When you are married, you take care of each other. Not only by cooking for each other and supporting each other, but also financially. This is because partners have a duty of support towards each other. Even after the marriage, ex-partners may have to continue supporting each other. That support is then financial, in the form of maintenance (alimentatie). As an ex-partner, you may be eligible for child maintenance and spousal maintenance. This page describes the situation in the Netherlands.
Duty of support
When people enter into a partnership and/or have children together, they have a duty of support towards each other and/or towards the children. This duty of support can also continue after the end of the marriage or registered partnership. Both parents are then responsible for the maintenance of their children, even if the children live with the other parent. Depending on the financial situation, one of the partners may also be entitled to spousal maintenance. If you were married, you have to go through the court for this. If you were not married, this is not necessary.
Child maintenance
Child maintenance is the contribution the non-caring parent has to make towards the upbringing and care of their child. The person who cares for the children is therefore entitled to a financial contribution. This is called child maintenance. When children are involved in a divorce, the children are an important part of the financial agreements that are made.
Duration of child maintenance
The obligation to pay child maintenance stops once the child turns 21. Until then, the maintenance agreements made remain in force in principle. In other words, the agreements made can remain in force for a very long time. It is not inconceivable that important life changes will take place in the meantime, for example: one of the parents loses their job or gets a highly lucrative promotion. New agreements can then be made.
| Age | Years until maintenance ends |
|---|---|
| 1 | 20 |
| 2 | 19 |
| 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 17 |
| 5 | 16 |
| 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 14 |
| 8 | 13 |
| 9 | 12 |
| 10 | 11 |
| 11 | 10 |
| 12 | 9 |
| 13 | 8 |
| 14 | 7 |
| 15 | 6 |
| 16 | 5 |
| 17 | 4 |
| 18 | 3 |
| 19 | 2 |
| 20 | 1 |
Please note, however, that the agreements made with the ex-partner about child maintenance only apply until the child turns eighteen. From then on, the paying parent has to make agreements about child maintenance directly with the child. If the child then has a job, for example, they may need less money or none at all. In some cases, the child maintenance obligation continues even after the child's 21st birthday, for example if the child is disabled and cannot provide for their own living costs.
Determining the amount of child maintenance
The parents can make agreements together about the amount of child maintenance. These agreements are then recorded in a parenting plan (ouderschapsplan). If no agreements have been made, the court will set the amount of child maintenance.
- Checking whether there is an agreement
The court will first check whether the ex-partners have made agreements together about child maintenance. The court has to test these agreements against the standards. If the court approves, the agreements are made final. If no agreements have been made, the court will determine the amount of child maintenance itself. Bear in mind that the maintenance amount is indexed every year, so that it follows the average increase in wages. The percentage is announced by the Minister of Justice around November.
- Determining need
The court examines the extent to which the children need child maintenance. Some children have a greater (or smaller) need for child maintenance, for example because they are disabled and need extra care.
- Determining ability to pay
The court examines the extent to which the person who has to pay the child maintenance can actually spare this amount. This is also called ability to pay (draagkracht). The court also determines the ability to pay of the person who cares for the children. In practice, the court uses the so-called Trema standards for this. These standard amounts are published every year in Trema, the journal for the judiciary. In individual cases, the court can depart from these standards.
- Dividing the obligation to contribute
On the basis of the child's need and the ability to pay of both parents, the court draws up a division ratio. This division ratio indicates the extent to which each parent has to contribute to the child's needs. The court can also take other matters into account, such as the amount of the child-related budget (kindgebonden budget) and the contact arrangement. With a contact arrangement, a care discount of 5 to 35 percent is assumed. If, after the child maintenance has been awarded, there is still ability to pay left over, the court can also set spousal maintenance.
Your own agreements on child maintenance
If a child is not yet eighteen, it is possible to make agreements with the ex-partner about child maintenance. An amount is then agreed together. If necessary, a mediator or a lawyer can be called in. In any case, it is important that good agreements are made, because otherwise problems and discussions may arise later. In principle, all the costs of the children are part of the child maintenance. It is therefore not necessary to keep asking for a new contribution. This can also be departed from voluntarily, for example for school costs. These can, for example, be settled separately.
Your own agreements about child maintenance are included in a so-called parenting plan. This parenting plan is part of the petition for divorce. The court has to judge whether your own agreements about child maintenance are reasonable. If necessary, the court can still adjust them.
Once the child turns eighteen, such agreements can be made directly with the child. The new agreements about child maintenance will then replace the old agreements.
