सहवास सम्झौता बनाम विवाह: डच कानून अन्तर्गत कानुनी भिन्नताहरू

Marriage and registered partnership in the Netherlands automatically bring a full set of rules on property, maintenance, inheritance and parenthood, while a cohabitation agreement (samenlevingscontract) only covers what you and your partner write into it. The main exception: for inheritance tax and some tax purposes, a notarial cohabitation agreement combined with registration at the same address can give unmarried partners the same position as spouses.

Dutch law does not recognise a “common-law marriage”: however long you live together, without a formal step you remain two separate individuals in law. This page compares living together with or without an agreement, registered partnership and marriage on property, children, inheritance, tax and separation.

What is the legal difference between a cohabitation agreement and marriage?

Marriage is a legal status registered by the civil registrar, with consequences laid down in Book 1 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW). A cohabitation agreement is a private contract between two people who remain legally unmarried.

Marriage automatically creates a duty to support each other, a community of property (unless you agree otherwise in a marriage contract, huwelijksvoorwaarden), statutory inheritance rights and, for a child born during the marriage, legal parenthood and joint parental authority. A cohabitation agreement creates none of these; it only regulates what you agree on, such as costs, ownership and what happens when you separate.

Do you need a notary?

For a marriage contract, yes: it must be made by notarial deed and is entered in the public matrimonial property register, so that it can be relied on against creditors. You can marry without a notary if you accept the statutory regime.

A cohabitation agreement can in principle be a private written contract. A notarial agreement is, however, required for the partner position in inheritance tax under Article 1a of the Inheritance Tax Act (Successiewet 1956) and for tax partnership under Article 5a of the General State Taxes Act (AWR), and many pension funds ask for one. The notary also keeps the original deed, so its existence and content can always be proven.

सम्पत्ति कसरी विभाजन गरिन्छ?

Spouses who marry without a marriage contract share a limited community of property under Article 1:94 BW. Unmarried partners each keep what they own and buy, unless their agreement says otherwise.

What falls into the limited community of property?

Under Article 1:94 BW, the community covers everything the spouses already owned jointly before the marriage and everything they acquire during it, with debts on the same basis. Property each spouse owned before the marriage, and gifts and inheritances received during it, remain private property.

Keep inherited or gifted money separate and keep the records. Once it is mixed with joint funds, proving that it was private becomes difficult. A testator or donor can also determine in the will or deed of gift that an inheritance or gift does fall into the community.

With a marriage contract you can opt for full separation of property, a narrower or wider community, or a general community of property (algehele gemeenschap van goederen), under which assets brought into the marriage also become joint. That last regime only exists within marriage or registered partnership; you cannot create it by a cohabitation agreement.

What applies to unmarried partners?

Without an agreement, each partner owns only what he or she buys or earns. A partner has no claim on the other’s assets or pension, however long you have lived together, and there is no statutory partner maintenance after the relationship ends.

If you buy a home together, the ownership shares are stated in the notarial deed of transfer. Record in your cohabitation agreement, or in a separate agreement, how unequal contributions to the purchase and the mortgage are settled if you separate.

What are the rules for children?

A child born during a marriage or registered partnership with a man automatically has him as its legal father (Article 1:199 BW), and both parents hold parental authority. An unmarried partner becomes a legal parent only by acknowledging the child (erkenning).

How does acknowledgment work?

Acknowledgment can be done at any municipality before the birth, at the birth registration or later. Under Article 1:204 BW it requires the prior written consent of the mother, and of the child as well once it is twelve or older.

For a female spouse or registered partner of the birth mother, legal parenthood arises automatically only in specific situations, such as conception with an unknown donor through a Dutch clinic; otherwise she has to acknowledge the child. Without acknowledgment, the partner has no legal relationship with the child: no parental authority, no maintenance obligation and no statutory inheritance rights.

Do unmarried parents get joint authority?

Since 1 January 2023, the mother and the person who acknowledged the child automatically hold joint parental authority (gezag) under Article 1:251b BW. This rule is not retroactive.

For a child acknowledged before 1 January 2023, joint authority arises only after a joint request for registration in the court’s custody register (gezagsregister) under Article 1:252 BW. Many parents who acknowledged a child years ago wrongly assume they already share authority, so check the register.

What about inheritance, inheritance tax and pensions?

A spouse or registered partner is a statutory heir; an unmarried partner inherits nothing without a will. For inheritance tax, an unmarried partner gets the favourable partner position only if the conditions of Article 1a of the Inheritance Tax Act are met.

Who inherits without a will?

डच अन्तर्गत उत्तराधिकार कानून, the surviving spouse or registered partner inherits together with any children and in practice receives all the assets, with the children holding a claim that becomes payable on the surviving spouse’s death. An unmarried partner is not a statutory heir: you need a notarial will to leave anything to your partner.

How is an unmarried partner treated for inheritance tax?

