In the Netherlands, all children under the age of 18 are legally under the authority of their parents. Parental authority is in principle exercised by the mother and the father. As the authoritative parent, you decide on important matters concerning the minor, such as medical procedures, choice of school, application for a passport, etc.<\/p>\n
If parents are married to each other, they automatically have joint parental authority over the child born during the marriage. Parents who have entered into a registered partnership also automatically have joint parental authority over the child born during the registered partnership. The condition is that the father has acknowledged the child.<\/p>\n
If the parents are not married and have not entered into a registered partnership, only the mother will have parental authority over the child. As a result, many unmarried couples do not have proper parental authority arrangements because the father does not know that he has to apply for parental authority separately. He is not aware of this and municipalities do not always inform him of the steps to be taken. The information provided varies considerably per municipality.<\/p>\n
If the father, who has acknowledged the child, also wants to have authority, he must submit a request to the court together with the mother. This can now be done digitally. As soon as the request is honored, a note is placed in the authority register that the father and the mother both exercise authority over the child.<\/p>\n
D66 believes the difference between married and unmarried fathers is \u201cillogical, unfair and outdated\u201d because many children are no longer born in marriage. More and more couples live together unmarried. If these couples do not arrange custody of their children and later separate, it is much more difficult for fathers to obtain custody. If the mother does not cooperate and gives her permission, the father must start legal proceedings in court to obtain custody. D66 would like to see this change and has therefore submitted the private member's bill whereby fathers will automatically be granted custody if they acknowledge the child.<\/p>\n