Previously, we informed you about the possibilities of a order to pay litigation costs in family law based on Dutch law. We explained that unnecessary litigation by one of the parties can be a reason for the judge to make an award of costs, based on Dutch law. Recently, there have been three verdicts that show a trend regarding the order to pay legal costs in divorce proceedings. Order for costs of proceedings In a judgment of 7 December 2021, the Zeeland West Brabant District Court (ECLI:NL:RBZWB:2021:6148) ordered the husband to pay the costs of the proceedings. The reason for this was as follows. Prior to the proceedings, the wife had requested her ex-husband to send her financial documents, so that an assessment could be made as to whether the agreed amount of maintenance should be revised. The husband refused and even after a reminder did not respond, forcing the woman to start legal proceedings. In the proceedings, the financial documents were eventually submitted by the husband and it appeared that the alimony did not need to be changed. The court considered that the husband should have informed the woman earlier about his financial position and should not have waited until the woman had started legal proceedings. By wrongfully not sharing this information, the husband wrongfully forced the woman to start legal proceedings and to incur costs.

If you got married after 1 January 2018 without drawing up a prenuptial agreement, based on Dutch law you are married in a limited community of property. In broad terms this means that everything that was not acquired together before the marriage remains private even after the marriage. For more information on the limited community of property, I kindly refer you to an earlier blog on our website. Premarital business If your (ex-)partner has founded an enterprise prior to the marriage, this enterprise is not included in your limited community of property. This means that this company remains the private property of your (ex-)partner, as a result of which you will, in principle, not be entitled to the value of this company or the income from it.

More and more minors in the Netherlands are part of a blended family. In addition to their parents, these children also have to deal with stepparents. In certain cases a stepparent is legally obligated to contribute to the costs of the care and upbringing of the children of his/her new partner. In this blog I explain which rights and obligations a stepparent has and discuss recent case law in which there was a possible obligation of the stepparent to pay maintenance.

When there is joint parental authority this means that you cannot go abroad with your minor child(ren) without the permission of your ex-partner. This permission must be given in writing using a form. This form can be downloaded via this link. For a detailed explanation of when permission from your ex-partner is and is not needed, I refer you to an earlier blog of mine. What if my ex-partner does not give permission? If your ex-partner does not want to give permission for your planned vacation, you can go to court and ask for substitute permission. I have covered how this works in a previous blog.

Since 2 July 2021, children aged 12 to 17 can receive a Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus. Vaccinating children in general Judges consider vaccinations under the National Vaccination Programme to be medical treatment, intended to protect children from contracting a disease, according to case law (see for example: Rotterdam District Court 14 January 2019, ECLI:NL:RBROT:2019:693). The starting point is that medical treatment requires the consent of the patient. For minors, this is regulated in the law as follows.

When you are getting divorced, you may have to pay spousal support to your ex-partner. In first instance, it is important that the person asking for spousal support is unable to provide for himself/herself. This is also called neediness. Subsequently, the marital need must first be established. This means determining what both parties need financially after the ending of their relationship to enjoy the same degree of prosperity as during the relationship.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court, the highest court in the Netherlands, gave its opinion on the flat-rate living expenses in child support. In this blog I will explain what the fixed housing costs are and in which cases, according to the Supreme Court, the actual living costs can be taken into account when determining child support. Flat-rate living expenses Since 2013, the Expert Group on Alimony advises to take 30% of the net disposable income into account when calculating the financial capability of the obligated party to pay child support. As a result of this system, a parent who earns more or less is ‘allowed’ to spend more or less on his/her living expenses when it comes to child maintenance.

Suppose you are married in a general or limited community of property based on Dutch law and you intend to draw up a prenuptial agreement. Is that possible and if so, what are the consequences? In this blog I would like to answer these questions. General vs. limited community of property Since 1 January 2018 Dutch matrimonial property law has changed. If you got married after this date and did not draw up a prenuptial agreement, you will be married in a limited community of property. If you got married before 1 January 2018 then the general community of property applies.