30 July 2026
How is maintenance for young adults determined in divorce proceedings?
How exactly are maintenance contributions for young adults determined in divorce proceedings? The Dutch Supreme Court provided clarification on this issue.
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A prenuptial agreement is made before two parties marry or formalise their cohabitation.
In such an arrangement, the couple may choose to make certain agreements about the division of their property.
In practice, parties often do not realise the consequences of their prenuptial or cohabitation agreement or of their partnership conditions. Not only because they did not sufficiently consider ending the marriage/relationship when making the arrangements, but also because – by developments in case law and legislation – agreements made may now have different consequences. Upon ending the marriage/relationship this may lead to unpleasant surprises with far-reaching financial implications.
An example: the “set-off clause” found in most prenuptial agreements often leads to complications. This set-off clause stipulates that the income that has not been used towards costs of the household must be distributed annually between spouses. Because annual settlement rarely occurs, at the end of a marriage it has to be divided as yet as available capital. However, courts adjudicate increasing amounts towards this saved income such as the assets (or parts thereof) of a company where one of the spouses is the owner. An entrepreneur rarely seems to be aware of this.
The opposite is that if no set-off clause is included in the prenuptial agreement, it is possible that the non-entrepreneurial partner is entitled to nothing if it comes to a divorce. That can be perceived as unjust, for example, if one partner has stopped working to care for the children.
Our family law experts can advise you at different stages; not only before the agreements are made, but also during and at the end of the marriage/relationship. GMW lawyers can examine the prenuptial or cohabitation agreement and indicate what the legal consequences would be in the event of a divorce or separation. If it appears that the effects of the prenuptial or cohabitation agreement are objectionable, then we can advise you on the possible steps that can be taken.
Do you have questions about prenuptial agreements or the implications of Dutch law on the division of your property? GMW lawyers will be happy to help you with all your legal issues. If you have any questions, please contact us directly using the enquiry form below or +31 (0)70 3615048.
GMW lawyers will be happy to help you with all your family law and divorce issues. Please feel free to contact us if you have any legal questions.
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30 July 2026
How is maintenance for young adults determined in divorce proceedings?
How exactly are maintenance contributions for young adults determined in divorce proceedings? The Dutch Supreme Court provided clarification on this issue.
Read more
6 July 2026
Deferring a claim for division of the home
Upon divorce or separation, the home may be allocated to either party. This is particularly the case where the property is jointly owned and the home is not sold.
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6 July 2026
How to get a prenuptial agreement in the Netherlands
Just like drawing up a will, in many countries it is normal to contact a lawyer (or solicitor) to draw up a prenuptial agreement.
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18 June 2026
The business in the event of divorce with a prenuptial agreement including a periodic set-off clause that has not been implemented
What about the set-off of the business’s value? In this article, we’ll explain various situations.
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10 June 2026
How should unequal contributions to a jointly owned pre-marital home be handled in the event of divorce?
On 21 March 2025, the Dutch Supreme Court clarified how unequal financial contributions to a home purchased jointly before marriage should be treated. Before the marriage, one partner may have a claim against the other because they contributed more to the purchase price. But what happens when the couple later marries under the regime of the limited community of property?
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7 May 2026
Waiving spousal maintenance by email: is that possible?
Can someone waive spousal maintenance through a simple email? This exact question arose in proceedings before the Rotterdam District Court. The case demonstrates that changes to maintenance arrangements must be handled with care.
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11 March 2026
How can you prevent an inheritance from ending up with your child’s partner?
When drawing up a will, consideration is given to how the inheritance will be distributed. This is recorded in the will. A possible wish is to ensure that your future inheritance does not end up with your child’s partner.
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5 March 2026
Marriage declared invalid due to use of ChatGPT during the ceremony
On 5 January 2026, the Court of Overijssel declared a marriage null and void because the speech delivered during the marriage ceremony did not comply with the requirements of the Dutch Civil Code (ECLI:NL:RBOVE:2026:23). Notably, the speech had been prepared with the assistance of ChatGPT.
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16 February 2026
Check your prenuptial agreement
Before or during marriage, spouses often enter into a prenuptial agreement. In this article, we focus specifically on prenuptial agreements that were concluded many years ago.
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