The Federal Constitutional Court has upheld a constitutional complaint brought by Raue in connection with the adoption of an adult (decision of 16 April 2025, 1 BvR 76/24).
The subject of the original proceedings before the family court was the adoption of an adult, distantly related grandnephew by the biological father of Raue’s client. The adoption primarily served to obtain tax advantages and circumvent the claims of the biological children. The Kiel Local Court granted the adoption without giving the biological children sufficient legal hearing and also clearly disregarded relevant provisions of adoption law.
Raue lodged a constitutional complaint against the local court’s decision on behalf of the biological daughter. In its ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court found that the local court’s decision was ‘not legally justifiable under any conceivable aspect’ and thus violated the prohibition of arbitrariness and the complainant’s fundamental right under Article 3(1) of the Basic Law.
The Federal Constitutional Court overturned the legal validity of the adoption decision and referred the case back to the local court. The local court has already announced its intention to overturn the adoption decision.
Raue has represented the client from the beginning of the proceedings and also successfully represented her in the proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court.
(7 October 2025)