Belgian Family Law: Divorce, Child Support and the Family Court (2026)

Belgian family law is federal, not regional. The rules that decide a divorce, a child's maintenance or a spousal maintenance claim read the same whether the case is filed in Antwerp, Namur or Brussels.

Almost none of it lives in the code a newcomer might expect. Divorce, parentage, child support and spousal maintenance are still governed by the old Burgerlijk Wetboek, the Code civil first enacted in 1804 and amended many times since. The single deliberate exception is marital property law, which was moved into the new Civil Code at Book 2 Title 3, in force since 1 July 2022. Citing the new code for a divorce, or the old code for a matrimonial property regime, is a genuine error, and it is the mistake made most often about this area of Belgian law.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Where the rules live

Belgian family law splits cleanly along one line, and getting it backwards is the fastest way to cite the wrong article.

Divorce, the parent-child relationship, child support and spousal maintenance all still sit in the old Burgerlijk Wetboek, the Code civil dating from 1804, as amended repeatedly since. Nothing about the 2022 civil code reform touched this ground. The one part of family law that did move is marital property, meaning the rules on what a couple owns together and how it is divided, which now sits in Book 2 Title 3 of the new Civil Code, in force since 1 July 2022. A source that cites the new code for a divorce procedure, or the old code for a matrimonial property regime, has the two mixed up.

The family court

Whatever the dispute, it is heard by the familierechtbank, the tribunal de la famille. Despite the name, it is not a standalone court. Article 76 Paragraph 1 of the Gerechtelijk Wetboek, the Code judiciaire, makes it a section within the rechtbank van eerste aanleg, the tribunal de première instance, alongside the civil and correctional sections of the same court. It was created by the wet van 30 juli 2013, the loi du 30 juillet 2013, and has operated in every judicial district nationwide since 1 September 2014.

The family court now hears essentially all family disputes: divorce, parentage, child support, spousal maintenance and most disputes between cohabitants, giving a family a single judicial address for nearly everything that arises from a separation.

Divorce: two routes to the same result

Belgium recognises two divorce procedures, and confusing them tells a reader the wrong thing about when they can actually file.

Divorce by mutual consent is governed by article 230 of the old Civil Code and by articles 1287 to 1304 of the Code judiciaire. It requires the spouses to have already agreed everything in writing before the family court pronounces the divorce.

Divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown runs under article 229 of the old Civil Code, and its three paragraphs are genuinely different routes rather than variations on one. Paragraph 1 lets either spouse prove the breakdown by any means, with no waiting period at all. Paragraph 2 is a joint request, available once the spouses have lived apart for more than six months. Paragraph 3 is a unilateral request, available to one spouse alone only after more than one year of separation.

Both procedures, the agreement the mutual-consent route requires, and what article 301's spousal maintenance actually caps, are covered on the divorce page.

Child support: no official scale

Belgian parents who separate owe each other, and their children, a contribution under articles 203 and 203bis of the old Civil Code. What most people expect next, an official table or formula, does not exist.

The law of 19 March 2010 created the Commissie voor onderhoudsbijdragen, the Commission des contributions alimentaires, but gave it power to issue recommendations only. The King may fix a binding calculation method by royal decree, and has never done so. Five private methods circulate, and none of them has legal force.

What the law does fix is a transparency duty on judges and parents, the treatment of extraordinary costs, and DAVO, the state service that steps in when maintenance goes unpaid. All of it is on the child support page.

Cohabitants on separation: the gap that surprises people

Belgium recognises two very different kinds of unmarried couple, and the separation consequences could hardly be further apart.

A legal cohabitant, someone who made a formal declaration of legal cohabitation at the commune, has a defined statutory framework. Article 1476 Paragraph 2 of the old Civil Code lets that cohabitation end by a simple unilateral or joint written declaration, no court needed. Article 1477 then lists the entire default set of rights and obligations between legal cohabitants, and none of that list is a post-separation maintenance claim of the kind article 301 gives a divorced spouse. Article 1478 lets legal cohabitants agree their own terms by a notarial convention, so the statutory default is nothing beyond what article 1477 covers, unless the couple opted into something more.

A de facto cohabitant, meaning a couple who never made that declaration, has no statutory framework at all. Titre Vbis of the old Civil Code regulates legal cohabitation only. Living together for years, sharing a household or even sharing children creates no separation entitlement by itself. Anyone in that position who wants protection has to arrange it deliberately, through a contract or another instrument; the law does not supply it.

This page provides general legal information about a foreign legal system and does not constitute legal advice for an individual case. Family situations vary and the underlying law changes from time to time. Check the current text on ejustice.just.fgov.be, or consult a lawyer, before acting on anything here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is family law the same everywhere in Belgium?

Yes. Divorce, child support, spousal maintenance and parentage are federal matters, governed by the same provisions of the old Civil Code whether the case is heard in Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels. Family law has none of the regional variation that applies to inheritance tax.

Which court handles divorce and child support?

The familierechtbank, the tribunal de la famille. It is a specialised section within the ordinary rechtbank van eerste aanleg, the tribunal de première instance, rather than a separate court, and it has heard essentially all family disputes nationwide since 1 September 2014.

What is the difference between the two divorce procedures?

Divorce by mutual consent requires the spouses to have already agreed everything in writing, under articles 1287 to 1304 of the Code judiciaire. Divorce on irretrievable breakdown, under article 229 of the old Civil Code, can instead rest on proof of breakdown with no waiting period, on a joint request after more than six months of separation, or on a unilateral request after more than one year.

Is there an official child support calculator in Belgium?

No. The Commission set up in 2010 may only recommend a calculation method, and no royal decree has ever fixed one as binding. The private methods sometimes presented as official carry no legal force, and a source that treats one of them as the answer is overstating what the law actually says.

What happens to a legal cohabitation when the couple separates?

It ends by a simple unilateral or joint written declaration, with no court involvement required. The default statutory rights between legal cohabitants do not include a post-separation maintenance claim; the couple can agree their own terms by notarial convention if they want more.

Does an unmarried partner who never registered as a legal cohabitant have any rights on separation?

Not under this statutory framework. Belgian law only regulates legal cohabitation. A de facto cohabitant, regardless of how long the relationship lasted, has no separation entitlement under it and needs a separate contract or instrument to arrange anything.

Does the new Civil Code apply to my divorce?

No. The 2022 reform recodified marital property law only, in Book 2 Title 3. Divorce itself is still governed by the old Civil Code of 1804, as amended, alongside the Code judiciaire's procedural articles.