A joint divorce petition is a divorce that both spouses apply for together, through a single lawyer or a mediator working with one. It is the fastest and least expensive route, and the one most Dutch divorces take.
Legal basis
Article 1:150 of the Dutch Civil Code provides that a marriage can be dissolved by divorce, and Article 1:151 gives the only ground: the marriage has irretrievably broken down. Where the petition is joint, the court accepts that ground without further inquiry. The petition must be filed by a lawyer; spouses cannot file it themselves.
Where there are minor children, a parenting plan must be attached, as Article 815 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires.
How it runs
The spouses record their arrangements in a divorce settlement agreement covering the division of assets and debts, the house and mortgage, pension equalisation and any spousal maintenance. That agreement plus the parenting plan goes to the court with the petition. Because there is nothing in dispute, there is usually no hearing, and the decree follows within a few weeks.
The divorce takes effect only on registration in the register of civil status of the municipality where the marriage was concluded. That registration must be requested within six months of the decree becoming final, failing which the decree lapses and the whole procedure has to start again.
Where it goes wrong
The six-month registration deadline is missed more often than one would expect, usually when the spouses reconcile briefly or simply assume the lawyer has dealt with it. The second recurring problem is pension equalisation: unless the pension provider is notified within two years of the divorce using the statutory form, the entitled spouse has to recover their share from the former partner personally rather than directly from the fund.
Related terms
See also the parenting plan, spousal maintenance and community of property.
Our divorce lawyers in the Netherlands handle joint petitions and mediated settlements.
