Getting married is a special event full of love and commitment. A prenuptial agreement, also called a prenup or pre-marriage contract, lets you make arrangements about assets and debts before your wedding. Under Dutch law, it must be recorded in a notarial deed.
This article explains Dutch huwelijkse voorwaarden, including agreements made during marriage. If you have an international relationship, first establish which country’s law applies: living or marrying in the Netherlands does not always make Dutch matrimonial property law applicable.
Need advice about an existing agreement, a proposed change or a dispute? Our family law lawyers in the Netherlands can assess your position. Ask a question using the contact form.
Legal information reviewed on 15 October 2026.
What are prenuptial agreements?
Prenuptial agreements are arrangements between prospective spouses about the division of assets, debts, and other financial matters during the marriage and in the event of a divorce. These arrangements are laid down in a notarial deed and are intended to provide clarity about the rights and obligations of both partners.
With prenuptial agreements, you decide for yourselves what belongs to whom and how financial matters are arranged. This can, for example, offer protection if one of you has a business of their own, or to keep assets and debts separate from each other.
What exactly do you arrange with prenuptial agreements?
In prenuptial agreements (or partnership agreements) you make concrete arrangements together about who owns which assets and debts during the marriage or registered partnership. For example, you set out:
- What remains private property and what becomes joint property
- How income and expenses are divided
- How you handle assets, gifts, or inheritances
- What happens to assets and debts if you separate
A Dutch civil-law notary must record the agreement in a notarial deed. A private document or a mediator’s agreement alone does not satisfy this requirement. Clear terms and good records can reduce disputes, but cannot rule them out.
Making arrangements about assets upon death
You can include a settlement clause that applies when either spouse dies, even if your assets remain separate during the marriage. Such a clause may create a financial claim between the survivor and the estate. Its effect depends on the wording.
These arrangements help determine the size of the estate; they do not themselves decide who inherits. Inheritance follows the applicable succession law and any valid will. Have the notary coordinate your marital agreement, wills and tax position.
What is cold exclusion?
Koude uitsluiting, often translated as full separation of property, excludes a matrimonial community of property and generally includes no obligation to share accumulated income or assets through a settlement clause. Each spouse retains their own property.
This does not mean you can never own anything together: you can still jointly buy a home or take out a joint loan. Duties to contribute to household expenses, possible reimbursement claims, maintenance obligations and applicable pension rules also require separate attention. It is not a guarantee against creditors or every financial claim by your spouse.
Why and when to marry with a prenuptial agreement?
If Dutch matrimonial property law applies and you have no marital agreement, the date of your marriage matters. For marriages from 1 January 2018, the default is a limited community of property. It generally includes property already jointly owned before marriage and property acquired during marriage. Debts already jointly owed, debts concerning existing jointly owned property and most debts arising during marriage also fall within it, subject to statutory exceptions. Individually owned pre-marital property and personal pre-marital debts generally remain separate, as do inheritances and gifts, unless a valid provision changes their treatment.
For marriages before 1 January 2018, the former general community of property usually continues to apply. That regime also had exceptions, including gifts and inheritances subject to an exclusion clause. Keep documents showing ownership, debts and the source of funds; your agreement and the applicable law determine the outcome.
Different forms of prenuptial agreements
With prenuptial agreements you can make your own arrangements about how your assets and debts are divided. There are various options, such as:
- Community of property: You choose to share (almost) everything together, just as was customary before 2018.
- Full separation of assets: You exclude the matrimonial community and decide whether any settlement obligations apply. Joint purchases and joint borrowing remain possible.
- Tailor-made agreements: You can make all kinds of agreements that fall in between, for example about the division of the home, income, how to handle a personal business, pension, or how inheritances and gifts are treated.
By deciding together what belongs to whom, you avoid ambiguities and can take into account personal situations such as having your own business or protecting family capital.
Still, it may be wise to draw up a prenuptial agreement, for example in the following situations:
- Protection of your own business: Prenuptial agreements can ensure that one partner’s business remains outside the community of property.
