Parenting plan (ouderschapsplan)

A parenting plan is the written agreement in which parents record how they will arrange matters concerning their minor children after separation. It is not optional: without it, a divorce petition is in principle inadmissible.

Legal basis

Article 815 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure requires a parenting plan with every petition for divorce, legal separation or dissolution of a registered partnership where minor children are involved. The same applies to unmarried parents who held joint authority and are separating.

The provision prescribes three minimum subjects: the division of care and upbringing duties, the way the parents will inform and consult each other about important matters concerning the child, and the costs of the child’s care and upbringing. The plan must also state how the children were involved in drawing it up.

What a good plan contains

Beyond the statutory minimum, a plan that holds up covers the child’s principal residence, the day-to-day schedule including handovers, holidays and public holidays, schooling and medical decisions, contact with the wider family, what happens if a parent wants to move, and how the plan will be reviewed as the child grows.

Courts accept a plan that the parents have agreed together with little scrutiny, provided it is not manifestly contrary to the child’s interests. That makes the drafting stage the moment where the outcome is decided.

Where it goes wrong

Parents often copy a template and leave the difficult questions open, in the hope that goodwill will settle them later. It rarely does. The other frequent problem is the plan that fixes maintenance without stating the underlying figures, which makes any later recalculation an argument about what was assumed at the time.

If the parents genuinely cannot agree, the petition may still proceed provided it explains why no plan could be reached; the court then decides the disputed points itself.