In 2026 a partner has a tax-free allowance of €828,035 and other heirs only €2,769 (Article 32(1)(4) Successiewet 1956). Under Article 1a of that Act, two unmarried adults count as partners if, for the six months before the death, they were registered at the same address and had a notarial cohabitation agreement with a mutual duty of care, were not related in the direct line and did not meet these conditions with someone else.

The notarial agreement is not required if the partners were registered at the same address for an uninterrupted period of at least five years. A partner who does not qualify falls in the category of other heirs, with higher rates. Have the tax consequences checked by a tax adviser.

Does your partner get your pension?

Most pension schemes provide a partner’s pension for a surviving spouse or registered partner. Unmarried partners are often covered only if they are registered with the pension fund, and many funds require a notarial cohabitation agreement as proof.

Check the rules of your scheme before you rely on it. On divorce, retirement pension built up during the marriage is in principle equalised under the Pension Rights Equalisation (Divorce) Act (WVPS); see our page on pensions upon divorce. Unmarried partners have no such statutory claim.

How are you treated for tax and benefits?

Spouses are tax partners by law. Under Article 5a AWR, unmarried adults are tax partners if they have a notarial cohabitation agreement and are registered at the same address; for income tax, other situations can also lead to tax partnership, such as having a child together.

Tax partners can allocate certain joint income and deductions between them, and tax partnership affects allowances (toeslagen). Have your position checked by a tax adviser.

For means-tested benefits and allowances, what usually counts is whether you run a joint household, not whether you are married. Unmarried partners who live together are then assessed as a household, which can reduce or end a benefit. Check the rules of the benefit agency, such as UWV or your municipality, before you move in together.

What happens when the relationship ends?

A marriage can only be dissolved by the court, through a छोडपत्र. A cohabitation agreement ends in the way the agreement itself prescribes, without court proceedings, unless you cannot agree on children or property.

छोडपत्र

The divorce takes effect once the court’s decision is registered with the civil registry. The community of property is divided in equal shares unless otherwise agreed, a parenting plan is required if there are minor children, and spousal maintenance may be due. Joint parental authority normally continues after the divorce.

Ending cohabitation

You end a cohabitation agreement by notice under its termination clause, preferably by registered letter. Each partner keeps his or her own assets, and jointly owned assets such as the home are divided according to the ownership shares and the agreement; see our guide on सह-बस्ने सम्झौताद्वारा अलग हुनु.

If one partner wants to keep the joint home, he or she must buy out the other and usually take over the mortgage, which requires the lender’s consent. Joint debts remain a joint liability towards the creditor until they are repaid or the creditor releases one of you.

Where does registered partnership fit in?

A दर्ता गरिएको साझेदारी (geregistreerd partnerschap) has almost the same legal consequences as marriage: the same property regime, maintenance obligations, inheritance rights and tax treatment.

The main difference is the way it ends. Under Article 1:80c BW, partners can end it by mutual consent, with an agreement signed by both partners and one or more lawyers or civil-law notaries and registered with the civil registry, without going to court. That route is not available if the partners hold parental authority over children together (Article 1:80c(3) BW); then dissolution goes through the court, as with a divorce.

What should you check before living together?

• Do you want a notarial cohabitation agreement with a mutual duty of care, for inheritance tax and pension purposes?
• Are the ownership shares in the home recorded in the deed, and is there an arrangement for unequal contributions?
• Have you both made a will if you want your partner to inherit?
• Is your partner registered with your pension fund for a partner’s pension?
• If you are expecting a child: will the partner acknowledge the child before the birth?
• Have you checked the effect on benefits and allowances?

What should you check before marrying or registering a partnership?

• Do you want the statutory limited community of property, or a marriage contract with separation of property?
• Do you run a business or have significant debts that a marriage contract should keep separate?
• Do you want existing assets, gifts or inheritances to stay private, and can you prove what was private?
• Have you considered how a divorce or dissolution would affect your pension and maintenance obligations?
• If either of you has a foreign nationality or lives abroad: which law applies to your property regime?

What can we do for you with cohabitation or marriage?

हाम्रो परिवार वकिल advise on the legal consequences of each option and work with your notary on the deeds.

• We explain the consequences of living together, registered partnership and marriage for your specific situation.
• We review a draft cohabitation agreement or marriage contract before you sign it at the notary.
• We calculate what each partner would receive on separation under the current agreement.
• We negotiate the division of the home and other assets when a relationship ends.
• We conduct divorce and dissolution proceedings, including parenting plans and maintenance.

सारांश

• Marriage and registered partnership bring automatic rules on property, maintenance, inheritance and children; a cohabitation agreement only covers what you agree.
• Spouses share a limited community of property (Article 1:94 BW) unless they make a marriage contract.
• An unmarried partner becomes a legal parent by acknowledgment; since 1 January 2023 that also gives joint authority.
• An unmarried partner inherits only under a will, and gets the €828,035 partner allowance only if Article 1a Successiewet is met.
• A registered partnership without joint children can be ended without a court; a marriage cannot.

बारम्बार सोधिने प्रश्नहरू