Samenvatting

In this study the authors examine changes over the past decade in the number of divorces and divorce-related proceedings. Furthermore, the authors look at the accompanying expenses for subsidised legal aid. They observed that, after six years of relative stability, divorce proceeding prevalence increased in 2010. Moreover, there were fewer adversarial divorce proceedings in 2010 than in previous years, while the number of divorce proceedings upon a joint petition and proceedings without opposition increased substantially. Proceeding prevalence for child custody and alimony nearly doubled over the past decade. The recent increase of divorce proceeding prevalence is presumably due to the discontinuation of flash divorce in 2009. Mitigation of opposition may stem from the introduction of the mandatory parenting plan in 2009. Legal aid expenses for divorce roughly followed the trend in the number of divorce proceedings. The expenses for divorce-related proceedings increased far more than the expenses for divorce proceedings. It can be expected that expenses and proceeding prevalence for divorce-related matters will decrease in the future due to the introduction of the parenting plan.