In a divorce procedure you can choose:
Mediation
In mediation meetings, a divorce mediator helps you arrive at an agreement by mutual consultation. The divorce mediator provides both legal and emotional support (discussion technique). As a neutral third party, the mediator looks after the interests of both parties.
No mediation
If mediation is neither possible nor desirable, you and your partner will engage separate lawyers. You discuss the desired situation after the divorce with your lawyer. Your lawyer subsequently contacts your partner’s lawyer to see how an agreement can be reached.
As specialised VFAS lawyer / divorce mediator, I am trained to provide professional assistance, whichever path you choose to follow.
Ik bedank u voor uw hulp. Misschien had ik niet zo veel procedures daarvoor verloren waarvan de consequenties nog steeds aanwezig zijn en zullen zijn indien u mij vanaf het begin had bijgestaan. Daarvoor bedank ik u van harte.
Please contact us to discuss your personal situation without obligation.
Every situation is unique and requires a tailor-fit approach.
Would you like to know how and for what rate I can assist you in your divorce / mediation please feel free to contact us.
T 040 - 20 545 20
E schutte@schutte-advocatenkantoor.nl
For the terms and conditions of our law firm, click here.
For directions to our law firm, see contact
If you have any more questions regarding your divorce. Don't hesitate to contact us by phone or by email.
You need a lawyer to submit a divorce petition to the court.
All the documents that have to be sent to the court for the proceedings have to be drawn up and submitted by a lawyer. Your lawyer will also represent you during the court session.
You may choose to both instruct a lawyer, so that both your interests are represented.
However, if you and your partner agree on the particulars of the divorce or think you will reach an agreement, you may choose to engage one lawyer jointly, preferably a lawyer-mediator. This lawyer is specialised in divorce mediation and all related matters.
In both situations, a divorce agreement can be drawn up, in which your lawyer provides for the divorce and all its particulars. Your lawyer subsequently submits the divorce petition, together with the divorce agreement, to the court.
A VFAS lawyer is a member of the association of lawyers specialised in personal and family law. Some of the affiliated members have specialised further in divorce/mediation. We have both followed this specialised training.
A divorce mediator supports people wanting to settle the particulars of a divorce by mutual consultation, even if the divorcing partners do not (yet) agree on the details of this arrangement. A VFAS lawyer can also assist you in all other legal matters related to personal and family law.
The VFAS objective is to continually hone the quality and expertise of its members. In order to achieve this, courses and seminars are organised and knowledge and information are exchanged. In order to retain membership, high requirements have to be met. Members have to attend continuous training. All this ensures that you can always count on high-quality advice from VFAS lawyers.
Unfortunately, all too often I witness the negative consequences of divorce mediation performed by insufficiently competent advisors.
This depends entirely on your personal situation.
In the case of mediation, a number of meetings are held with both partners and the results are recorded in a report. On the basis of these reports, a divorce agreement is drawn up.
The costs of a divorce in a defended action are more difficult to estimate, because they depend on how much time is involved in dealing with the divorce for each of the parties separately. Crucial here is the extent to which consultation between the lawyers is facilitated.
However, every situation is unique; we take this into account. We do realise that you are going through a difficult period. We aim to keep the financial burden as bearable as possible. This is possible, because our experience allows us to work efficiently and because our cost structure is flat. However, this does not alter the fact that a good and sustainable result requires time.
If you have reached agreements through mediation or each with your own lawyer and these are laid down in a divorce agreement, the time required for the divorce proceedings is tolerable.
Without complicating factors, three to five meetings take place with intervening periods of approximately two to three weeks. You partly determine this yourself. The agreements reached are laid down in the divorce agreement. After the divorce agreement has been signed, it is attached to the joint divorce petition and submitted to the court, after which the court will grant the divorce after approximately four weeks. The divorce decree must then be registered in the register of births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships. This finalises the divorce.
If you do not reach an agreement, either of you will submit a divorce petition to the court. The other party must respond to this with a defence within a term of maximum 10 weeks. Oral proceedings in court will follow within several months, unless a counterpetition is formulated in the defence. This can be responded to within a period of maximum 8 weeks. During the oral proceedings you can explain your points of view. The judge will ask questions. The decision (decree) will usually follow after approximately 4 weeks. After this, an appeal is possible.
On May 21, 2019, the Senate passed a bill to shorten the duration of partner alimony. Under this new law, partner alimony will then last a maximum of five years, instead of the current twelve years. The law will take effect on January 1, 2020.
How long does partner alimony have to be paid?
The duration of partner alimony mainly depends on the year in which you agreed with your ex-partner. Or when the court has determined partner alimony. Since 1 January 2020, new rules for partner alimony apply.
Alimony determined or agreed from January 1, 2020
The partner alimony is a maximum of 5 years. Or shorter, if the marriage or registered partnership lasted less than 10 years. Then an ex-partner receives alimony for half the time that the marriage or partnership lasted. For example, if you have been married for 8 years, you or your ex-partner must pay alimony for 4 years.
There are 3 exceptions to the new rules:
Alimony determined or agreed from 1 July 1994 to 1 January 2020
Alimony determined or agreed before 1 July 1994
How long you receive partner alimony depends on what you have agreed with your former partner. Or what the judge has determined. If nothing has been agreed or determined, then there is no deadline. In certain cases, however, the court may be asked to end the alimony.
Extension of alimony
Will you encounter serious problems if the alimony stops? Then you can ask the court to extend the period. You can also agree a shorter or longer period together. You must record this in your divorce agreement or agreement.
How to stop partner alimony if the situation of an ex-partner changes
If you pay alimony, you stop this if your ex-partner:
Alimony change or stop through court
A change or termination of alimony through the courts always starts with a petition. You need a lawyer for this. You can contact our office without obligation for further information.
Source: Central Government
