Under

Dutch law The Netherlands uses civil law. The role of case law is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law. The Dutch system of law is based on the Fr ...

, a ''samenlevingscontract'' is a written agreement loosely translated as "

cohabitation agreement A cohabitation agreement is a form of legal agreement reached between a couple who have chosen to live together (whether they are heterosexual or homosexual). In some ways, such a couple may be treated like a married couple, such as when applying ...

". It has been compared to marriage, but merely governs the so-called property relationships between two or more persons who are cohabiting. It does not necessarily imply a marriage-like (or sexual) relationship exists, but the contract can include agreements about any children within the cohabitation arrangement. The only two requirements set by Dutch law are that the contract needs to be a notarial deed (made by a Dutch civil-law notary) and that the couple must agree to take care of each other financially. Since the 1980s the contract has been popular among two different groups in Dutch society: people who wanted to formalise their relationship, but did not want to marry, and people who wanted to marry but could not legally do so. With the introduction first of registered partnerships (1998) and later the broadening of marriage to include same-sex couples (2001) in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the need for a cohabitation agreement for the latter has become less pronounced.

References

Law of the Netherlands Society of the Netherlands Contract law {{Europe-law-stub

See also

References