Divorce in the Netherlands: what must you settle and when?

When you end your marriage in the Netherlands, you must settle four subjects: the division of property (including the house), pension, maintenance and, if you have children under 18, a parenting plan. That applies both to a divorce and to a legal separation (scheiding van tafel en bed); the difference is that after a legal separation you are still married and cannot remarry.

The four subjects in brief:

• Property: the matrimonial property must be divided, or the prenuptial agreement settled. For marriages entered into on or after 1 January 2018, this in principle means dividing what was built up during the marriage, while property from before the marriage, gifts and inheritances remain private.
• Maintenance: for children until they reach 21, calculated according to published guidelines, and for a former spouse where there is a need and the other can pay, for a period limited by law, with exceptions for long marriages, young children and those close to state pension age.
• Children: where there are children under 18, a parenting plan must in principle be filed with the petition.
• Pension: pension rights built up during the marriage are in principle divided equally. To have the pension provider pay the share directly, you must notify it within two years of the divorce, using the official form.

Two practical points decide the timetable. Where both spouses agree, a joint petition through one lawyer, often after mediation, is considerably faster and cheaper than a contested procedure. And the court’s decision must be registered in the civil status register within six months of becoming final; otherwise it lapses and the procedure has to start again.

What is the difference between divorce and legal separation?

A divorce permanently ends your marriage; a legal separation allows you to live apart while remaining married. The two follow separate procedures and have different consequences for your marital status.

What does a divorce mean legally?

A divorce formally and permanently dissolves your marriage. Once the court’s decision has become final and has been registered, you are no longer married and you are free to remarry.

The court pronounces the divorce on the basis of a petition. If you have agreed on the consequences, for example in a divorce settlement agreement (echtscheidingsconvenant) and a parenting plan, the court can include those agreements in its decision. If you disagree, the court can decide on disputed matters such as maintenance, the parenting arrangements and, on request, the division.

The marriage only ends when the decision has been registered in the civil status register. That registration is described below under the formalities.

What is a legal separation?

A legal separation (scheiding van tafel en bed, literally separation from bed and board) is a court decision that ends the obligation to live together, but keeps the marriage in existence. You remain married and cannot remarry.

The legal separation dissolves the community of property, so the property must be divided just as in a divorce. The court can also decide on maintenance and on arrangements for the children.

Some couples choose a legal separation for religious or personal reasons, or because they are not yet sure about a divorce.

How can a legal separation be converted into a divorce?

You can later have the marriage dissolved after a legal separation. If you both request it, that is possible at any time; if only one of you requests it, the separation must have lasted at least three years under Article 1:179 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW).

In exceptional cases, one spouse can request dissolution after one year if the other spouse’s conduct is so serious that continuing the marriage cannot reasonably be expected. In practice, most people who separate choose a divorce straight away.

What are the main differences and similarities?

Your marital status is the main difference: after a divorce you are unmarried, after a legal separation you are still married. Both require the same four subjects to be settled.

Because you remain married after a legal separation, some legal effects of marriage continue, for example in inheritance law.

On what grounds can you divorce?

The Netherlands has a no-fault system: a divorce is granted because the marriage has broken down irretrievably, without anyone having to prove blame. One spouse can file for divorce even if the other does not want it.

In practice, the court accepts that the marriage has broken down if one of you states so. Proof of wrongdoing, such as adultery, is not needed and does not affect the division or maintenance.

Which procedure applies, and what about international cases?

A divorce is filed with the district court (rechtbank), either as a joint petition or as a unilateral petition. Both require a lawyer: you cannot file a divorce petition yourself.

With a joint petition, you have agreed on everything and one lawyer can file for both of you. With a unilateral petition, one spouse files and the other can respond through his or her own lawyer. A unilateral procedure generally takes longer and costs more.

In cross-border situations, for example when you married abroad, have different nationalities or one of you lives outside the Netherlands, the first question is whether the Dutch court has jurisdiction and which law applies to maintenance, property and the children. Within the EU, European regulations determine this. Get advice before you file, because the choice of court can affect the outcome.

Should you involve a lawyer, a mediator or both?

A lawyer is always needed to file the petition; a mediator can help you reach agreements together. Many couples combine both.

Which combination fits depends on how well you and your spouse can communicate and on the complexity of your finances.

How do mediation and a settlement agreement work?

In divorce mediation, a neutral mediator helps you and your spouse reach agreements without going to court. The mediator does not take sides and guides the discussions on the children, property, maintenance and pension.

The agreements are recorded in a parenting plan and a divorce settlement agreement. A lawyer then files a joint petition, and the court can include the agreements in its decision.

Mediation usually costs less than litigation and gives you more control over the outcome. You can still have your own lawyer review the agreements before you sign them.

What does a divorce cost?

The costs consist of the court fee and the fees of your lawyer and any mediator. At the time of writing, the Judiciary (Rechtspraak) states a court fee of €341 for a divorce procedure.

Lawyers’ and mediators’ fees vary widely, depending on the hourly rate and the work your case requires. Ask for a written fee agreement in advance, so you know what is included.

