Family Law in the Netherlands (Familierecht): Divorce and Alimentatie

Dutch family law sits almost entirely in two places. Boek 1 of the civil code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW) covers persons and family, from marriage and the geregistreerd partnerschap through gezag over children to the whole of maintenance, and the divorce title of the Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering (Rv) covers the procedure that puts it into effect.

The subject then splits along two lines, and between them they settle most of an answer before any detail is reached. The first is what the couple actually entered into, because a marriage, a geregistreerd partnerschap and an unregistered cohabitation each end in a different way. The second is who the maintenance is for, because child maintenance and spousal maintenance are separate calculations with separate rules and separate durations.

This page is the map rather than the answer. It sets out those two divisions, says which body decides what, and points at the guide that deals with the question you actually have.

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

The first division: what the relationship was

A marriage can only be ended by the rechtbank. Artikel 1:151 BW gives a single ground, that the marriage is duurzaam ontwricht, and artikel 1:150 BW lets one spouse ask for the divorce alone or both of them ask together. The order does not end the marriage by itself; the registration of the order does.

A geregistreerd partnerschap can be ended the same way, and it can also be ended without a court at all. Artikel 1:80c lid 1 sub c BW allows the partners to end it by mutual consent through a dated declaration signed by both of them and by one or more advocaten or notarissen, which the registrar of the burgerlijke stand then enters. Artikel 1:80c lid 3 BW closes that route where the partners exercise gezag over one or more of their joint children.

An unregistered cohabitation needs no procedure, because there is nothing in law to dissolve. What has to be settled is everything the couple built around it: any cohabitation contract, the division of jointly owned property, and, where there are children, maintenance, gezag and omgang.

That last point is the one worth carrying away from this division. The questions about a child do not follow the form of the adult relationship. Artikel 815 lid 2 Rv requires an ouderschapsplan with a divorce petition, and artikel 1:247a BW requires the same document from parents with joint gezag who end a cohabitation, which is the same requirement reached by a different route.

The second division: which kind of alimentatie

Alimentatie is an umbrella word, and using it as though it named one thing is the most common way a Dutch maintenance question goes wrong. It covers two calculations that share a statutory frame and almost nothing else.

Kinderalimentatie is owed by both parents for their children, is calculated from the child's need (behoefte) and each parent's capacity to pay (draagkracht), and runs until the child turns 21. Partneralimentatie is a claim of one former spouse against the other, is awarded by the court under artikel 1:156 BW where a spouse has insufficient income and cannot reasonably acquire it, and has a statutory duration scheme of its own in artikel 1:157 BW.

Where both are in play the order between them is fixed rather than negotiable, and the shared machinery that applies to both, the annual indexation, the variation of an existing amount and the collection of an unpaid one, belongs to neither page alone.

The provenance of the amounts is common to both and is the thing to know before opening any table. The Burgerlijk Wetboek names the two yardsticks in artikel 1:397 lid 1 BW, behoefte and draagkracht, but sets no amounts: every figure comes from the Rapport alimentatienormen, guidance the Expertgroep Alimentatie of the Rechtspraak publishes each January, which is not law and which a court may depart from in an individual case.

Which body does what

Dutch family and maintenance cases are heard by the rechtbank, not by the kantonrechter, whatever the amount at stake, because artikel 93 Rv does not assign family or maintenance matters to the kantonrechter at any value. That is the opposite of the position in employment, tenancy and consumer cases, where the kantonrechter is the right court whatever the sum involved, so a rule of thumb carried over from those subjects will send a family case to the wrong place.

A divorce petition must be signed by an advocaat under artikel 278 lid 3 Rv, which exempts only cases filed with the kantonrechter or exempted by a special statute, and a divorce is neither. The practical consequence is not that both spouses need their own advocaat, since a couple filing a joint petition commonly uses one advocaat or a scheidingsmediator who is an advocaat, but that there is no route into a Dutch divorce that avoids one altogether.

