How does a divorce procedure work?
A divorce must be pronounced by the district court, on a petition filed by a lawyer. The marriage only ends once the decision has been registered in the civil registry (burgerlijke stand). The rules are set out in Book 1 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Do you choose a joint or a unilateral petition?
With a joint petition (gemeenschappelijk verzoekschrift), you file one petition together with your partner. You then usually attach a divorce settlement (echtscheidingsconvenant) with the financial arrangements. If you have minor children, a parenting plan is also included. A hearing is then often not necessary.
With a unilateral petition (eenzijdig verzoek), only you have the petition filed. A bailiff (deurwaarder) formally serves the petition on your partner. Your partner then has six weeks to file a statement of defence. An oral hearing at the court usually follows.
Under Article 1:151 of the Dutch Civil Code, irretrievable breakdown (duurzame ontwrichting) is the only ground for divorce. Your partner therefore cannot stop the divorce by refusing. A defence mainly makes sense against the ancillary provisions, such as maintenance or the division. You can read more in our article on unilateral divorce.
Do you instruct a lawyer together or on your own?
A lawyer must sign the divorce petition (Article 278 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure), even if you agree completely. With a joint petition, one divorce lawyer can file the petition on behalf of you both.
Whether you instruct a lawyer together or on your own depends on how far you agree. One joint lawyer is cheaper, but may not advise either of you one-sidedly. With major interests or an unequal position, it is better for each of you to have your own divorce lawyer. If a conflict arises along the way, a joint lawyer must withdraw.
What are ancillary provisions and provisional arrangements?
Ancillary provisions (nevenvoorzieningen) are the requests you put to the court alongside the divorce itself. Think of child maintenance (kinderalimentatie), partner maintenance (partneralimentatie), the children's main residence and the division of assets.
If the proceedings take longer, you can request provisional arrangements (voorlopige voorzieningen) under Article 822 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure. The court then temporarily decides who stays in the home, where the children live and who pays which contribution. Read more about provisional arrangements in a divorce.
When are you officially divorced?
You are divorced as soon as the decision has been registered in the civil registry. Under Article 1:163 of the Dutch Civil Code, this must happen within six months after the decision has become final.
Your divorce lawyer sends the decision for this purpose to the municipality where the marriage is registered. The time limit for an appeal is three months. If you both waive an appeal with a deed of acquiescence (akte van berusting), registration can follow immediately. If you let the six-month period expire, the decision lapses and you remain married.
What do you need to arrange for the children?
If you have minor children, a parenting plan is mandatory under Article 815 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure; this obligation has applied since 1 March 2009. You also make arrangements about child maintenance. The court tests these against the needs of the child and the ability to pay of both parents.
What is in a parenting plan?
The parenting plan records at least three subjects:
- the division of care and upbringing tasks, or the contact arrangement (omgangsregeling);
- the way you inform and consult each other about school and medical care;
- the costs of caring for and raising the children.
You also state how you involved the children in the plan. Children aged 12 and older receive an invitation from the court to give their views. Joint parental authority (gezamenlijk gezag) continues after the divorce, but does not automatically mean an equal division of care. If you choose co-parenting (co-ouderschap), this has consequences for maintenance, as you can read in our article on child maintenance and co-parenting.
How is child maintenance calculated?
Courts use the recommendations of the Expertgroep Alimentatienormen (the expert group on maintenance standards), the Trema standards (Tremanormen). First, the child's needs are determined on the basis of the family income during the marriage. Then it is assessed which share each parent can bear. The duty of maintenance continues until the child turns 21. You can read more under the term child maintenance.
How long does partner maintenance last?