Care discount
If there is a contact arrangement, a child will spend one or more days a week with the other parent. During those days, that parent is already contributing to the child's needs anyway. That is why a care discount (zorgkorting) is granted when calculating child maintenance. This care discount is 5% to 35%. The more days a week the children spend with the parent who has to pay maintenance, the bigger the care discount.
| Average number of days with the other parent | Care discount |
|---|---|
| < 1 day a week | 5% |
| 1 day a week | 15% |
| 2 days a week | 25% |
| 3 or more days a week | 35% |
In other words, even if a parent has no contact at all with a child, the care discount is 5%. That may seem strange, but there is a reason for it. Parents have a right of contact, but no obligation of contact. It is assumed that some form of contact will still develop in the future, and that is why a minimum care discount is granted. In exceptional cases, the court can depart from this and, for example, grant no care discount at all, for instance if it is clear that there can never be any form of contact. Granting a care discount of more than 35% is possible in theory, but it is almost never done in practice. Even with co-parenting, the care discount is in principle not raised to 50%.
Spousal maintenance
Spousal maintenance is the maintenance that applies between ex-partners. One ex-partner contributes to the living costs of the other ex-partner. The ex-partner who wants to receive maintenance can only claim spousal maintenance if there was a registered partnership or a marriage.
Duration of spousal maintenance
The ex-partners are free to make agreements together about spousal maintenance, both about the amount and about the duration of the spousal maintenance. If no agreements have been made about this, the statutory periods apply automatically. With these statutory periods, it matters when you divorced. For those who divorced before 1 January 2020, the length of the marriage and whether or not you have children play a role. For a divorce after 1 January 2020, the duration of spousal maintenance is in principle limited to half the length of the marriage, with a maximum of 5 years. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.
These statutory periods only apply when a marriage is dissolved. With a registered partnership, it is therefore important to make good agreements about the duration of the maintenance obligation.
In any case, spousal maintenance also stops when one of the two ex-partners dies, when the recipient remarries, when the recipient starts living with someone again or when the recipient enters into a registered partnership. This follows from Article 1:160 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW). If the recipient starts earning enough themselves to provide for their own living costs, the spousal maintenance does not end automatically. The payer can then ask the court to change or withdraw the maintenance (Article 1:401 BW), or the ex-partners can make a new agreement about it together.
Divorced before 1 July 1994
The maintenance does not end automatically after a certain period. The maintenance ends on the date stated in the court decision or in the divorce settlement agreement (convenant). If nothing has been agreed or no period has been set, there is no end date. In some cases, the court can be asked to end the maintenance.
Divorced between 1 July 1994 and 1 January 2020
| Situation | Duration of spousal maintenance |
|---|---|
| Married for no longer than 5 years and no children | Length of the marriage |
| Married for longer than 5 years or with children | 12 years |
The maximum period of 12 years also applies to maintenance determined by mutual agreement. It is, however, possible to apply to the court for an extension.
Divorced after 1 January 2020
| Situation | Duration of spousal maintenance |
|---|---|
| Married for no longer than 10 years | Half the length of the marriage |
| Married for 10 years or longer | 5 years |
| Exception: children under 12 | At the earliest when the youngest child turns 12 |
| Exception: married for longer than 15 years and eligible for the state pension (AOW) within 10 years | Spousal maintenance continues until the state pension starts |
| Exception: born on or before 1 January 1970 and married for longer than 15 years(*) | 10 years |
If several of the circumstances above apply at the same time, the longest period will always apply.
(*) This is a transitional arrangement included in the law. This transitional arrangement applies for the first seven years after the law came into force.
Amount of spousal maintenance
It is possible to make agreements with the ex-partner about the amount of spousal maintenance. The help of a civil-law notary (notaris), a lawyer or a mediator can be called in for this if needed. If no agreements have been made, the court will set the amount of spousal maintenance.
When determining the amount of spousal maintenance, the financial ability to pay of both parties is taken into account. The financial figures are therefore very important, but other factors can also play a role. For example, an ex-partner may have no income but be able to work. The court will then take that into account. When determining maintenance obligations, child maintenance always takes priority over spousal maintenance. So only the ability to pay that remains after child maintenance has been determined is taken into account.
The maintenance amount is adjusted to indexation every year. It is advisable to always inform the ex-partner of the new maintenance amount in good time. With this tool from the National Maintenance Collection Agency (Landelijk Bureau Inning Onderhoudsbijdragen, LBIO), it is easy to calculate the indexed maintenance amount.
