Dutch family law decides who owns what, who owes maintenance to whom and who may make decisions about a child, mostly without you choosing it. The rules in Book 1 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) apply from the moment you marry, register a partnership or acknowledge a child; only unmarried cohabitants fall largely outside them, unless they make their own arrangements.
Most people read these rules for the first time when a relationship ends. This article explains what Dutch family law regulates, why the form of your relationship matters and what you can arrange in advance, including when your family crosses borders.
Clàr-innse
Dè a tha fo chòmhdach lagh teaghlaich na h-Òlaind?
Book 1 BW covers marriage and registered partnership, the property regime, divorce, parentage and acknowledgement, adoption, parental authority, contact, child and spousal maintenance and names. It also contains the protective measures for adults: curatorship (curatele), administration (bewind) and mentorship (mentorschap).
Book 4 BW governs inheritance, and the Code of Civil Procedure (Rv) sets out how family cases are brought. Most cases start with a petition (verzoekschrift), and a divorce petition must be filed by a lawyer.
Large parts of family law are mandatory. You cannot contract out of the duty to maintain your child, a marriage can only be dissolved by a court, and the court tests every arrangement about children against the child’s interests.
Why does the form of your relationship matter?
Dutch law recognises marriage, registered partnership and unmarried cohabitation. Marriage and registered partnership have almost identical legal effects; cohabitation has very few by law.
Marriage and registered partnership both create a statutory property regime, a mutual duty of support, inheritance rights and, for children born during the relationship, automatic joint parental authority. The main difference is the exit. A marriage can only be ended by the court, while a registered partnership without minor children can be ended out of court by an agreement drawn up by lawyers or a civil-law notary and registered with the municipality. See our article on a’ cur crìoch air com-pàirteachas clàraichte.
Cohabitants owe each other no maintenance, share no property by law and do not inherit from each other, however many years they live together. Anything they want must be arranged: a cohabitation agreement (samenlevingscontract), wills, a partner registration with the pension fund and acknowledgement of children.
Since 1 January 2023, an unmarried partner who acknowledges a child in most cases automatically obtains joint parental authority with the mother. For children acknowledged before that date, a separate registration in the authority register was needed, so check what was actually registered.
Dè a tha air a roinn agus dè a dh’fhanas leatsa?
For marriages and registered partnerships entered into on or after 1 January 2018, the default is a limited community of property (beperkte gemeenschap van goederen). Property from before the relationship and gifts and inheritances stay private; what is built up during the relationship is joint. Couples who married before 2018 are in principle in the old general community, in which almost everything became joint on the wedding day.
On divorce the community is divided in equal shares under Article 1:100 BW. The hard part is establishing what is joint, what is private and which reimbursement claims exist. A partner who deliberately hides a joint asset loses their share in it under Article 3:194(2) BW.
A civil-law notary can draw up a marriage or partnership settlement (huwelijkse voorwaarden or partnerschapsvoorwaarden) that departs from the default, for example by excluding any community or agreeing a yearly settlement of savings. A yearly settlement clause that was never carried out is a frequent source of dispute on divorce. Our article on the coimhearsnachd seilbh cuibhrichte a’ mìneachadh an rèim nas mionaidiche.
How are children protected?
Parents with joint parental authority (gezag) keep it after a separation. They continue to decide together about school, medical treatment and residence, and one parent cannot move a child abroad alone.
Separating parents with joint authority must make a parenting plan (ouderschapsplan) on care, information, consultation and costs, and file it with the divorce petition. The court normally invites children aged twelve and older to give their views. Our guide to the plana pàrantachd anns na Tìrean Ìsle a’ mìneachadh dè a dh’fheumas a bhith ann.
Both parents owe child maintenance until the child turns 21, also when a young adult aged 18 to 21 is not studying. The amount is calculated with the judiciary’s maintenance guidelines (Tremanormen), and maintenance is indexed every year on 1 January by a percentage set by the Minister of Justice and Security. If you stop paying, the National Maintenance Collection Agency (LBIO) can collect the arrears; a change in circumstances requires a court application or a new agreement.
When do former partners owe each other maintenance?
Former spouses and registered partners owe each other spousal maintenance (partneralimentatie) if one of them cannot reasonably support themselves. Cohabitants do not, unless they agreed it in writing.
For maintenance granted since 1 January 2020, the term is half the length of the marriage, with a maximum of five years. There are three exceptions:
- With children together, maintenance runs until the youngest child turns twelve.
- After a marriage of more than fifteen years, if the recipient reaches state pension (AOW) age within ten years, it runs until that age.
- After a marriage of more than fifteen years, if the recipient was born on or before 1 January 1970, it runs for ten years.
If several exceptions apply, the longest term counts. The amount depends on the recipient’s need and the payer’s capacity. The obligation ends for good if the recipient remarries, registers a new partnership or lives with a new partner as if married.
How does family law reach your business?
If shares in a private limited company (BV) or a sole proprietorship fall within the community of property, they must be valued and settled on divorce. Even a privately owned business can lead to a compensation claim if joint money or effort increased its value during the marriage.