For requests filed on or after 1 January 2020, partner maintenance in principle lasts half the length of the marriage, with a maximum of five years. There are statutory exceptions for long marriages, young children and partners close to state pension (AOW) age.
| Situation | Maximum duration |
|---|---|
| Standard (request on or after 1 January 2020) | Half the length of the marriage, maximum 5 years |
| Children under 12 | Until the youngest child turns 12 |
| Marriage of more than 15 years and recipient within 10 years of state pension (AOW) age | Until the recipient's state pension (AOW) age |
| Marriage of more than 15 years and recipient born on or before 1 January 1970 | 10 years |
| Request filed before 1 January 2020 | In principle 12 years (old rules) |
You can agree on other arrangements together, for example a shorter duration or a lump-sum buyout. If the end of maintenance leads to a drastic and unreasonable situation, the recipient can ask the court to extend the period under the hardship clause (hardheidsclausule). You can read more on our page about maintenance.
How are the assets divided?
If you are married in community of property (gemeenschap van goederen), you in principle divide the community into two equal halves. What falls into that community depends on the date of your marriage and on any prenuptial agreement (huwelijkse voorwaarden). A divorce lawyer first maps out all assets and debts.
What is the difference between the old and the new community?
For marriages on or after 1 January 2018, the limited community of property (beperkte gemeenschap van goederen) applies. Assets and debts from before the marriage remain private, as do inheritances and gifts. Only what you build up during the marriage falls into the community.
If you married before 1 January 2018 without a prenuptial agreement, the general community (algehele gemeenschap) applies. In principle, it includes all assets, including those from before the marriage, except inheritances and gifts with an exclusion clause (uitsluitingsclausule). The community is dissolved on the day the petition is filed (Article 1:99 of the Dutch Civil Code).
If you married under a prenuptial agreement, it determines what you must settle. A common issue is a periodic settlement clause (periodiek verrekenbeding) that was never carried out. Also read our article on divorcing with a prenuptial agreement.
What happens to the home and the mortgage?
For an owner-occupied home, there are three routes: sell, one partner takes over the home, or you temporarily remain joint owners. Whoever takes over the home buys out the other or shares in any residual debt.
You both remain jointly and severally liable for the mortgage, even after the divorce. Only the bank can release the departing partner from it. The court can decide that one of you may continue to use the home for up to six months after registration (Article 1:165 of the Dutch Civil Code). You can read more in our article on the owner-occupied home in a divorce.
What happens to your own business?
If your own business falls into the community or under a settlement clause, its value must be determined. You usually engage an independent valuer for this. Read more about divorcing with your own business.
How is the pension divided?
The retirement pension built up during the marriage is divided under the Pension Rights Equalisation on Divorce Act (Wet verevening pensioenrechten bij scheiding). In principle, each partner receives half of the pension the other built up during the marriage.
You must notify the pension provider of the divorce within two years after registration. If you do not, the provider will not pay you directly. If you choose conversion (conversie), you receive your own pension entitlement that remains in place, even if your ex-partner dies. Your divorce lawyer records that choice in the settlement agreement. Read more in our article on pension on divorce.
What applies to a registered partnership, cohabitation or an international divorce?
You can end a registered partnership without minor children together without a court. With cohabitation there is no procedure, but there are rules for children and jointly owned property.
For that termination, you record the arrangements in an agreement co-signed by a lawyer or civil-law notary. If you have minor children together, the dissolution goes through the court. Cohabitants have no statutory right to partner maintenance, but child maintenance is always owed. See also our article on separating after cohabiting.
If you married abroad, you can divorce in the Netherlands if the Dutch court has jurisdiction. Within the EU, the Brussels II-ter Regulation determines this, usually on the basis of habitual residence. The Dutch court then applies Dutch law to the divorce itself (Article 10:56 of the Dutch Civil Code). Foreign law may apply to assets and maintenance. You can read more about international divorce.
How long does a divorce take, and when is mediation suitable?
A divorce on a joint petition usually takes a few weeks to two months after filing. A unilateral divorce with a defence often takes six months to a year, and longer on appeal.
If you want to avoid proceedings, mediation can help. A mediator guides the discussion neutrally, but advises neither of you. Our divorce lawyers can advise you alongside the mediation and review the draft settlement agreement. A divorce lawyer must still file the petition afterwards. See also our article on mediation in a divorce. You can also find general information on Rijksoverheid.nl (the Dutch government website).
