. German couples are also using surrogate mothers increasingly every year to realise their wish for a child. However, as surrogacy is not legally permitted in Germany, many couples travel abroad to realise this wish. The USA is a [...]
A Case Study from our Legal Practice In July 2023, our lawyers successfully obtained the registration of our clients’ parenthood before the Düsseldorf Local Court for surrogacy that took place abroad. This spared our clients the time-consuming adoption procedure. This judgment not only represents a further milestone in the field of surrogacy law in [...]
The current war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine is also showing its devastating effects in other countries, including Germany. On the one hand, some babies of surrogate mothers have already been born amidst the destruction in Ukraine. Terrifyingly, however, there are currently few possibilities to bring the babies out of the country without [...]
Divorce cases in Germany have become more complex, as Germany becomes an increasingly popular country for inward migration. Our previous article "International Divorce in Germany" has outlined some of the complications involved in such divorce cases and in this article, we will examine the question of whether a personal appearance in court is required [...]
Binational families have long been the norm in our globalised world, and this is also the case in Germany. As a result, international family law issues are increasingly becoming the subject of legal practice. There is often a need for clarification regarding rights of child access. This is because both parents usually have this [...]
Marriages and relationships are becoming more international. As people work across borders and move to the different corners of the globe, family law becomes more global and, in many cases, more complex. This is especially the case when children are involved. In German law, generally, both parents are given joint custody per § 1626 [...]