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BGB § 1685 — Umgang des Kindes mit anderen Bezugspersonen (verbatim)

Jurisdiction: Germany · Citation: Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch § 1685 · Authoritative source: gesetze-im-internet.de — § 1685 BGB

The third-party contact provision in German family law — establishing contact rights for grandparents, siblings, and close reference persons who have assumed actual responsibility for the child (sozial-familiäre Beziehung). § 1685 BGB operates parallel to the § 1684 contact-right framework but for non-parent reference persons. It is doctrinally significant in PA litigation because alienating-conduct patterns frequently extend to extended-family contact — grandparents, siblings, step-relatives — which can be addressed under § 1685 independently of the parent-to-parent framework.

Verbatim text (current consolidated)

§ 1685 BGB — Umgang des Kindes mit anderen Bezugspersonen

(1) Großeltern und Geschwister haben ein Recht auf Umgang mit dem Kind, wenn dieser dem Wohl des Kindes dient.

(2) Gleiches gilt für enge Bezugspersonen des Kindes, wenn diese für das Kind tatsächliche Verantwortung tragen oder getragen haben (sozial-familiäre Beziehung). Eine Übernahme tatsächlicher Verantwortung ist in der Regel anzunehmen, wenn die Person mit dem Kind längere Zeit in häuslicher Gemeinschaft zusammengelebt hat.

(3) § 1684 Abs. 2 bis 4 gilt entsprechend. Eine Umgangspflegschaft nach § 1684 Abs. 3 Satz 3 bis 5 kann das Familiengericht nur anordnen, wenn die Voraussetzungen des § 1666 Abs. 1 erfüllt sind.

English working translation

§ 1685 BGB — Contact of the child with other reference persons

(1) Grandparents and siblings have a right of contact with the child where such contact serves the welfare of the child.

(2) The same applies to close reference persons of the child where these persons bear or have borne actual responsibility for the child (socio-familial relationship). The assumption of actual responsibility is, as a rule, to be presumed where the person has lived in domestic community with the child for an extended period.

(3) § 1684 paragraphs 2 to 4 apply correspondingly. A contact custodianship under § 1684 paragraph 3 sentences 3 to 5 may be ordered by the family court only where the conditions of § 1666 paragraph 1 are satisfied.

Why this matters for PA

  • Grandparent and sibling contact framework. Subsection (1) establishes an independent right of contact for grandparents and siblings, gated on the welfare-of-the-child test. In PA litigation this is operationally important: where an alienating parent has not only frustrated the targeted parent's contact but extended the conduct to block grandparent/sibling contact, § 1685 (1) provides an independent route for the grandparents/siblings to seek contact directly.
  • Subsection (2) — sozial-familiäre Beziehung. Close reference persons who bear or have borne actual responsibility — the sozial-familiäre Beziehung concept extends contact rights beyond blood-relative grandparents/siblings to step-parents, long-term partners of the parent, and other persons who have functioned in a parental-equivalent role. The presumption of "actual responsibility" upon extended cohabitation is the operative trigger. This is doctrinally significant in modern family configurations.
  • Subsection (3) — § 1684 cross-reference. § 1684 Abs. 2 bis 4 gilt entsprechend. The Wohlverhaltensklausel under § 1684 (2) applies — third-party contact-holders also bear the cooperation duty and the duty not to impair the child's relationship with each parent. This is structurally important: a grandparent who is being weaponised by the alienating parent (e.g. acting as the alienating parent's surrogate against the targeted parent during contact) is subject to the same Wohlverhaltensklausel.
  • Subsection (3) — Umgangspflegschaft restriction. The Umgangspflegschaft (contact custodianship) under § 1684 (3) can be ordered for third-party contact only where the § 1666 Kindeswohlgefährdung conditions are met. This is a higher threshold than for parent contact — reflecting the structural distinction between parental and third-party contact-right enforcement.
  • The interaction with alienating conduct. Where the alienating parent's conduct extends to blocking extended-family contact:
  • The grandparents/siblings can independently apply under § 1685 (1)
  • The cooperation-duty under § 1684 (2) applies to the resident parent's facilitation of § 1685 contact
  • The welfare-jeopardy threshold under § 1666 must be met for Umgangspflegschaft escalation

Procedural application

  • The competent court is the Familiengericht sitting under the FamFG procedural code
  • The grandparent/sibling/reference person can apply independently (no parental consent required)
  • The Jugendamt (youth welfare authority) provides welfare-assessment input
  • The court applies the welfare-of-the-child test — § 1685 (1)/(2) is not absolute; it operates only where contact serves welfare
  • Where the parent and the third party disagree, the court reasons through welfare assessment supported by Sachverständigengutachten (psychological expert assessment) — see expert evidence comparative

Use in alienating-conduct cases

  • The leading German jurisprudence on § 1685 in alienation contexts is the BGH XII ZB line — the welfare-of-the-child test means that grandparent contact can be ordered where the welfare assessment supports it, but cannot be ordered solely on the grandparents' wishes
  • Where the alienating parent is using grandparents/extended family as an extension of the alienating-conduct pattern (e.g. enlisting grandparents in disparagement of the targeted parent), § 1685 (3) + § 1684 (2) Wohlverhaltensklausel applies to the third party also
  • Where the targeted parent's parents (paternal/maternal grandparents) are being blocked from contact, § 1685 (1) provides an independent procedural route — distinct from the parent-to-parent contact framework

Cross-reference

Sources & authoritative references

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