Divorce

Dutch law

 In the Netherlands, you can request the court for a divorce if you want to end your marriage. One of both partners can decide to request a divorce. In the divorce procedure, the judge will not investigate the reason for wanting to end the marriage. This means the other party cannot stop the divorce.

You request a divorce by sending a request to the court through your lawyer. The lawyer submits the request to the court. Are you requesting the divorce together with your partner? Then you only need 1 lawyer. If only one partner requests the divorce or if you do not agree with each other, each of you needs to choose his or her own lawyer.

If you do not agree there will be a session in court. There will also be a session in court if there are children aged between 12 and 18 who want to give their opinion about the custody arrangements. The custody arrangements are part of the parenthood plan. Is a court session not required? In that case the judge decides on the basis of the request. You both receive the judge’s ruling via your lawyer. If you do not agree with the decision you can lodge an appeal.