As a parent, what do I need to do when my adult child leaves home?
My firstborn will leave home soon and is off to study at a university a few hours away from home. Being a first, this is quite a new situation for me. What we (mostly she herself) have done so far is:
Enlist at the university.
Find a place in a shared apartment.
Inform the Familienkasse (Family Benefits Office) so the Kindergeld (Child Benefit payment) keeps flowing.
Inform our Gesetzliche Krankenkasse (National Health Insurance).
She should be covered by our Haftpflichtversicherung (Liability Insurance) due to being less than 25 years and it being the first course of studies, although I have to give the small print a good read-through again, regarding this.
What else do we need to do along these lines (related to laws, insurances, money etc.) or risk dire consequences otherwise? She doesn't drive a car. Anything else we should know/do? Anything that's optional, but would be really bad to miss for some reason? Or would be really good to do now instead of later?
I'm mostly interested in stuff that involves the parents in some fashion or is really non-optional - I trust that she'll handle everything related to the university on her own.
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Your list is pretty good as it is. You can check if she's eligible to apply for BAföG (combination of student loans and scholarships). In that case she will need data from you for the application.
A general tip, the AStA (Allgemeiner Studierenden-Ausschuss - political student union) and Studierendenwerk (social student union) often has guides and counseling opportunities for new students who can help her with these things.
Without claiming any kind of completeness from my (somewhat ancient) past the following points come to my mind, additionally to your list:
In non-Covid times many "Fachschaften" (student union on department level) provide 1-2 day introductions. Try their web site for instructions. Maybe they went virtual
Your child will have to register with the local "Einwohnermeldeamt" (resident office of the local council).
If she has strong connections to their privious locality of residence (like, she wants to be eligible in local elections) she might have to fight to have it accepted as their "Erstwohnsitz" (primary place of residence)
There are different organisations that provide scholarships. They differ in what emphesis they lay on academics and on non-academic activities. Many are party affiliated, but you don't have to be a party member to get a scholarship.
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