Martesa ose partneriteti i regjistruar: ndryshimet sipas ligjit holandez

Marriage and registered partnership (geregistreerd partnerschap) give you almost the same legal position in the Netherlands: the same duty of support, the same default property regime, the same inheritance rights and the same rules for children. The main differences are that a registered partnership can be ended without a court if you have no joint children under your authority, and that a Dutch registered partnership is not recognised in every country abroad.

Kush mund të martohet ose të regjistrojë një partneritet?

The conditions are the same for both forms and for same-sex and different-sex couples. Under Article 1:31 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) both partners must be at least 18; no exemption is possible.

Neither partner may already be married or in a registered partnership (Article 1:80a BW). Relatives in the direct line and brothers and sisters may not marry each other under Article 1:41 BW; cousins may. Under Article 1:44 BW at least one partner must have Dutch nationality or habitual residence in the Netherlands to give notice to the registrar.

Si funksionon procedura?

You give notice of your intention to the municipality, and the ceremony may not take place before the fourteenth day after that notice (Article 1:62 BW). If the marriage has not taken place within one year, you must give notice again (Article 1:46 BW).

You provide identity documents and, after a previous marriage or partnership, proof that it has ended. Foreign documents usually need an apostille or legalisation and a translation by a sworn translator. The ceremony takes place at the town hall before the registrar and two to four adult witnesses (Article 1:63 BW).

A marriage is concluded by declaration before the registrar; a registered partnership by a deed of registration (Article 1:80a(3) BW). Under Article 1:68 BW a religious ceremony may only take place after the civil marriage, and there is no religious counterpart to a registered partnership.

Which property regime applies by default?

For marriages and registered partnerships entered into from 1 January 2018, the default is a limited community of property (beperkte gemeenschap van goederen) under Article 1:94 BW. It covers what you acquire together during the relationship and what you already owned jointly.

Assets and debts that belonged to one partner alone before the relationship stay outside the community. Gifts and inheritances also stay outside, before and during the relationship, unless the donor or testator has provided otherwise. Read more in our article on bashkësi e kufizuar prone.

Two rules complete the picture. If private money is used for a joint asset, or the other way round, a right of reimbursement arises that follows the value of the asset (Articles 1:87 and 1:95 BW). If one partner’s business falls outside the community, the community is entitled to reasonable compensation for the knowledge, skills and labour that partner put into it (Article 1:95a BW).

Some rules apply whatever the regime. Under Article 1:88 BW neither partner may sell or rent out the family home, give a guarantee or make unusual gifts without the written consent of the other. Both partners must support each other and contribute to household costs.

How do you depart from the default regime?

A civil-law notary can draw up prenuptial conditions (huwelijkse voorwaarden) or partnership conditions (partnerschapsvoorwaarden), before or during the relationship. The common choices are full separation of property, a periodic settlement clause and a final settlement clause.

A periodic settlement clause that is never applied is the most common problem in practice. Under Article 1:141(3) BW, if the agreed annual settlement was not carried out, all assets present at the end are presumed to have been built up from income that should have been settled. Record each year that the settlement has been done.

What about children, parentage and parental authority?

For children, marriage and registered partnership work the same. If the mother is married to or in a registered partnership with a man at the birth, he is the legal father by operation of law (Article 1:199 BW).

If the mother’s spouse or partner is a woman, she is a legal parent by operation of law if the child was conceived with an anonymous donor and the donor statement is produced (Article 1:198 BW); otherwise she becomes a parent by acknowledgement (erkenning) or adoption. Married and registered parents hold joint parental authority (gezag) automatically; for registered partners this follows from Article 1:253aa BW.

Unmarried couples are in a different position. Since 1 January 2023, a partner who acknowledges a child obtains joint authority with the mother through the acknowledgement itself (Article 1:251b BW). Acknowledgement still has to be arranged, and it only establishes parentage from the moment it is made.

What are the rules on inheritance, pensions and maintenance?

Spouses and registered partners inherit from each other by law. Without a will, the statutory division of Article 4:13 BW gives the surviving partner all assets and debts, while the children receive a monetary claim; a cohabiting partner without a will inherits nothing.

On divorce or dissolution, old-age pension built up during the relationship is in principle equalised under the Pension Rights Equalisation Act (Wet verevening pensioenrechten bij scheiding). Under Article 2 of that Act, the pension fund pays your share directly only if one of you notifies it within two years of the separation, using the official form.

