Divorce or termination of registered partnership

If you are married, you can divorce your partner in 3 ways:

• In the event of a divorce, the marriage is dissolved. According to the law, this severs all ties between you and your ex-partner.
• With a legal separation (scheiding van tafel en bed), you are living apart, but remain legally married. The rights and obligations of marriage continue to apply. A legal separation can be a solution if your religion does not allow divorce, or if you do not want a divorce for financial reasons.
• After a legal separation of at least 3 years, you can have your marriage dissolved. Your marriage is then definitively terminated. According to the law, this severs all ties between you and your ex-partner.

Termination of registered partnership

You terminate your registered partnership through the court in the following cases:

• 1 of the partners wants to terminate the registered partnership.
• You have minor children.

If you and your partner agree and you do not have any minor children, you do not need to go through the courts.

• Choose a lawyer. If you and your partner are applying for the divorce together, 1 lawyer is sufficient. If you are not applying for the divorce together or if you and your partner disagree, you will both need to choose your own lawyer.
• Your lawyer will apply for the divorce at the district court with a petition. Your lawyer will draw up this petition together with you.
• You can request an ancillary provision in the petition. This is an agreement related to the divorce, for example concerning visitation arrangements for the children.
• If only you are applying for the divorce, your partner will receive a copy of your petition.
• Your partner may contest the divorce. This is referred to as 'lodging a defence'.
• Once the judge has issued a ruling, you will receive that decision through your attorney. This is called a court order. Your attorney must file this court order with the municipality where you were married within 6 months enrol . Only then are you legally separated. This also applies to the dissolution of a marriage following a legal separation.
• A legal separation is final once the court order is entered into the matrimonial property registry within 6 months enrolled. To do so, contact the court’s Municipal Clerk’s Office .

Ending a registered partnership without a court intervention

• Choose a lawyer or civil-law notary.
• Together with your partner, you draw up an agreement with the lawyer or civil-law notary. The agreement states that you wish to terminate the registered partnership. You will also make arrangements regarding matters such as spousal maintenance and pensions.
• Have your attorney or notary submit the agreement to enrol within 3 months at the municipality where your partnership is registered. Only then will you be legally separated.

Ending a registered partnership through the court

This proceeds in the same manner as a divorce.

The judge will issue a ruling a few weeks after the hearing. The exact timeframe depends on the progress of the case. The judge will let you know at the end of the hearing approximately how many weeks you can expect to wait.

The municipality will record the court ruling or declaration as quickly as possible.

Would you like assistance from a mediator or lawyer, but are unable to afford it? The government sometimes contributes to the costs. This is known as subsidised legal aid. The Legal Aid Board arranges this.

With the so-called grant, you can check whether you are eligible for a subsidy for a divorce.