“Mind the gap”
London is very attractive to many Dutch people. According to Intermediair, approximately 20,000 fellow countrymen were employed in 2015. In addition, many Dutch people travel back and forth every week to work there. Including Nick, who just lived with his family in Amstelveen at the weekend. But this situation ended up taking too much of a toll on his marriage to Linda. And before they knew it, the distance could no longer be bridged. A divorce turned out to be inevitable.
They were determined to avoid a divorce battle and to arrange everything in consultation with each other. In these Covid-times it turned out to be difficult to draw up agreements with the travel restrictions to and from England. Fortunately, a lot of information can be found on the internet, for example on the site of the Association of Family and Inheritance Lawyers Divorce Mediators (vFAS). A specialized lawyer was also needed to guide this couple. Nick’s high salary, which at the time had enticed him to work in London, had saved him and Linda a lot. Finances took a bit of a puzzle, also because of the different tax systems, but for this we engaged an advisor who works in both countries. Because England does not have the same tax benefits that we have in the Netherlands when paying alimony, they opted, after advice, for a lump sum payment with a special construction.
This construction made it possible for Linda to take over the house in Amstelveen. The children were old enough to travel to their father on their own. To start with, navigating between travel restrictions, but hopefully in the future during all holidays and with regular intervals in between. A divorce battle had taken them years. Fortunately, the situation was settled fairly quickly for Nick and Linda.
30 September 2020