Partner maintenance (partneralimentatie) is available after both forms end. Under Article 1:157 BW it ends after half the duration of the relationship, with a maximum of five years, with exceptions for long relationships and young children under 12. See our page on mirëmbajtje partnere.

How does each form end?

This is where the two forms really differ. A marriage can only be dissolved by the court; a registered partnership can also be ended by agreement, without a court, if there are no joint children under your authority.

For a divorce, a lawyer files the petition with the court, even if you agree on everything. Under Article 1:163 BW the divorce takes effect when the decision is entered in the civil register, and the decision lapses if registration is not requested within six months after it became final. Legal separation (scheiding van tafel en bed) exists only for marriages.

A registered partnership can be ended by registering a signed declaration of both partners and one or more lawyers or notaries, confirming that you have reached an agreement (Article 1:80c(1)(c) BW). Since 1 January 2023 this route is closed if you exercise authority over joint children (Article 1:80c(3) BW); then the court procedure applies, as it does when you disagree. Neither form can be kept alive by one partner refusing to cooperate, as explained in our article on divorci pa pëlqimin e partnerit tjetër.

Conversion only works one way. Under Article 1:80g BW the registrar can convert a registered partnership into a marriage by deed, without interrupting the relationship. Conversion of a marriage into a registered partnership was abolished on 1 March 2009. Background on the partneritet i regjistruar and proposals to modernise it is in a separate article.

Is your status recognised abroad?

A Dutch marriage is recognised in almost every country; a Dutch registered partnership is not. Some states treat it as a marriage, others as a lesser status, and some do not recognise it at all.

This has practical effects. A residence permit or family reunification abroad may require a marriage, a foreign employer or insurer may not accept a partnership, and an estate opened abroad may treat the surviving partner as a stranger. The rules are set by the destination country, not by Dutch law.

Within the EU, property consequences of marriages and of registered partnerships fall under two separate regulations, Regulations (EU) 2016/1103 and 2016/1104, which apply in the Netherlands since 29 January 2019. Divorce jurisdiction follows Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 (Brussels II ter), which does not cover registered partnerships; under Article 4(4) of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Rv) the Dutch court always has jurisdiction to dissolve a partnership registered in the Netherlands.

If you married or registered abroad, have the record entered in the Dutch population register (BRP) after apostille and sworn translation. Dutch authorities and pension funds work from that registration.

How does a registered partnership compare with a cohabitation agreement?

A registered partnership is a civil status; a cohabitation agreement (samenlevingscontract) is only a contract. The contract can regulate household costs, ownership of the home and what happens on separation, and pension funds often require it to register a partner for survivor’s pension.

A contract cannot create the effects of a status. Cohabitants do not inherit from each other without a will, have no statutory maintenance duty after separation and fall outside the rules of Article 1:88 BW on the family home. A cohabitation agreement, mutual wills and a pension registration together cover much of this, but not everything.

Çfarë duhet të kontrolloni para se të zgjidhni?

• Do you expect to live, work or inherit in a country that does not recognise a registered partnership?
• Do you want a religious ceremony, which requires a civil marriage first (Article 1:68 BW)?
• Do you want the option to end the relationship without a court while you have no joint children?
• Do you want to depart from the limited community of property with prenuptial or partnership conditions?
• Have you checked your survivor’s pension and the two-year notification rule for pension equalisation?
• Have you registered a foreign marriage or partnership in the Dutch population register?

What can we do for you with marriage or registered partnership?

As avokat i familjes we advise Dutch and international couples before, during and after the relationship.

• We explain the differences for your situation, including recognition in the countries that matter to you.
• We review draft prenuptial or partnership conditions before you sign them at the notary.
• We check whether periodic settlement clauses have been applied and calculate what is owed.
• We draft and sign the agreement and declaration to end a registered partnership without a court.
• We file the divorce or dissolution petition and arrange maintenance, children and pension.
• We check the recognition and registration of a marriage or partnership concluded abroad.

përmbledhje

• Marriage and registered partnership have almost the same legal effects in the Netherlands, including the limited community of property since 1 January 2018.
• A registered partnership can be ended by agreement without a court, unless you have authority over joint children (Article 1:80c BW).
• A marriage always ends through the court and must be registered within six months (Article 1:163 BW).
• A Dutch registered partnership is not recognised everywhere abroad; a marriage almost always is.
• A registered partnership can be converted into a marriage, but not the other way round.

Pyetjet më të shpeshta