Amendment to the law on automatic parental authority upon recognition

This blog discusses an important change in the law regarding authority. As of 1 January 2023, unmarried and unregistered partners will automatically receive parental authority together with the mother from the moment the partner has acknowledged the child. There are a few exceptions to this.

What is authority?

All minors in the Netherlands are subject to parental authority by law. In general, parents have parental authority over the child. When you have parental authority over a child, this entails rights and obligations. For example, you are responsible for the care and upbringing of the child and you are the child's legal representative. This means that you may perform official acts with regard to the child, such as signing documents and conducting proceedings. The legal representative is also responsible for the child's behavior. Finally, you manage the child's belongings and money. Parental authority ends when the child turns 18.

What is the current situation?

Under the current legal system, if the parents are married or have a registered partnership, they are immediately the legal parent at the birth of the child and automatically receive joint custody of a child. If the parents are unmarried and do not have a registered partnership, this is not the case. Only the mother is then legally the parent from birth and she automatically receives custody. The father is only the legal father from birth if he has acknowledged the child prior to birth. If the father also wants to have custody, a separate notification must be made via the custody register after birth. This requires the permission of both parents. If the mother does not give permission, the court can be requested to give substitute permission for acknowledgement. The child can also be acknowledged after birth. Under current law, custody must then also be requested separately.

What is the reason for the change in the law?

Approximately half of all children are born out of wedlock each year and these children usually grow up in a household with both parents. A quarter of these parents forget to apply for parental authority for the father after acknowledgment. As a result, the mother then has sole parental authority and therefore responsibility for the child. This is despite the fact that the starting point is that both parents have parental authority and therefore jointly bear responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child. In the event of a conflict between both parents, the father also draws the short straw, as he then has no say in important matters concerning the child. In addition, according to the legislator, the interests of the child are not sufficiently safeguarded with the current regulation. There is now an unequal position between the children of married parents and children of parents who are not married or have a registered partnership. In addition, this is contrary to the starting point that children have the right to the upbringing and care of both parents. In short, the current regulation does not meet the needs of the changed society; according to the legislator.

What does the new scheme look like?

The new regulation stipulates that unmarried and unregistered partners will also automatically receive parental authority with the mother. This happens when they acknowledge their child. Authority no longer needs to be arranged via a separate request. The distinction between the situation with married and registered partners on the one hand and unmarried and unregistered partners on the other has been removed. This ensures that the new regulation is better aligned with social reality.

What does this mean for my situation?

Assuming that the exceptions do not occur, the main rule would look like this.

1. Are you going to become parents of a child born after 1 January 2023 and is the partner going to acknowledge the child after 1 January 2023? Then you will automatically receive joint parental authority from the time of acknowledgement.
2. Is the mother expecting a child and has the partner acknowledged the child prior to birth, but the child is born after 1 January 2023? Please note that you will then have to arrange parental authority separately.
3. Was your child born before 1 January 2023 and did the recognition take place before 1 January 2023? Then you still have to arrange the authority separately. You fall under the current regulations.

To ask?

Do you have questions about possible exceptions or about (applying for) authority? Or perhaps recognition? Then contact one of our lawyers. We are happy to help.