Community of property, prenuptial or postnuptial agreement?

Today was your day, the day you've long looked forward to. You look back on your dream wedding with happiness and satisfaction. From now on, you are officially married, what are the consequences of that?

Depending on what you have arranged prior to the wedding, there are several options. We will describe these options below with an example to explain what changes in your situation.

Community property

Suppose you have not arranged anything else besides applying for your marriage at the municipality. Then the Dutch law states that you are automatically married in community of property. This term is generally known in the Netherlands. Since January 2018, we have known a limited community of property as the standard regulated by law. Upon entering into your marriage, a legal community of property is created. Into this community come all possessions and debts that you already had jointly before the marriage. From now on, all future debts and assets will also fall into this legal community of property. All possessions and debts that were in your personal possession before the marriage will in principle not fall into the community of property. This also applies to inheritances and gifts, regardless of whether you receive them before or during the marriage. However, the testator or donor may choose to grant your partner a share in his or her will or in the gift.

An example that often comes up in practice has to do with owning a home. A husband and wife have purchased a house together, without being married. To purchase the house, in this case the woman puts in more of her own savings than the man. She puts in €10,000 of her own money and her partner does not, giving her a claim on her partner of €5,000. The other €5,000 is in the wife's share of the property. In short, it means that when the house is sold, the husband must first pay €5,000 back to his partner before he receives any money from the sale of the house. The moment this man and woman get married in community of property, the debt that the man has to the woman enters the legal community. This is disadvantageous for the woman because now she no longer has a claim on her partner but on the community of which she herself is also a part. So with this you can say that half of the claim has evaporated.

Prenuptial agreement

Another alternative to marrying in community of property is to marry with prenuptial agreements. Prenuptial agreements are drawn up and discussed with the notary. They will discuss your situation with you and explain any options, so that everything is legally arranged as you wish. These prenuptial agreements are usually drawn up and signed at the notary's office before the marriage. We always advise at our office to make an appointment with the notary about three months before you get married to go over everything. To return to the previously described example, it is important to enter into prenuptial agreements before the marriage, because otherwise you will still have to deal with this evaporation. This is because the husband's debt falls into the legal community of property immediately after you enter into your marriage.

Postnuptial agreement:

If you haven't arranged prenuptial agreements before your wedding day and still decide that it might be better to look into prenuptial agreements, that is also a possibility. However, it is important to consider that these prenuptial agreements generally only apply to assets and debts that are received and/or incurred after the prenuptial agreements are made. In addition, changing the situation afterward is more complicated and often more expensive than arranging it beforehand. Therefore, it is wise to carefully review your current situation before the marriage, but also to think carefully about your future plans. Do either of you have plans to start a business? If you foresee similar changes for the future, it is always wise to schedule an appointment with a notary. So that they can give you non-binding advice on the possibilities in your specific situation.