If your income is low, you may be eligible for legal aid through the Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand), with a reduced court fee and an income-related contribution. A family lawyer can apply for this on your behalf.

What must you arrange for the children?

If you have children under 18, you must make agreements on their care, upbringing and costs, and record them in a parenting plan. In principle, you both keep joint parental responsibility after the divorce.

The rules on the parenting plan apply when married parents or registered partners divorce, and also when unmarried parents with joint parental responsibility separate.

What must a parenting plan contain?

You must file a parenting plan (ouderschapsplan) with the divorce petition. Under Article 815 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering, Rv), it must at least contain agreements on:

• how you divide care and upbringing tasks, or the contact arrangements;
• how you inform and consult each other about important matters concerning the children, such as school and medical treatment;
• the costs of care and upbringing, including child maintenance;
• how you involved the children in drafting the plan.

Many parents also include agreements on holidays, religion, pocket money and how to resolve future disagreements, for example through mediation. That is not required by Article 815 Rv.

If you cannot agree on a parenting plan, you must explain why in the petition, and the court decides on the disputed points.

Who has parental responsibility after the divorce?

In principle, both parents keep joint parental responsibility (gezamenlijk gezag) after the divorce under Article 1:251 BW. You continue to take major decisions about schooling, medical treatment and residence together.

You also both have the right and the duty to maintain contact with the children. The parental responsibility of one parent alone is the exception.

The court only awards sole parental responsibility at the request of a parent if there is an unacceptable risk that the child becomes trapped or lost between the parents and this is not expected to improve sufficiently in the foreseeable future, or if a change is otherwise necessary in the child’s interests (Article 1:251a BW). The parent without parental responsibility in principle keeps the right to contact, unless the court decides otherwise.

How is child maintenance determined?

Both parents must contribute to the costs of care and upbringing of children under 18, and to the costs of living and study of children aged 18 to 21 (Article 1:395a BW). The amount is calculated using the guidelines of the family judges.

The calculation takes into account:

• the needs of the children, based on the parents’ income during the marriage;
• the financial capacity of each parent;
• the care arrangement, because care costs are deducted from the contribution of the parent who has the children part of the time.

Child benefit (kinderbijslag) is paid by the Social Insurance Bank (SVB). In a co-parenting arrangement, where the children live roughly equally with both parents, each parent is entitled to half, but the SVB prefers to pay it to one parent, who then shares it with the other.

How are the house, other assets and debts divided?

The division depends on your matrimonial property regime, which determines what falls under joint property and what remains private. You must also settle pension rights and any maintenance obligations to reach a complete financial settlement.

Full or limited community of property?

If you married in the Netherlands before 1 January 2018 without a prenuptial agreement, you are in principle married in full community of property (algehele gemeenschap van goederen). If you married on or after that date, a limited community of property applies.

In a full community, in principle all assets and debts from before and during the marriage are joint, including most gifts and inheritances, unless an exclusion clause applied. On divorce, the community is in principle divided equally.

In the limited community for marriages from 1 January 2018, only what was built up during the marriage is joint. Property you owned before the marriage, and gifts and inheritances you received, in principle remain private, without an exclusion clause being needed. Private property that was already jointly owned before the marriage, such as a house bought together, becomes part of the community.

You can make different arrangements in a prenuptial agreement (huwelijkse voorwaarden). These often contain a periodic or final settlement clause, which requires you to share income or assets built up during the marriage even though the property is kept separate. If a periodic settlement clause was never carried out, the settlement at the divorce can be substantial.

If you married abroad, or one of you had a foreign nationality or residence at the time of the marriage, a different law may apply to your property regime. Have that checked first.

How do you divide the property and debts?

List all assets and debts that fall under the community or the settlement, value them and agree who gets what. The shared home is usually the most important item.

For the house, you decide whether one of you takes it over and buys out the other, or whether you sell it. A takeover requires that the mortgage lender releases the leaving spouse from joint liability for the mortgage debt. The value is usually determined by an independent appraisal.

Other assets and debts include:

• savings, bank accounts and investments;
• household effects and personal belongings;
• business interests or shares, vehicles and valuable collections;
• debts, such as loans and credit card debts.

Joint debts are in principle divided equally. Towards creditors, however, you can remain liable for debts you entered into together, whatever you agree between yourselves.

Two dates matter. Under Article 1:99 BW, the community is dissolved at the moment the divorce petition is filed; that determines which assets and debts fall into the community. The value is in principle determined at the moment of division, unless you agree otherwise.

You record the division in a divorce settlement agreement (echtscheidingsconvenant). If real estate is transferred, a deed from a civil-law notary is also needed. The court can include the agreements in its decision; if you disagree, the court can decide on the division at the request of one of you.

How are pension rights divided?

Pension rights built up during the marriage are in principle divided equally, unless you agree otherwise in your prenuptial agreement or settlement agreement. This is called pension equalisation (pensioenverevening).

