Issuing Body: Guozun Cathay Associates, German Office
Date of Conclusion: 23 January 2026
Key Outcomes: The case was fully resolved through negotiated settlement. The Chinese national client was granted sole physical custody of the child. The monthly child support payment standard for the German national spouse and the cross-border enforcement guarantee scheme were finalised.
This case was jointly handled by the German Office of Guozun Cathay Associates and the Beijing Headquarters’ Foreign-Related Family Dispute Resolution Team. In strict compliance with the family laws of both China and Germany and the Agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Germany on the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters, the team provided the Chinese national client with a full-chain solution for foreign-related family disputes, covering “jurisdiction argument – custody claim – child support implementation – enforcement guarantee”, leveraging Guozun Cathay Associates’ years of experience in cross-jurisdiction family legal services and dual-jurisdiction practice qualifications.
This case has been included in Guozun Cathay Associates’ 2026 Typical Case Library on Foreign-Related Marriage and Family Affairs. Its case-handling model of “dual-jurisdiction jurisdiction assessment + localised negotiation pressure + pre-positioned cross-border enforcement mechanism” has been widely applied to the handling of cross-border marriage and family disputes between China and Europe.
I. Case Background and Engagement Process
Ms. Wang, the client, is a Chinese citizen. She registered her marriage with her German national spouse in Germany and gave birth to a son after marriage, who was born in Germany. When the child reached one year of age, Ms. Wang returned to China with the child for long-term settlement, completed the child’s Chinese nationality registration and household registration successively, and the child subsequently obtained a German passport. During this period, the child only travelled to Germany for short reunions with the father. When the child reached three years of age, Ms. Wang took the child to Germany to reunite with the father, where the husband formally filed for divorce. The two parties had serious disagreements on core issues such as the ownership of child custody, child support payment standards, and the child’s exit and entry arrangements.
On 12 August 2025, Ms. Wang was connected to the German Office through the Beijing Headquarters of Guozun Cathay Associates. Given the three core difficulties of the case – jurisdictional conflict between China and Germany, determination of the child’s dual nationality status, and long-term enforcement of cross-border child support – the German Office activated the “Sino-German Emergency Collaborative Case Handling Mechanism” on the same day, and jointly established a special case handling team of 4 lawyers (including 2 German local practising family lawyers and 2 lawyers specialising in foreign-related marriage and family affairs from the Beijing Lawyers Association) with the Beijing Headquarters, to fully represent the client in custody claims and child support implementation.
II. Full Process of Sino-German Joint Case Handling
This case adopted the standardised collaborative model of “the Beijing Headquarters is responsible for rights advocacy and evidence system construction under Chinese law, while the German Office is responsible for local legal liaison and negotiation pressure on the German side”. All links have written records and verifiable outcomes:
1.12 August 2025 – 20 August 2025: Dual-Jurisdiction Jurisdiction and Risk Assessment
Beijing Headquarters: Collated all basic materials including marriage registration, child birth, life and residence in China, and household registration; issued the Report on Legitimacy of Jurisdiction and Custody Advantage Assessment under Chinese Law, demonstrating the legal basis for the Chinese court’s jurisdiction over this case, and clarifying the core advantage of the child’s long-term residence in China for the custody claim.
German Office: Leveraging local practice experience in German family law, verified the scope of jurisdiction and judicial tendency of German courts in this case; sorted out the statutory calculation standards and payment practices of child support under German law; identified the possible basis for the German side’s custody claim; and excluded the client’s procedural risks of litigation in Germany.
2.21 August 2025 – 10 December 2025: Evidence Fixation and In-Depth Argumentation of Law Application
Beijing Headquarters: In accordance with the Civil Code and the rules on the application of law in foreign-related civil relations, fully fixed all certificates of the child’s life, education and medical care in China, as well as relevant evidence of the mother’s long-term direct care of the child; simultaneously completed the legal argumentation of the child’s Chinese nationality status, and clarified the child’s citizenship status and rights protection path in China under the rule that China does not recognise dual nationality.
German Office: Liaised with local German civil registration authorities to obtain official files of marriage registration and child birth registration; in view of the judicial standard of “the best interests of the child” under German law, sorted out supporting materials on the child’s stable growth environment in China to provide factual support under German law for subsequent negotiations; meanwhile, studied the compliance path and tax impact of cross-border child support payments.
