Нидерландыдагы алимент: качан төлөөгө туура келбеген учурлар

You do not have to pay alimony in the Netherlands if no maintenance obligation ever arose, or if the obligation has ended by law or by court order. Spousal maintenance only exists after a marriage or registered partnership and ends, among other things, when the statutory period expires or when the recipient remarries or starts living with someone as if married (Article 1:160 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW); child maintenance follows its own rules and cannot be waived.

This page covers only the grounds on which maintenance is not owed or comes to an end. How maintenance is calculated is explained in our Нидерландыда балдарды жана жубайларды колдоо боюнча толук колдонмо.

When is no maintenance owed at all?

Spousal maintenance (partneralimentatie) requires a marriage or a registered partnership. Unmarried partners owe each other nothing after separation, however long they lived together, unless their cohabitation agreement contains a maintenance clause; that clause binds as a contract, not under the statutory rules.

A higher income of one former spouse is not enough either. The person asking for maintenance must lack sufficient income and be unable to earn it, and the other must have the financial capacity to pay (draagkracht). If the payer’s income does not exceed the living costs the court allows, maintenance is set at nil.

Can you agree that no spousal maintenance will be paid?

Yes. Under Article 1:158 BW former spouses can agree, before or after the divorce order, whether and how much maintenance will be paid, including nothing. The agreement is usually recorded in the divorce covenant (echtscheidingsconvenant).

Under Article 1:159 BW the parties can add a written non-modification clause. The court can then change the agreement only after a change of circumstances so radical that holding the applicant to the clause would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness. If the agreement is made before the divorce petition, the clause lapses unless the petition is filed within three months.

Can parents waive child maintenance?

No. Child maintenance (kinderalimentatie) exists in the interest of the child, so an agreement between parents that no child maintenance will be paid does not bind the child and can be set aside by the court.

When does spousal maintenance end?

Spousal maintenance ends by law on four grounds: expiry of the statutory or agreed period, the death of either former partner, remarriage or a new registered partnership of the recipient, and cohabitation by the recipient as if married. A fifth route, a change of circumstances, requires a court decision under Article 1:401 BW.

Two common beliefs are wrong. Maintenance does not end automatically when the recipient reaches state pension age (AOW age); the pension may justify an application to reduce or end it. And maintenance does not end because the recipient found work; higher income is a ground to ask the court for a change, not to stop paying.

What counts as living together as if married (Article 1:160 BW)?

Under Article 1:160 BW the obligation ends when the recipient remarries, enters a registered partnership or starts living with another person as if married or registered. The end is permanent: maintenance does not revive if the new relationship breaks down.

Because the consequence is so drastic, the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) applies the provision restrictively. The requirements are cumulative: an affective relationship of some duration, actual living together, a joint household and mutual care. Partners who keep their own homes, or a partner who merely stays over regularly, do not meet the test.

The person who wants to stop paying must prove all of this. Registration at the same address in the municipal personal records database (BRP) is a starting point, not proof. Evidence usually comes from bank statements, joint purchases, social media and statements from neighbours. Article 1:160 BW does not apply to child maintenance.

How long does spousal maintenance run?

For divorce petitions filed on or after 1 January 2020, spousal maintenance runs for half the duration of the marriage, with a maximum of five years (Article 1:157(1) BW). The period starts on the date the divorce order is registered with the civil registry.

Three exceptions give a longer period, and if more than one applies the longest prevails (Article 1:157(5) BW):

• Children born of the marriage: maintenance runs at least until the youngest turns twelve.
• A marriage of more than fifteen years and a recipient no more than ten years below state pension age: maintenance runs until that age.
• A marriage of more than fifteen years and a recipient born on or before 1 January 1970 who is more than ten years below state pension age: maintenance runs for ten years.

Under Article 1:157(7) BW the recipient can ask the court to set a new period if ending maintenance would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness. The request must be filed within three months after the maintenance has ended. For petitions filed before 1 January 2020 the old regime, with a standard maximum of twelve years, still applies. A divorce covenant may set a shorter or longer period, or none at all. Our article on техникалык тейлөө милдеттенмеси аяктаганда covers the timing in more detail.

When is child maintenance not owed?

Child maintenance ends in fewer situations than payers expect, and more people owe it than many think. Under Article 1:392 BW parents owe maintenance to their children.

Under Article 1:394 BW, the man who begot a child that only has a mother, and the partner of the mother who consented to the act that led to the conception, must pay as if they were a parent. Under Article 1:395 BW a stepparent owes maintenance during the marriage or registered partnership to the minor children of their spouse or partner who belong to their family. Lack of legal parenthood therefore does not always mean that nothing is owed.

What changes at 18 and 21?