The rules are laid down in the Pension Rights Equalisation (Divorce) Act (Wet verevening pensioenrechten bij scheiding) of 1994, which still applies. The pension provider is not informed automatically. You or your ex-spouse must notify it within two years of the date on which the divorce was registered, using the official notification form (mededelingsformulier in verband met verdeling van ouderdomspensioen bij scheiding). If the form arrives in time, the provider pays each of you your share directly once the pension starts.

If nobody notifies the provider in time, the right to half of the pension does not disappear, but the ex-spouse must then claim the share directly from the other spouse once the pension is paid. That keeps you financially dependent on each other for many years. You can also agree on conversion (conversie), where the share is turned into a separate pension entitlement of your own; ask the pension provider in good time whether and how it allows this.

A new Pension Division on Divorce Act (Wet pensioenverdeling bij scheiding 2022) would make conversion the standard and have the provider arrange the division. That bill has been postponed several times and is not in force. Until it takes effect, the two-year notification remains essential.

Some pensions need extra attention. Pensions in your own private limited company, annuities and some foreign pensions require separate agreements. The state pension (AOW) is not divided.

When is partner maintenance payable, and for how long?

Partner maintenance (partneralimentatie) is payable if one ex-spouse cannot provide for his or her own living and the other can pay. For divorce petitions filed from 1 January 2020, the maximum duration is in principle five years.

There are exceptions to the five-year period:

• if you have children under 12, maintenance lasts until the youngest child turns 12;
• if the marriage lasted at least 15 years and the recipient is within 10 years of the state pension age, maintenance lasts until the state pension age;
• if the marriage lasted at least 15 years and the recipient was born on or before 1 January 1970, the maximum is 10 years.

The amount is calculated on the basis of need and the capacity to pay, using the guidelines of the family judges. Factors include the income during the marriage, the recipient’s earning capacity, age, care for the children and the length of the marriage. You can agree on a different amount or duration in the settlement agreement. Older rules apply to divorces filed before 2020.

Which formalities follow after the court’s decision?

The divorce must be registered in the civil status register within six months of the decision becoming final. After that, you update your details with the tax authorities, benefit agencies, insurers and banks.

How is the divorce registered?

Your lawyer sends the final decision to the civil registrar for registration. If you married in the Netherlands, that is the municipality where the marriage was registered; if you married abroad, it is in principle the municipality of The Hague.

The decision becomes final once the appeal period of three months has passed, or earlier if both parties waive the right to appeal, which is common in a joint petition. The registration must take place within six months after that. If it does not, the decision lapses and you are still married (Article 1:163 BW).

If you divorced abroad, the foreign divorce may need to be recognised and registered in the Netherlands. Foreign documents from outside the EU often require legalisation or an apostille. Check this with the municipality.

What are the tax and residence consequences?

After the divorce you are no longer each other’s tax partner, which affects your income tax, allowances (toeslagen) and mortgage interest deduction. Report the change to the Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) in time.

Points to check:

• benefits and allowances, such as healthcare, rent and childcare allowance, are recalculated on your own income;
• mortgage interest deduction: the rules for a house you leave or take over are specific, so have them checked before you sign;
• maintenance: partner maintenance paid is in principle deductible for the payer and taxed for the recipient, while child maintenance is not;
• state pension (AOW): if you have reached the state pension age and live alone after the divorce, you receive the single-person rate, which is about 70% of the net minimum wage, instead of the rate for people living together.

If your residence permit is based on your marriage, a divorce can affect your right to stay in the Netherlands. In some cases you can continue to reside on another basis, for example after a certain period of residence or because of your children. Seek advice before the divorce is registered.

If you move, register at your new address with the municipality. The municipality passes on your new address to other government bodies.

What personal details and authorisations should you change?

You need your own DigiD login for government services, such as your tax return and allowances. Cancel any authorisations your ex-spouse holds to act on your behalf.

Other points for your checklist:

• health, home, car and liability insurance, especially if you were insured through your ex-spouse’s policy;
• life insurance and beneficiary designations;
• joint bank accounts and credit cards;
• your will, which does not lapse automatically on divorce;
• the name you use, if you used your spouse’s surname, and your details with your bank, employer and healthcare providers.

What can we do for you with your divorce?

Our divorce lawyers assist spouses in the Netherlands, including international couples, from the settlement agreement to proceedings about the children, maintenance and the house.

• We file a joint petition for both of you, or a unilateral petition with the district court.
• We draft the parenting plan and the divorce settlement agreement (echtscheidingsconvenant).
• We calculate child and partner maintenance using the guidelines of the family judges.
• We check whether the Dutch court has jurisdiction and which law applies in an international divorce.
• We send the final decision to the civil registrar within the six-month period and prepare the pension notification form.

Summary

• A divorce ends the marriage; a legal separation dissolves the community of property but keeps the marriage in existence.
• Four subjects must be settled: the division of property and the house, pension, maintenance and, with children under 18, a parenting plan. Notify the pension provider within two years of the divorce.
• For marriages from 1 January 2018, property from before the marriage, gifts and inheritances in principle remain private.
• Partner maintenance in principle lasts at most five years, with exceptions; child maintenance runs until the child turns 21.
• The decision must be registered within six months of becoming final, otherwise it lapses.

Frequently asked questions