Settling a prenuptial agreement: periodic and final settlement clauses

23 September 2026

Arslan Advocaten

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Settling a prenuptial agreement: periodic and final settlement clauses

Are you divorcing with a prenuptial agreement (huwelijkse voorwaarden)? Then the content of the notarial deed determines which assets remain separate and what must nevertheless be divided or settled. A periodic settlement clause (periodiek verrekenbeding) that was never carried out can have major consequences on divorce. Subject to conditions, the law provides for a presumption of evidence regarding the assets that are present. That does not mean that all possessions are automatically jointly owned or are always split in two without any investigation.

Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Huwelijkse voorwaarden afwikkelen: periodiek en finaal verrekenbeding

Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: Evlilik sözleşmesinin tasfiyesi: dönemsel ve nihai denkleştirme şartı

Written by Öznur Batur, attorney at Arslan Advocaten, practising in personal and family law. Registered in the Netherlands Bar’s register of specialist areas for personal and family law and criminal law. Last updated: 19 September 2026. General information is not legal advice on your own situation.

Start with the complete notarial deed and an overview of assets, income and payments. Below you can read how dividing differs from settling, which documents are important and why a business or an inheritance may require separate attention.

Read the whole deed, including the definitions

Prenuptial agreements are not a uniform product. Two deeds with the same title can contain very different arrangements. A provision on income may, for example, cover salary but treat business profits differently. The description of household expenses is also relevant.

So read the definitions, exceptions, reference dates and termination provisions together. A single sentence about ‘separate estates’ does not give the full answer if a final settlement clause appears elsewhere in the deed.

Also check whether the agreement was amended during the marriage. Request earlier deeds if necessary. The period during which a particular version applied can make a difference for income, investments and the final settlement.

Dividing and settling are not the same

Dividing concerns assets that belong to both spouses jointly, for example a jointly owned home. Settling usually concerns a monetary claim based on agreements or the law. An asset can remain privately owned while its value, or part of it, is nevertheless included in a settlement.

That distinction has consequences for evidence and implementation. A division may require a notarial transfer. A settlement may give rise to a payment obligation without the asset in question changing owner.

A divorce settlement can involve both subjects. So make clear, for each asset, whether it concerns ownership, a community, a right to reimbursement or a settlement claim. This prevents the same value from being counted twice.

What is a periodic settlement clause?

A periodic settlement clause often obliges spouses to settle up surplus savings from income with each other at certain moments. What counts as income and savings follows from the deed and the applicable statutory rules.

In many marriages, this annual settlement is never actually carried out. There are then no clear calculations, payments or determinations. That does not automatically mean that the obligation has disappeared.

On divorce, it must be examined which income should have been settled and what happened to it. Money may have been saved, invested or used to finance a home or a business. As a result, the settlement can extend much further than the balance of a single current account.

Not carried out: what is the legal consequence?

The law provides that an unfulfilled periodic settlement obligation continues to have effect subject to conditions and may also extend to assets built up from income that was not settled. For assets present at the end, there is a statutory presumption of evidence that they were formed from assets that must be settled, unless the circumstances justify a different outcome.

This presumption of evidence is important, but it is not an automatic general community of property. The precise scope, evidence to the contrary and the content of the deed must be examined. The origin of assets can become a decisive issue.

So do not collect only closing balances. Opening assets, inheritances, gifts, investments and flows of financing may also be needed. The better the records, the more precisely it can be assessed which value belongs in the settlement.

What is a final settlement clause?

A final settlement clause (finaal verrekenbeding) prescribes a final reckoning on a particular event, for example divorce or death. Sometimes the settlement is made as if a certain community of property existed. Which assets, debts and exceptions count is set out in the deed.

A clause that applies only on death does not necessarily also apply on divorce. Conversely, a divorce clause may contain different exceptions from a provision for death. Read the triggering event and the conditions carefully.

Nor do the words ‘as if there were a community of property’ in themselves answer every question. Exceptions may apply to business assets, inheritances or other items. The settlement therefore requires a concrete inventory and an interpretation of the deed.

Which reference date applies?

In a settlement, several reference dates may be relevant: the end of the settlement period, the extent of the assets to be settled and the valuation of assets. Those dates do not always coincide.

The prenuptial agreement and the statutory rules determine the starting point. The date on which one spouse actually moved out is not necessarily the only decisive date. The filing of the divorce petition or an event described in the contract may also be relevant.

