Marriage

The moment you get married, you promise to share joys and sorrows with each other. Dutch law before 1 January 2018, when marrying, was based on the principle that you also share all possessions and debts. From 1 January 2018, a limited community of property arises when you get married. This is regulated by the matrimonial property law. If this Dutch matrimonial property law applies and you do not arrange anything else, you will marry in a limited community of property since 1 January 2018.

In a nutshell, this system means: all goods and debts you acquire during the marriage become common.
Outside the limited community of property are:

• the private goods and debts you had when you entered into the marriage;
• the goods you acquired or obtain during the marriage from inheritance (or bequest) or gift.

It seems simple, but unfortunately there are some unexpected pitfalls.
If you do not want to be faced with unpleasant surprises, it is important to get informed by the notary in Rotterdam before the marriage. Depending on your wishes, you can make prenuptial agreements prior to the marriage. With prenuptial agreements, you can deviate from the legal system to a greater or lesser extent. For instance, it is possible to use prenuptial agreements to ensure that you will have fewer quarrels with each other if you do split up.

You can also save tax through prenuptial agreements in a number of cases. For entrepreneurs getting married, it is very important to make prenuptial agreements, as the law states that reasonable compensation must be paid to the other spouse. What that reasonable compensation is is currently unclear and can cause a lot of strife. Even if you are already married, it is still possible to make or amend prenuptial agreements. Depending on the prenuptial agreement and the wishes, it is then necessary in many cases to divide everything in common. Only after a division is it clear who owns what.

The law contains many regulations for married partners. These regulations apply to all spouses, so regardless of whether you are married in a general or limited community of property or whether you have made prenuptial agreements. For example, the law states that married couples are automatically each other's heirs, and that their children are entitled to their inheritance share, but only receive it after the surviving spouse dies. Spouses can deviate from this legal arrangement by making a will.

If a child is born during the marriage, both parents are automatically the child's legal parents and both have custody of their child. The same applies to a lesbian couple, provided an unknown donor was used for the pregnancy. A declaration from the Foundation for Donor Data on Artificial Insemination should then be submitted when the birth is declared. If spouses wish to divorce, they must arrange this through the courts together with a notary or lawyer. Spouses who want to divorce and have joint children are also required to draw up a parenting plan.

For more information on the consequences of a marriage, the possibilities to deviate from it and divorce through a notary, please contact us. We will be happy to advise you.