- Limiting financial risks: Separating property can limit exposure, but does not release you from joint borrowing, guarantees or existing creditor rights. Transfers that prejudice creditors can be challenged.
- Inheritances or gifts: Under the post-2018 statutory regime these generally already remain private. Check the donor’s or testator’s conditions and whether your own agreement changes the position.
- Division of assets upon divorce: Marital agreements provide a clear guideline for the division of assets and debts in the event of a divorce.
Drafting marital agreements (also after marriage)
Marital agreements can be made before or during marriage, and existing agreements can be amended. Both spouses must agree, and a notarial deed is required. This can be important when your financial situation changes, for example when starting a business. If you already have community property, changing the regime can also require its division and tax advice.
When do new or amended marital agreements take effect?
Agreements made before the wedding take effect when the marriage is concluded (Article 1:117(2) of the Dutch Civil Code). Agreements made or amended during marriage take effect between the spouses on the day after the notarial deed is executed, unless the deed specifies a later date (Article 1:120(1)). They do not simply take effect at the moment of signing.
For provisions made during marriage to be relied on against third parties who were unaware of them, they must have been registered in the matrimonial property register for at least fourteen days (Article 1:120(2)). Registration does not cancel existing creditor rights. There is no general rule allowing you to backdate the matrimonial property regime to the wedding date merely because you have been married for less than three years.
Amending marital agreements
It is possible to amend the terms during the marriage. This can be useful if circumstances change, such as starting your own business or a different financial situation. This again requires a notarial deed, in which the amended arrangements are recorded.
Joint and several liability when amending marital agreements
Changing your marital agreement does not itself release either spouse from an existing debt. Where both spouses are jointly and severally liable under the loan agreement or the law, the creditor can pursue either for the full outstanding amount.
Your internal agreement about who bears the debt is a different matter. A spouse who pays more than their internal share may have a contribution or reimbursement claim against the other. The amount depends on the agreement, the applicable law and what has actually been paid; it is not automatically the full payment.
What are the costs of prenuptial agreements?
There is no fixed national fee. At the time of this review, Notaris.nl gives an indicative starting price of around €950, including VAT and registration. The actual price depends on the notary and the work involved.
Ask for an itemised quotation, particularly if you are already married, need to divide existing community property or have foreign assets. Separate legal advice, mediation, tax advice, translations and additional deeds may cost extra. A mediator or lawyer cannot replace the notary required to execute the deed.
Prenuptial agreements in the event of a divorce
Your agreement and the applicable law determine which assets remain private, which jointly owned assets need dividing and whether a settlement or reimbursement claim arises. A periodic or final settlement clause can require a payment even when ownership remains separate.
Keep the deed, bank statements, loan documents and records of contributions. If a periodic settlement clause was not carried out during the marriage, the consequences require particular care. Our family law team can help assess the deed and the financial claims.
Married for less than three years: tax relief is not civil-law backdating
Section 3.3 of the current Dutch gift and inheritance tax policy decision (BWBR0027898) provides a specific approval, on request, for certain changes from statutory community of property to marital agreements. It can prevent gift tax on the resulting transfer of wealth; it does not make the marital agreement generally retroactive.
One situation concerns a misunderstanding that led to no agreement being made before the wedding. A misunderstanding is presumed if the spouses make the agreement within three years and are not permanently separated or divorcing at that time. Further conditions include:
- excluding every matrimonial community of property;
- dividing the wealth so each spouse has the financial entitlement they would have had if all community property had been excluded from the start; and
- completing both the agreement and division within six months of the tax authority’s approval decision.
Ask a notary or tax adviser to assess eligibility and any other tax consequences before acting. This approval does not erase debts or override third-party rights.
Putting a joint debt in one person’s name: is that possible?
You can agree between yourselves that one spouse will bear a debt. However, releasing the other spouse from a joint loan normally also requires the lender’s consent. A marital agreement or divorce settlement alone does not bind the bank to that release.
Ask the lender whether refinancing or a formal release from joint and several liability is possible. Until the release is effective, the existing liability remains. Record who pays in the meantime and how any contribution claims will be settled.