For each calculation, state which date was used and why. This prevents a bank balance from January being combined with a property value from December without the consequences being discussed. Where values fluctuate sharply, the date can make a big financial difference.

Inheritances and gifts

Inheritances and gifts may remain outside a settlement, depending on the deed, the statutory rules and any exclusion clause. It is therefore important to keep the original documents and records of the money flows.

If money received is later used for a joint home or becomes mixed with other funds, an additional question of evidence and reimbursement arises. The fact that money was paid into a joint account does not automatically answer every question about the spouses’ mutual claims.

Create a traceable chain: receipt, account, payment and destination. A statement that ‘the renovation was paid for from my inheritance’ is stronger if bank statements and invoices match it. It must also be examined which legal consequence attaches to that origin.

The home and mortgage payments

A home may be privately owned, jointly owned or part of a community of property. In addition, repayments may have been made from income that should have been settled. Legal ownership alone then does not tell the whole story.

Separate interest, repayment, maintenance and renovation. These items may be treated differently in law. Also check whether the deed contains arrangements about household expenses and contributions to financing.

A valuation gives the value, but not the legal division of that value. The outcome only emerges once ownership, debt, origin and settlement or reimbursement rights have been examined together. For the practical route regarding the home, selling or buying out when your ex refuses to cooperate is also relevant.

A business and undistributed profit

With a business, the distinction between income, profit, reserves and the value of shares is important. A business owner may receive a limited salary while profit remains in the business. Whether that profit must be included in a settlement depends on the deed, the law and the circumstances.

The continuity of the business and the reasonableness of distributions may be relevant. Not every reserve is freely available, but a mere decision not to distribute anything does not always rule out a claim either.

Have annual accounts, tax returns, shareholder details and current figures assessed. An independent valuation may be necessary. The family law lawyer should work together with financial experts when the figures or tax consequences are specialist in nature.

Evidence: which records are needed?

The most important question is often how assets came into being. So gather documents on both the beginning and the end of the relevant periods and on important interim transactions.

All versions of the prenuptial agreement.
Any annual settlements and proof of payment.
Bank and investment statements around the relevant reference dates.
Income details, tax returns and tax assessments.
Documents relating to inheritances and gifts, including any clauses.
Documents relating to the home, the mortgage and the business.
Overviews of debts and loans between the spouses.

For each missing document, make clear where it might be requested. Old records may sometimes still be available from a bank, notary or accountant. Do not wait to do this until just before a hearing.

What if the other party provides no information?

Start with a targeted request for information. Specify which document is needed, which period it relates to and why it is relevant to the settlement. An unlimited request for ‘everything since the marriage’ can be unnecessarily burdensome, both practically and legally.

If information is withheld, a lawyer can assess which information or evidence route is available. In proceedings, the court may attach significance to the way in which the parties substantiate their assertions and provide information.

Do not try to gain access yourself to private accounts or business systems for which you have no authorisation. Lawful gathering of evidence is important. Do, however, keep documents that you lawfully hold and prevent relevant records from being lost.

Calculating the settlement without double counting

Make an overview per item showing ownership, value, debt, origin and legal basis. Then indicate whether the item is to be divided, settled or dealt with through a separate right to reimbursement. That structure makes the calculation verifiable.

Otherwise an amount may unintentionally be counted twice, for example both in the value of shares and as a separate reserve. Likewise, a debt that has already been taken into account in a net value must not be deducted again without explanation.

So have the financial and legal assumptions checked together. An arithmetically correct spreadsheet can be legally wrong if the wrong assets or reference dates are used.

Time limits and limitation periods

Settlement claims and related claims may be subject to limitation periods or contractual time limits. Within matrimonial property law, special rules apply that affect when time limits start and how they run.

So do not assume a single general time limit for every item. A periodic settlement, a loan and a claim after divorce can raise different questions. A forfeiture clause in the deed also requires its own assessment.

Seek advice in good time and keep correspondence in which claims are made clear. An informal remark that you ‘will settle up later’ is not always sufficient to safeguard your rights.

Negotiating and recording agreements

Negotiations work better when facts and legal points of dispute are kept separate. First agree which valuations and data will be used. Then discuss the items on which you disagree.

An arrangement may include payment dates or instalments if immediate payment would make the business or the financing of the home impossible. In that case, carefully record security, interest, when payment becomes due and the consequences of non-payment. A deferred payment without security can create new risk.