Read your marriage settlement together with the company documents. Transfer restrictions in the articles of association, a shareholders’ agreement and an agreed valuation method all determine what a divorce can do to the company.
Inheritance works the same way. Under Book 4 BW, children have a claim to a statutory share (legitieme portie) even if they are disinherited, so a child who is not involved in the company can still hold a money claim against the estate. Our overview of lagh oighreachd Duitseach a’ mìneachadh an roinneadh reachdail.
Which court and which law apply to an international family?
Within the EU, jurisdiction in divorce and parental responsibility cases follows the Brussels II ter Regulation and maintenance follows the EU Maintenance Regulation. For marriages concluded on or after 29 January 2019, the EU Matrimonial Property Regulation determines which country’s property law applies.
As a result, a Dutch court may hear your case while foreign law governs your property, or the other way round. Where several courts have jurisdiction, the first to receive a case often decides where it is heard. You can usually choose the applicable law in advance, in a marriage settlement or a separate document drawn up by a notary.
International child abduction falls under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention. In the Netherlands, these return cases are heard by a specialised chamber of the District Court of The Hague under tight time limits, so act immediately if a child is taken abroad or not returned after a holiday.
What can you arrange in advance?
Most disputes become smaller with a document signed while the relationship is still good. Four documents matter most:
- Cohabitation agreement: records contributions, ownership of the home and contents and what happens on separation; pension funds often require a notarial agreement for a partner pension.
- Marriage or partnership settlement: sets the property regime and can keep a business outside the community; a yearly settlement clause only works if you carry it out each year.
- An tiomnadh: decides who inherits, appoints an executor and can keep an inheritance out of a child’s future divorce through an exclusion clause.
- Lasting power of attorney (levenstestament): appoints someone to act for you if you can no longer decide yourself, so no court-appointed administrator or mentor is needed.
What should you check if you are married or in a registered partnership?
- The date of your marriage: before or after 1 January 2018.
- Whether you have a marriage settlement and whether any settlement clause has been carried out.
- Which country’s law governs your property if you married abroad or have different nationalities.
- Whether your business shares fall within the community.
- Whether your wills still fit your family situation.
What should you check if you live together unmarried?
- Whether you have a written, preferably notarial, cohabitation agreement.
- Whether your partner is registered with your pension fund.
- Whether you both have wills, because without them you do not inherit from each other.
- Whether your child has been acknowledged and joint authority registered.
- In which shares you own the home according to the deed of transfer.
What should you do if a family matter is coming your way?
Start with the facts: the date of the marriage or partnership, any settlement, the property from before and during the relationship and what has been agreed about the children. Collect these documents early, because access to information becomes harder once there is conflict.
Then choose the process. Many cases are settled by agreement, with one mediating lawyer or two negotiating lawyers, and only the outcome goes to court. Other cases need provisional measures (voorlopige voorzieningen) straight away, for example on the use of the family home or urgent maintenance.
Dè as urrainn dhuinn a dhèanamh dhut le lagh teaghlaich Duitseach?
Tha ar n- sgioba lagh teaghlaich advises expats and Dutch clients on every stage of family life; you can see who does what on our duilleag na sgioba.
- We review your marriage settlement or cohabitation agreement and tell you what it means on separation.
- We establish which court has jurisdiction and which law applies to your international family.
- We calculate child and spousal maintenance with the current guidelines.
- We draft your parenting plan and divorce covenant and file the divorce petition.
- We apply for provisional measures when something cannot wait.
- We act in return proceedings under the Hague Child Abduction Convention.
Geàrr-chunntas
- Book 1 BW governs marriage, partnership, children and maintenance; much of it is mandatory.
- Marriage and registered partnership have almost the same effects; cohabitants must arrange everything themselves.
- Since 2018 the default is a limited community of property, divided in equal shares on divorce.
- Child maintenance runs until 21; spousal maintenance is in principle limited to five years.
- International families should check jurisdiction and applicable law early, and consider a choice of law.
Ceistean Àbhaisteach
What are the key areas covered by Dutch family law?
Book 1 of the Dutch Civil Code covers marriage and registered partnership, the property regime, divorce, parentage and acknowledgement, adoption, parental authority and contact, child and spousal maintenance, and the protective measures of curatorship, administration and mentorship for adults.
How does Dutch family law protect individuals?
Mainly through mandatory rules and court review. A marriage can only be dissolved by the court, a parenting plan is required when separating parents share authority, the duty to maintain a child cannot be contracted away, and the court tests arrangements about children against their interests.
Do unmarried partners have the same rights as spouses?
No. Cohabitants owe each other no maintenance, share no property by law and do not inherit from each other. They need a cohabitation agreement, wills and a pension registration. Since 1 January 2023, acknowledgement of a child in most cases gives joint parental authority.
How does a divorce affect my business?
If shares or the business fall within the community of property, they are valued and divided on divorce. A privately owned business can still lead to a compensation claim if it grew with joint money or effort. Align your marriage settlement with the articles of association and any shareholders’ agreement.
