NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sandra Verburgt, Petra Beishuizen and Ivo Janssens, Delissen Martens Advocaten
Calculation of support Child support is formula-based and there are few factors to debate, given that courts expect responsible parents to financially contribute towards the costs of their children. The capac - ity of the parents is calculated using a formula set by the Dutch Judiciary’s Maintenance Crite - ria Working Group: 70% of the “net spendable income” – (0.3 x net spendable income + social assistance benefit). The only variable elements are the net family income and the costs of the care arrangements ( Zorgkorting ), which vary depending on the amount of time spent by the non-resident parent with the child. Zorgkorting are determined by the number of days per week – including holidays – that the child spends with the non-resident parent, as follows: • for one day of care per week, there is a reduction of 15% of the needs of the child; • for two days of care per week, there is a reduction of 25%; and • for three days of care per week, there is a reduction of 35%. If the child spends less than one day a week with the non-resident parent, a reduction of 5% of the child’s needs is applied. Parenting plan Child support is one of the mandatory elements to be included in the parenting plan that must be submitted together with the divorce petition. If the parents agree on child maintenance arrange - ments without the involvement of the court, they may adopt their arrangements in the parenting plan and submit that plan to the Family Court. As mentioned previously, child arrangements are a matter of public policy. As such, the Fam -
ily Court can always vary the arrangements if it believes they are not in the interest of the child. This would be the case if the parents agreed in the parenting plan to a child support lower than the amount to be paid according to the statutory standards. However, parents can always agree to contribute a higher amount than that required by the statutory standards. Court proceedings If the parents cannot agree on child maintenance arrangements themselves, they can always seek a resolution from the court. In divorce proceed - ings, this is possible as an ancillary provision to the divorce. It is also possible to apply for child support payments in separate proceedings – either via the joint parental authority dispute resolution procedure (“1:253a BW case”) for a prompt resolution from the court or in regular maintenance proceedings (see 3.3 Other Mat- ters for further details). These options are also available when there is a request to vary existing child support obligations. Young adults between the age of 18 and 21 may seek a variation of existing child support contri - butions themselves in regular maintenance pro - ceedings. Minor children are always represented by one of their parents in court proceedings. 3.3 Other Matters Important Matters in Lives of Children As discussed in 3.2 Living/Contact Arrange- ments and Child Maintenance , in order to be granted a divorce, spouses must submit – together with the divorce petition – a signed par - enting plan containing provisions on important matters in children’s lives. This obligation also exists for cohabiting parents who break up and have joint parental authority but have opposing views on the upbringing of a child. If they can - not agree on these matters, they may seek the
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