Marriage is not a scribble at city hall
Article by Elzeline van Herk in Financieele Dagblad 2 January 2012
If politicians want to make marriage an administrative act, they degrade marriage
Member of Parliament Arie Slob (Christian Union) wants to make marriage an administrative act. In doing so, he wants to get rid of the problem of 'refusal officials' who do not want to perform gay marriages. A remarkable proposal. Politics should actually promote good preparation for marriage by pointing out to people the importance of stable partnership contracts and clear prenuptial agreements. That is something different than degrading marriage to a scribble at the town hall.
Of all marriages in the Netherlands, almost half end in divorce. The painful financial consequences of this are emphasized even more in this economic crisis. Difficult to sell homes, disappointing pension income and decreasing assets to be divided from, for example, shares, make spouses decide to postpone the divorce. But the increase in the number of divorces in recent years shows that it is increasingly important for people to realize in advance what consequences entering into and ending a marriage or partnership can have. By now sending a signal that marriage is nothing more than a scribble on the city hall, Slob seems to promote unstable marriages and thus an increase in divorces.
However, effective stimulation of clear legislation or regulations is lacking. Of course, it is a free choice of people to divorce, but it is important that spouses are aware of the effects of a divorce. Politics and legislation do not sufficiently respond to this. For example, it regularly appears that spouses have drawn up prenuptial agreements, but do not (any longer) know what they have agreed on, or how these agreements should be interpreted. It seems that the notary's office presents a standard document and discusses it with the client, without providing custom work or convincing the future spouses of the consequences of the agreements. The bill on the basis of which the notary's office would be allowed to apply for divorces at the court was rightly defeated in the Senate.
In addition to getting married, more and more people are living together, whether or not on the basis of a registered partnership. In that case, the simple registration at the municipal counter already leads to distressing cases. For example, men who had acknowledged their child, but did not know that it was also necessary to arrange joint parenthood via the court, have regularly sat at my desk. If these cohabitants then separate, the man does not automatically have the right to co-raise his child. The court must first intervene in that case.
Politics should therefore not make marriage easier than it already is. Slob and his associates should come up with proposals that include mandatory discussions about prenuptial agreements and provide clearer information when entering into registered partnerships and marriages. Such proposals are not patronizing, but realistic given the current increase in divorces.
Elzeline van Herk is a family law attorney and partner at De Boorder Schoots Attorneys
