Your resource for divorce law in The Netherlands
In The Netherlands, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are exclusively drawn up by a notary public. In Dutch, the correct term is notaris. Surprisingly to most foreigners, a notaris is not a lawyer or solicitor. Notaries form a separate profession with its own rules and regulations. This means that hiring a lawyer isRead more
The Dutch government has announced that all maintenance/ alimony obligations will be indexed by 1.9 % as per the 1st of January 2022. The indexation percentage is linked to inflation and announced at the end of November of each year.
Child maintenance is usually owed until the age of 21 in The Netherlands. However, a child legally reaches majority at 18. Who is therefore responsible for requesting maintenance for young adults once they reach the age of 18?
You found your dream home. And as far as you were concerned everything was perfect until a crisis arose in your marriage. You are now getting a divorce. But who gets the house? Your spouse was never that interested in the house, but suddenly they want to keep it.
Dutch law requires spouses to share their pensions when getting a divorce. This post tackles some frequently asked questions about sharing foreign pensions in The Netherlands. So what do we share exactly? Any type of old age pension that has been built up from the time of marriage until theRead more
After an ugly divorce or after a parent dies, grandparents may lose contact with their grandchildren. Contact can be particularly difficult if the grandparents live outside of The Netherlands. So what are the options for grandparents to maintain a relationship with their grandchildren in The Netherlands?
Usually, the Dutch divorce courts are only competent to hear divorce cases if one of the parties lives in The Netherlands or both parties are of Dutch nationality (see here for a full overview of when the courts have jurisdiction). During the Covid-19 pandemic, however, it is not always possibleRead more
What an be sweeter than a picture posted on social media by a proud parent of their child? Or a grandmother that posts a video of their grandchild? Even these simple actions can lead to conflict if one of the parents does not approve. In most cases, these conflicts ariseRead more
Expatriates regularly move around the world for their job and often receive additional allowances for this. Allowances are meant to compensate for differences in the cost of living in another country, costs of relocation, costs of education or loss of income by a partner due to relocation. But, if theRead more
A proposal to enshrine in law that fathers* have automatic legal custody of a child once they are legally recognised as the father, was recently passed by the Dutch lower house. This legislation, fully recognising parental custody of unmarried parents, now awaits approval in the upper house. *This bill isRead more