Where each question goes

• Alimony in the Netherlands. The machinery both kinds of maintenance share: the automatic indexation each 1 January under artikel 1:402a BW, the variation of an existing order or agreement under artikel 1:401 BW, collection through the LBIO, and the priority rule that decides which obligation is met first. Start here if you have an existing amount and something about it has changed.
• Kinderalimentatie. How a child maintenance figure is actually built: the behoeftetabel that measures what the child costs, the draagkracht formula that measures what each parent can pay, the zorgkorting for shared care, and the worked example the guidelines publish themselves. Start here if you need a number for a child.
• Spousal maintenance. Partneralimentatie on its own terms: when a court can award it at all, the duration scheme in artikel 1:157 BW and how its exceptions interact, and the events that bring it to an end. Start here if the question is about an ex-partner rather than a child.
• Divorce in the Netherlands. The procedure from petition to registration: the single ground, the advocaat requirement and the honest answer to divorcing without one, the ouderschapsplan, the six month registration deadline and what the whole thing costs. Start here if the relationship itself is what needs ending.

What it costs to get there

For 2026 an individual filing a request of undetermined value at the rechtbank, which is what a divorce petition and a standalone maintenance request both are, pays EUR 341 in griffierecht, or EUR 93 on the onvermogenden rate that goes with subsidised legal aid, and the family law scale of contributions is higher than the general one. The figures, the income bands and the conditions are all on divorce in the Netherlands, and every one of them is reset with effect from 1 January.

The rest of the Dutch legal map

What happens to property and to maintenance obligations on death is a separate body of law with its own section, at wills and estates in the Netherlands. The wider map of the Dutch sections of this site, including employment, privacy, defamation and background checks, is on the Netherlands law overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is family law called in the Netherlands?

Familierecht, or in full personen- en familierecht, the law of persons and family. Almost all of it is in Boek 1 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek, which covers marriage, the geregistreerd partnerschap, divorce, gezag over children and the whole of maintenance. The procedure sits separately, in the divorce title of the Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering (Rv).

Do all Dutch family cases go to the same court?

Dutch family and maintenance cases are heard by the rechtbank, not by the kantonrechter, whatever the amount at stake, because artikel 93 Rv does not assign family or maintenance matters to the kantonrechter at any value. Inside the rechtbank these matters are handled by the familiekamer, but that is a division of the court rather than a separate court, so the correct name for the forum is simply the rechtbank.

Does Dutch family law differ by province or gemeente?

No. The Netherlands is a unitary state and Boek 1 BW applies identically everywhere, so the answer to a family law question does not change between Groningen and Maastricht. What does depend on where you live is which rechtbank hears the case, because artikel 262 sub a Rv points to the court of the woonplaats of the petitioner or of one of the interested parties named in the petition.

Do unmarried parents in the Netherlands have the same maintenance duty as married ones?

Yes. Artikel 1:404 lid 1 BW places the duty on parents as parents, without any reference to whether they are or were married, and artikel 1:395a lid 1 BW extends it to an adult child under 21 on the same footing. Marriage decides how a relationship is ended and whether spousal maintenance can arise at all; it does not decide whether child maintenance is owed.

Which Dutch family matters need an advocaat?

Only where the law requires a petition to be signed by one. A divorce petition must be signed by an advocaat under artikel 278 lid 3 Rv, which exempts only cases filed with the kantonrechter or exempted by a special statute, and a divorce is neither. By contrast, a geregistreerd partnerschap can be ended by mutual consent on a declaration signed by an advocaat or a notaris and registered with the burgerlijke stand, and parents who were never married or registered can agree maintenance and care arrangements between themselves without any professional at all, though those agreements can be brought to the rechtbank if they break down.

What is the difference between a marriage and a geregistreerd partnerschap when it ends?

The route out. A marriage can only be ended by the rechtbank on a petition signed by an advocaat, and it ends on registration of the order in the registers van de burgerlijke stand. A geregistreerd partnerschap can be ended the same way, but artikel 1:80c lid 1 sub c BW also allows it to be ended by mutual consent, with no court at all, through a dated declaration signed by both partners and by one or more advocaten or notarissen. Artikel 1:80c lid 3 BW closes that shorter route where the partners exercise gezag over one or more of their joint children.