What are you not allowed to agree in a prenuptial agreement?
Terms must respect mandatory law, public policy and public morals. Prospective spouses cannot validly waive statutory spousal maintenance before marriage simply by including a waiver in a prenup. The Dutch Supreme Court confirmed this in 2022. Arrangements made in connection with a divorce require a separate assessment; maintenance is not automatically payable in every divorce.
Parents cannot contract away a child’s statutory maintenance entitlement or disregard the rules governing parental responsibility.
Pensions are different: spouses can agree to exclude or vary statutory equalisation of old-age pension rights, including in marital agreements, subject to the applicable legal requirements. The government’s pension guidance explains these options. Survivor’s pension and implementation by the pension provider require separate attention.
What if no arrangements have been made about the division of assets upon divorce?
Silence in the deed does not mean there are no rules. Ownership, the applicable statutory rules and the interpretation of the agreement still determine the parties’ rights. Jointly owned assets may need dividing, and reimbursement or settlement claims may remain.
A divorce settlement can record how these rights will be implemented. If you disagree, legal advice, negotiation or a court decision may be needed. Neither spouse should assume that everything is automatically divided equally or that nothing needs settling.
What happens to prenuptial agreements upon death?
The marriage ends on death, but the marital agreement does not simply become irrelevant or lose its settlement effects. First establish the spouses’ property positions and apply any clause triggered by death. This determines what belongs to the surviving spouse and what falls into the deceased’s estate, including any debts or claims between them.
Only then is the estate dealt with under succession law and any will. A final settlement clause may require a calculation as if specified assets had been shared; its precise wording controls the result. Have your notary review the agreement alongside your will and the tax consequences.
What if your ex-partner does not cooperate with the repayment of a joint debt?
If both of you remain jointly and severally liable, a creditor may claim the outstanding debt from either of you. Keep proof of payments and the documents establishing your internal shares. You may be able to recover what you paid beyond your own share, but the agreement and legal basis must be checked.
Ask for advice promptly if your former partner disputes the claim or refuses payment. A lawyer can assess the evidence, any time limits and whether negotiation or court proceedings are appropriate.
Arrange prenuptial agreements with a personal touch
A mediator can help you discuss financial expectations, and a lawyer can advise on your individual rights or a dispute. The Dutch civil-law notary prepares and executes the required notarial deed.
At Arslan Advocaten, our family law lawyers can help assess an existing agreement, proposed changes or its consequences during a divorce. For the deed itself, you need a notary.
Tell us what you need help with: whether you are planning to marry, already married or separating; whether an agreement already exists; and whether another country is involved. Use the contact form on this page or contact our office. We can first assess whether your question calls for legal assistance, notarial work or both.
For international situations, see Notaris.nl’s guidance on international relationships. The legal starting points above include Articles 1:94, 1:114–120 and 1:121 of the Dutch Civil Code, the applicable pension legislation and the tax decision cited above.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a prenuptial agreement and how can it help me before marriage?
Under Dutch law, a prenuptial agreement records arrangements about assets, debts and financial settlement in a notarial deed. An agreement made before marriage takes effect when you marry.
What topics are typically covered in a prenuptial agreement?
The deed can address private and shared property, income, household costs, a business, settlement on divorce or death and permitted pension arrangements. Gifts and inheritances require attention to the donor’s or testator’s conditions.
Can I include provisions about assets and debts in my prenuptial agreement for after my partner’s death?
Yes. A death-related settlement clause can affect the spouses’ financial entitlements and the size of the estate. Who inherits is determined separately by succession law and any valid will.
What does ‘cold exclusion’ mean in a prenuptial agreement?
It generally means no matrimonial community of property and no contractual sharing of accumulated income or assets. Joint purchases, joint debts and statutory obligations can still exist.
Can an agreement made within three years of marriage be backdated?
There is no general civil-law backdating rule. A specific tax approval may provide gift-tax relief if its conditions are met, but it does not undo existing creditor rights.
