NETHERLANDS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sandra Verburgt, Delissen Martens Advocaten
mer registered partners, unless they have made other arrangements by contract. Pension-sharing rights of cohabitants Informal cohabitants cannot derive any rights from the Equalisation of Pension Rights in the Event of Divorce Act. Even if they have lived together for 20 years, if they separate, they will not share in the pension rights built up by the other partner during their informal cohabitation. If cohabitees have entered into a formal cohabi - tation agreement, they can include a pension- sharing clause in this agreement. Under certain circumstances, some pension schemes will accept these cohabitees as partners for pen - sion-equalisation purposes when they separate. In most of these pension schemes, a declaration must be made at the beginning of the cohabita - tion, immediately after the cohabitation agree - ment has been concluded – failing which, the partner will still not be accepted by the pension fund as a partner for pension equalisaton upon separation If an informal cohabitant dies prematurely and the other partner was not considered a partner under the pension scheme, there is no entitle - ment to a survivor’s pension. Succession law If a spouse or a registered partner has not made a will, the spouse or registered partner will have protection under the Law of Succession (Book 4 of the Dutch Civil Code). A testator can exclude a spouse or registered partner only from an inher - itance by will. Under extreme circumstances, the law excludes an “unworthy” spouse or reg - istered partner from inheritance – for example, where the spouse murders their spouse (Murder Marriage, NJ 1991/593).
Protection of cohabitants under Dutch inheritance law (Informal) partners are not protected by Dutch inheritance law. The only way they can inherit from their partner is if the partner makes a will naming their partner as an heir. In the unfortu - nate event that no will is made, this could result in a surviving partner being evicted from their home after a long cohabitation because the heirs of the deceased partner want to liquidate the estate. Outlook for informal cohabitants in the Netherlands While marriage remains the most traditional form of cohabitation in the Netherlands, there is also an increasing number of couples living together who are not married (or who have not registered their partnership). These 1.12 million unmarried/ non-registered Dutch couples do not have the same protection of the law as spouses or reg - istered partners. When they separate, there is a lot of uncertainty about their financial situation, especially for those cohabitants who are (partly) dependent on their partner. They are not entitled to maintenance or pensions, nor do they auto - matically inherit from their partner. Their property situation depends very much on what they have agreed together – preferably in writing – and even then it may not be straightforward. Until legislation is introduced to protect informal cohabitants, it is recommended that cohabit - ants seek advice from a specialist family lawyer or notary and make written arrangements in a cohabitation agreement – preferably at the start of their cohabitation, but certainly when they buy a property together to make it their home. It is also a good idea to make a will naming one’s partner as one’s heir. This can protect surviving partners from being evicted from their home by their partner’s heirs.
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