Couples who divorce will be financially independent of each other within a maximum five years, if new plans supported by a majority of MPs become law.

The two Liberal parties – VVD and D66 – and the Labour party PvdA have drawn up proposals to cut the current alimony limit from 12 to five years, and to scrap payments altogether for marriages which lasted less than three years.
The current rules are complicated and unfair, the MPs say. ‘Alimony has to be paid for far too long,’ VVD parliamentarian Ard van der Steur told Radio 1 news.
However, exceptions would be made if one of the partners finds it difficult to get a job following the divorce. This would include women who have been out of the jobs market for years while raising children, the MPs say.

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