Uneheliche Kinder

Illegitimate Children, children whose mother has never been married and children who are born more than 302 days after their mother's marriage has been dissolved. The man who cohabited with the mother of an illegitimate child between the 302^nd and 180^th day before birth is regarded as the father of that child. Paternity is established by judgement or acknowledgement. The child's legal status is mainly laid down in the Law on Illegitimate Children of 1970 and in the Kindschaftsrechtsänderungsgesetz (Amending Law on Parent/Child Relationship) of 1989 (in force since 1991). Illegitimate children are given their mother's maiden name and citizenship; moreover, the mother is solely responsible for her child's custody and education. While until 1991 official guardians (Youth Affairs, Office of) were in charge of administering illegitimate children's property and also acted as their legal representatives, today it is the mothers themselves who represent their children's interests; in 1991 the inferior legal status of illegitimate children regarding succession was abrogated, so that today legitimate and illegitimate children are equal before the law. The number of illegitimately born children in Austria rose from 12,665 in 1975 to 25,075 in 1993.

Literature: H. Koziol and R. Welser, Grundriß des bürgerlichen Rechts, vol. 2, 1991.