Waiving spousal maintenance
Ex-partners who make agreements together about maintenance can also agree to waive spousal maintenance. This is permitted, and such agreements are then included in the divorce settlement agreement. This can be a final decision, in which case a non-variation clause (niet-wijzigingsbeding) is included in the divorce settlement agreement. It is also possible to agree that this can be changed in the future, for example if one of the partners loses their job.
Social assistance benefit
If you are divorced and your ex-partner receives social assistance benefit (bijstandsuitkering), the municipality will try to recover the costs of the social assistance benefit from you. This is also the case if you agreed to waive spousal maintenance. The municipality does not have to take any notice of the agreements between you.
Tax
Maintenance is part of your income. If you apply for a mortgage, for example, the spousal maintenance received will also be taken into account. Maintenance also affects benefits and allowances (toeslagen). It can also have consequences for a supplementary grant from the Education Executive Agency (DUO), for example. Sometimes the parent is disregarded, for example if the maintenance that was set has proved uncollectable for at least one consecutive year. Tax must also be paid on spousal maintenance received. Child maintenance is not taxable income (Article 3.101 of the Income Tax Act 2001, Wet IB 2001).
On the other hand, the ex-partner who pays spousal maintenance may deduct it from their tax. Because it can be declared as a deductible item, the ex-partner pays less tax. Child maintenance is not deductible (Article 6.3 Wet IB 2001). The maintenance paid also affects benefits and allowances. Note: with an income of €78,426 or more, the spousal maintenance paid in 2026 is deductible at a maximum rate of 37.56% (source: Belastingdienst, the Dutch Tax Administration).
Read also: The consequences of compensation for social assistance benefit and The divorce settlement agreement.
Frequently asked questions about child and spousal maintenance
The rules on child and spousal maintenance are not simple, especially because they have changed considerably in recent years. They are also things people often do not think about when they marry or enter into a registered partnership. So it is not at all surprising that you have questions about them.
Is my ex-partner obliged to pay maintenance?
The maintenance obligation applies to ex-spouses and couples who had a registered partnership, or ex-partners with children. However, partners may have made their own agreements in the registered partnership agreement or in the prenuptial agreement. These agreements can also affect the duty of support and the maintenance obligation.
How is the amount of maintenance calculated?
Calculating the amount of maintenance is very complex. You always start by calculating the child maintenance. This takes into account the needs of the child, the ability to pay of both parents and the so-called care discount. If there is still financial ability to pay left over afterwards, spousal maintenance can also be awarded. Personal factors are also taken into account, for example when someone is able to work but does not want to work.
When does child maintenance end?
Child maintenance ends on the child's 21st birthday or if the child dies earlier. Sometimes an exception is made, for example if a child cannot provide for their own living costs because of a physical or mental disability.
How long do I have to pay spousal maintenance?
How long spousal maintenance has to be paid depends on various factors. In the first place, the agreements between you play a role. If no agreements have been made, the statutory rules have to be applied. All kinds of factors can play a role, such as the length of the marriage, the date of divorce, whether or not you have children and the age of the children, and in some cases even the date of birth. In any event, the obligation to pay spousal maintenance ends if you or your ex dies. Spousal maintenance also ends if the recipient of the maintenance remarries, starts living with someone or enters into a registered partnership. If the recipient starts earning enough to provide for their own living costs, spousal maintenance does not end automatically: the payer can ask the court to change or end the maintenance (Article 1:401 BW). If ending the maintenance is particularly unreasonable, the court can grant an extension. To do this, a petition must be submitted to the court within three months of the maintenance ending.
What can I do if my ex-partner does not pay (or no longer pays) my child or spousal maintenance?
If the contribution was set by the court and your ex-partner has failed to pay at least once in the past year, you can call on the LBIO (National Maintenance Collection Agency). This service is free for the recipient; the costs are borne by the defaulting ex-partner. The LBIO will help to get the payments going again. You can apply for collection online. The LBIO will contact the person liable to pay directly and ask them to pay you. Does that not work? Then collection measures are taken, such as an attachment of earnings or calling in a court bailiff. When the LBIO receives money, surcharges and enforcement costs are deducted from it. The rest is transferred to your account. Once payments have been made again for at least 6 months, the file is closed. For a second request this is 12 months, and for a third request 24 months. If it is not possible to call on the LBIO, the ex-partner has to pursue the outstanding amounts themselves. This may require going to court.