3.11 December 2025 – 25 December 2025: Issuance of Legal Documents and First-Round Liaison
Sino-German lawyers jointly drafted the bilingual Legal Opinion and Negotiation Plan, explicitly citing relevant provisions of the Marriage and Family Book of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, Article 1697a of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) on the best interests of the child, and relevant rules of the Sino-German Agreement on Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgements. The document detailed the factual and legal basis for our custody claim, as well as legal consequences such as “dual-track litigation in China and Germany + property enforcement” if the German side refused to negotiate.
The German Office completed direct service of the documents and in-person communication on 22 December through the channel of German local practising lawyers, which greatly shortened the communication cycle compared with the traditional diplomatic service route, and quickly promoted the German side to enter the negotiation procedure.
4.26 December 2025 – 22 January 2026: Multiple Rounds of Negotiation and Finalisation of Plan
After receiving the legal documents and relevant evidence, the German side entrusted a local German lawyer to participate in the negotiation. The Sino-German joint case handling team participated in 4 rounds of online and offline negotiations. Combined with the typical precedent of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany on “the priority of the child’s long-term stable living environment for custody determination”, the team effectively refuted the German side’s defence that “the child has German nationality and should live with the father in Germany”. Meanwhile, the team negotiated details one by one, including child support payment standards, payment channels, adjustment mechanisms, and default remedies. Finally, the two parties reached a comprehensive agreement on divorce, sole physical custody of the child, and the child support payment plan.
5.23 January 2026: Signing of Agreement and Delivery of Enforcement Guarantee
The two parties formally signed a written divorce and child support agreement. Ms. Wang was granted sole physical custody of the child, and the husband confirmed to pay child support on a monthly basis in accordance with the agreed standard until the child reaches adulthood. The joint case handling team delivered the Case Closing Report and the Guidelines for Enforcement of Sino-German Cross-Border Child Support to the client, providing detailed operation guidelines on matters such as the child’s exit and entry arrangements, cross-border child support payment operations, and follow-up dispute relief channels, and clarified the cross-border compulsory enforcement path for child support under Sino-German bilateral judicial assistance.
III. Core Case Handling Difficulties and Authoritative Solutions
The difficulties in handling this case are common issues in Sino-German cross-border marriage and family disputes. With dual-jurisdiction professional capabilities and rich practical experience, the Guozun Cathay Associates joint team has formed a replicable standardised solution:
1.Jurisdictional Conflict and Optimal Choice in Cross-Border Cases
Professional Basis: Article 15 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, Article 12 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO) on jurisdiction over family cases
Solution: Simultaneously carry out jurisdiction argumentation under both Chinese and German laws, compare the differences between the courts of the two places in custody judgement standards, trial cycles, and enforcement efficiency, prioritise establishing the legitimacy of jurisdiction of Chinese courts and its advantages for the client, and formulate a response plan for litigation under German law, so as to take the initiative in jurisdiction selection.
2.Legal Determination of the Child’s Dual Nationality and Rights Connection
Professional Basis: Articles 3 and 5 of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China, relevant provisions on birth nationality in the German Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, StAG)
Solution: Clarify the legal rule that China does not recognise dual nationality, and consolidate the basis for determining the child’s identity as a Chinese citizen; meanwhile, connect the child’s nationality rights under German law, make special arrangements for matters such as the child’s exit and entry and rights protection within Germany, and take into account the child’s identity rights in both countries.
3.Unification of Cross-Jurisdiction Judicial Standards for Custody Determination
Professional Basis: The principle of “the best interests of minor children” in Article 1084 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, the principle of “the best interests of the child” in Article 1697a of the German Civil Code
Solution: Take “the child’s long-term stable living environment” as the core entry point, build a full-chain evidence system, simultaneously connect the common principles of custody judgement in China and Germany, cite typical local German precedents to strengthen the persuasiveness of our claim, and realise the unified adaptation of cross-jurisdiction judicial logic.
4.Payment and Long-Term Enforcement Guarantee of Cross-Border Child Support
Professional Basis: Article 1085 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, the Agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Germany on the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters
Solution: Clarify the compliance path and operation process of cross-border payments, and pre-agree on the adjustment mechanism and default trigger conditions of child support in the agreement; meanwhile, relying on the Sino-German bilateral judicial assistance agreement, establish a cross-border compulsory enforcement channel for subsequent arrears, and pre-position the enforcement guarantee to the negotiation stage to ensure the long-term enforceability of child support.