Under Article 1:395a BW parents must contribute to the living and study costs of their adult children until they turn 21. That applies whether or not the young adult is studying; a side job reduces the amount but does not by itself end the obligation.

From the age of 18 the young adult is the creditor: maintenance is paid to them, not to the other parent, and an application to change it is brought against them. After 21, maintenance is owed only if the child cannot support themselves, for example because of a disability.

On which grounds does child maintenance end or drop to nil?

There are three real grounds. The child becomes financially independent, the paying parent has no capacity to pay, or the child or the paying parent dies.

The court can set the contribution at nil if the paying parent lacks capacity, but it expects serious efforts to earn income. A reduction of income that the parent caused themselves is generally not accepted.

How do you change or end an existing maintenance order?

A court order or a registered agreement remains enforceable until it is changed. Even if a ground for termination clearly exists, the recipient can keep enforcing through a bailiff or the National Maintenance Collection Agency (LBIO), and arrears build up.

Article 1:401 BW gives two routes. Maintenance can be changed or withdrawn if, because of a change of circumstances, it no longer meets the statutory standards: loss of a job, a new maintenance obligation, long-term illness or a large rise in the recipient’s income. It can also be changed if the original decision was based on incorrect or incomplete information from the start (Article 1:401(4) BW), for example when income was concealed.

The procedure is a petition to the district court (rechtbank), and both parties must be represented by a lawyer. The court can give the change retroactive effect but is reluctant where the recipient has already spent the money. Where the parties agree, a new agreement is faster and cheaper; ортомчулук кылуу is often a sensible first step.

Can you reclaim maintenance you paid without owing it?

Sometimes. Where Article 1:160 BW applies, the obligation ended by law, so later payments were not owed and can in principle be reclaimed as an undue payment, although courts are cautious here too.

That does not make stopping on your own initiative wise. If your proof of cohabitation falls short, the arrears, collection costs and interest are all for your account. Gather the evidence, set out your position in writing, and ask the court for a decision if the other side disagrees.

What mistakes cost payers money?

The most expensive mistake is stopping payment without a court decision or written agreement. The recipient can then have the LBIO or a bailiff collect the arrears, including through an attachment of your wages.

• Delay: a change usually takes effect at the earliest from the filing date of the petition, so every month of waiting is lost.
• Mixing up the two types: the five-year period, the waiver of Article 1:158 BW and Article 1:160 BW concern spousal maintenance only.
• Forgetting indexation: under Article 1:402a BW amounts change by law every year on 1 January by a percentage set by the Minister, and unpaid indexation is arrears.

What should you check as the paying former partner?

Start with the documents, not with the law. Check these points before you take any step.

• What the divorce covenant or court order says about duration, indexation and a non-modification clause (Article 1:159 BW).
• Whether the divorce petition was filed before or after 1 January 2020, which decides the maximum period.
• Which ground you rely on and what evidence supports it, especially for Article 1:160 BW.
• The exact date on which your circumstances changed, because it drives the retroactive effect.
• Whether you have paid the annual indexation since the order.

Алуучу катары эмнени текшеришиңиз керек?

As the recipient you have your own deadlines and risks. Check these points as soon as maintenance is questioned or about to end.

• When the statutory or agreed period ends, and whether an extension request under Article 1:157(7) BW is needed within three months after the end.
• Whether a new relationship could be seen as living together as if married under Article 1:160 BW.
• Whether the payer has paid the indexed amount; if not, whether the LBIO can collect it.
• Whether your own income has risen to a level that justifies a change.
• For children aged 18 to 21: that they now receive the child maintenance themselves.

What can we do for you with ending maintenance?

биздин үй-бүлөлүк укук боюнча топ advises both payers and recipients on whether maintenance is still owed.

• We review your divorce covenant and court order and identify the end date and any non-modification clause.
• We assess whether the evidence meets the four requirements of Article 1:160 BW.
• We recalculate maintenance after a change of income, including the annual indexation.
• We draft the letter to the other party and, if needed, the petition to the district court under Article 1:401 BW.
• We file an extension request under Article 1:157(7) BW within the three-month deadline.
• We negotiate a new maintenance agreement or arrange mediation.

Жыйынтык

• Spousal maintenance only exists after a marriage or registered partnership and can be waived by agreement (Article 1:158 BW); child maintenance cannot.
• Spousal maintenance ends by law after the statutory period, on death, on remarriage or on living together as if married (Article 1:160 BW).
• For petitions from 1 January 2020 the period is half the marriage, maximum five years, with three exceptions (Article 1:157 BW).
• Child maintenance continues until 21 under Article 1:395a BW, whether or not the young adult studies.
• An order stays enforceable until changed: apply to the court under Article 1:401 BW instead of simply stopping payment.

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