Your resource for divorce law in The Netherlands
When parents with children decide to separate, there is a lot to arrange. The first period after a separation brings many changes, and that can unsettle the children. Bird nesting (in the Netherlands often written as birdnesting, and also simply called nesting) can be a temporary solution in this situation.Read more
This article answers some frequently asked questions we are regularly asked about parental custody and paternity in The Netherlands for unmarried parents.
In The Netherlands, joint custody requires both parents’ consent to apply for a child’s passport. If one parent is uncooperative or unreachable, judicial consent can be sought to bypass this. The process varies for applications made domestically versus from abroad, necessitating legal advice in contested cases. Starting early is essential.
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What if the biological parent is not a feature in the children’s lives but your new partner is? Sometimes after a divorce the other parent disappears and is not there to make the important decisions and a new partner is the ‘Dad’ in the children’s lives. Or the biological parentRead 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