Be careful with a final discharge before the inventory is complete. State explicitly which claims are being settled and which may remain open. The wording must reflect what the parties have actually examined and intended.

If a court decision is needed

A lawyer can bring the settlement claim before the court in the appropriate proceedings. The route depends on the connection with the divorce, other requests and the nature of the claim. Not every dispute is started with the same procedural step.

The court may need information, valuations or further investigation. Proceedings concerning a business or asset formation over many years can therefore take time. A well-prepared file helps to define the real points of dispute.

Also discuss the enforcement of a possible judgment. An amount that has been determined must actually be payable, and any transfers must be arranged correctly. Being legally in the right and being able to recover in practice are different questions.

Example: the annual settlement never took place

In a fictitious situation, a prenuptial agreement contains an annual settlement clause. During the marriage, the partners never settled up. One partner built up savings and used part of them to repay the mortgage on a privately owned home.

On divorce, it is not enough to say that the home is private property and that every claim is therefore excluded. It must be examined which income should have been settled, how it was spent and which presumption of evidence applies.

The outcome is not automatically half of the entire home. Opening assets, financing, the deed and other circumstances can make a difference. The example shows why ownership and settlement must be examined separately but in relation to each other.

A statement of assets per legal category

A useful statement of assets shows, for each item, the owner, the relevant date, the value, any debt and the origin. Add a column for the legal treatment: division, settlement, reimbursement or outside the settlement. This prevents financial data and legal conclusions from being mixed up without anyone noticing.

Mark disputed amounts and missing documents. A provisional valuation must remain recognisable as provisional. Agree whether the parties will appoint a joint expert or first exchange their own substantiation. This prevents a negotiation from stalling on figures that were never calculated on the same basis.

Then prepare a separate summary of the money flows between the partners. It shows which payments are required once all the items have been assessed. Otherwise an extensive statement of assets may obscure the fact that the actual final settlement has not yet been worked out.

Annual settlements that do exist on paper

Sometimes annual statements have been signed saying that the parties have no further claims against each other. In that case, examine how that settlement came about and what information was available. A settlement that was actually carried out and understood is something other than a standard statement without underlying figures.

That does not mean that every earlier settlement can simply be reopened. The content, interpretation, possible defects of consent and applicable time limits must be assessed. So bring all the documents, including those that at first sight appear unfavourable to your position.

In addition, check whether payments were actually made. A calculated claim that was never paid may result in a different position from a period in which the parties settled correctly. Bank records and bookkeeping entries can clarify the difference.

Security for payment in instalments

A settlement claim may be larger than the money immediately available. The parties can then explore a payment arrangement, for example so as not to have to sell a business or a home immediately. That calls for an assessment of the risk of non-recovery.

Record the term, interest, repayment and acceleration. Discuss which security is appropriate and possible, and whether notarial or other formalities are required for it. A general promise that sufficient money will be available later does not offer the same protection as carefully established security.

Also assess the tax consequences and the connection with maintenance. A capital payment must not be treated as maintenance without explanation, or vice versa. Clear classification prevents the parties, those implementing the arrangement and the Dutch Tax Administration from having different expectations about the same flow of money.

Frequently asked questions

Does a prenuptial agreement mean that I am not entitled to anything?

No. The deed may in fact contain settlement arrangements. In addition, there may be joint ownership or other rights to reimbursement. The full text and the actual build-up of assets must be examined.

Is everything automatically joint property if we never settled?

No. A periodic clause that was not carried out can have important settlement consequences and give rise to presumptions of evidence, but it does not automatically turn all property into a community of property.

Does my business always fall outside the settlement?

Not automatically. The deed, the way the business was financed, income and profit may be relevant. A business that is privately owned may still play a role in a monetary settlement.

Can an inheritance be included?

That depends on the deed, clauses, statutory rules and money flows. Proof of receipt and spending is important. The name on the account alone does not always determine the outcome.

Do we need an accountant?

For simple estates, a limited overview may be sufficient. With businesses, complex investments or unclear money flows, financial expertise may be needed alongside the legal assessment.

Where do I start with the settlement?

Request the complete deed and make an inventory of assets, debts and major transactions. Through family law at Arslan you can have the relevant clauses assessed. Pensions are also subject to their own framework: dividing pensions after divorce.