5.Conflict of Law Application for Personal Relations in Foreign-Related Family Affairs
Professional Basis: Articles 25 and 27 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations
Solution: Accurately identify different applicable law rules for litigation divorce and parent-child personal relations, prioritise the application of legal standards conducive to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minor children and women, take into account the legal cognition of both parties in the negotiation process, and reduce the obstruction of law application differences to the negotiation process.
IV. Authoritative Legal Bases Applicable to This Case
(A) Chinese Laws
1.Article 15 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China: Where one Chinese citizen resides abroad and the other resides in China, the people’s court at the place of domicile of the domestic party shall have jurisdiction over divorce proceedings instituted by either party. Where the party residing abroad files a lawsuit with the court of the country of residence, and the party residing in China files a lawsuit with the people’s court, the people’s court accepting the case shall have jurisdiction.
2.Article 25 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations: The laws at the mutual habitual residence shall apply to the personal and property relations between parents and children; if there is no mutual habitual residence, the laws at the habitual residence of either party or the laws of the state of nationality that are conducive to protecting the rights and interests of the weak shall apply.
3.Article 27 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations: Litigation divorce shall be governed by the law of the court place.
4.Paragraph 3 of Article 1084 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China: After divorce, a child under the age of two shall be raised by the mother directly in principle. For a child who has reached the age of two, if the parents fail to reach an agreement on the issue of raising the child, the people’s court shall make a judgement in accordance with the specific circumstances of both parties and in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the minor child. If a child has reached the age of eight, his or her true will shall be respected.
5.Article 1085 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China: After divorce, if the child is directly raised by one parent, the other parent shall bear part or all of the child support. The amount and duration of the expenses shall be agreed upon by both parties; if no agreement is reached, the people’s court shall make a judgement. The agreement or judgement prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall not prevent the child from making a reasonable request to either parent for an amount exceeding the original amount stipulated in the agreement or judgement when necessary.
6.Article 3 of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China: The People’s Republic of China does not recognise dual nationality for Chinese citizens.
7.Article 5 of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China: Any person born abroad, one or both of whose parents are Chinese citizens, shall have Chinese nationality; but a person born abroad, one or both of whose parents are Chinese citizens and are settled in a foreign country, and who has foreign nationality at birth, shall not have Chinese nationality.
(B) German Laws
1.Article 1697a of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB): In dealing with matters relating to the child, parents must give priority to the best interests of the child.
2.Article 1615 of the German Civil Code: Child support shall be borne by both parents. The parent who does not directly raise the child shall fulfil the maintenance obligation by paying money.
3.Article 12 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO): Family cases shall fall under the priority jurisdiction of the court at the child’s habitual residence.
(C) Bilateral Agreement
The Agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Germany on the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters: Judgements in civil and commercial matters rendered by the courts of China and Germany may be mutually recognised and enforced. Judgements related to child support may be enforced compulsorily in both countries through the bilateral judicial assistance mechanism.
V. Authoritative Practical Recommendations Based on the Experience of This Case
Combined with years of experience in Sino-German cross-border family legal services of the German Office of Guozun Cathay Associates, the following three authoritative recommendations are put forward for parties to Sino-German cross-border marriages and families:
1.Pre-positioned Identity and Residence Planning: After the birth of a child in a cross-border marriage, the child’s identity and long-term residence plan should be planned in advance in combination with the nationality rules of both countries, so as to avoid subsequent custody disputes caused by nationality and residence issues; if choosing to settle in China, nationality and household registration should be completed in a timely manner to solidify the stable living status.
2.Normalised Evidence Retention: Retain all certificates related to the child’s life, education, medical care and care on a daily basis, especially the records of raising and care during cross-border separation. In the event of a dispute, a complete evidence system can be quickly constructed to support the custody claim.
3.Professional Intervention in Rights Protection: In the event of a cross-border marriage and family dispute, a lawyer team with dual-jurisdiction service capabilities in China and Germany should be entrusted to intervene at the first time, carry out jurisdiction and law application research in advance, prioritise efficient resolution of disputes through negotiation, and at the same time make litigation plans and enforcement guarantee arrangements to avoid damage to rights and interests.