Crisis makes divorce extra painful

In times of prosperity and rising house prices, divorce was still manageable. But what if a residual debt has to be divided at the end of the marriage? Some time ago, the National Mortgage Guarantee Foundation announced that there are still few cases of payment arrears and forced sale of one's own home nationwide. But if there are any, divorce is increasingly the cause, the Foundation noted. Marjoleine de Boorder and Mirjam Schoots, founders of De Boorder Schoots Advocaten, with offices in Naarden and Amsterdam and specialized in family law, confirm that picture. They have not yet seen any examples of personal bankruptcies in their practice, but they have seen cases of forced house sales and problems with the division of residual debts. Especially now in the crisis. 'We have now seen about ten of these cases in a short period of time. That is a new situation,' says De Boorder.