As a minor, how can I get responsibility for my child?

Applying for responsibility as a mother aged 16 or 17

If you are a mother aged 16 or 17, you can ask the children’s court (kinderrechter) to declare you an adult so that you can get responsibility for your child. This will make you responsible for your child’s care and upbringing. The court will declare you an adult if it believes that this would be in the interests of you and your child. You will need a lawyer (advocaat) for this procedure.

Acquiring responsibility as a minor through marriage or a registered partnership

If you are pregnant at the age of 16 or 17, you can get responsibility for your child by marrying or entering into a registered partnership. To do so you will need the consent of your parents or guardian (voogd). If they do not give their consent, you can ask the court for permission. You will also need a certificate from your doctor to prove that you are pregnant.

Guardianship of your child

If you are a mother under 18 and if the father of your child is also under 18 or does not want parental responsibility, then responsibility for the child must be given to someone else – a guardian (voogd). This will happen if:

• you have not been declared an adult by a court;
• you do not marry or enter into a registered partnership.

A mother who becomes an adult upon turning 18

If you are a mother who has reached the age of 18, you are legally an adult and will automatically get responsibility for your child. This applies unless responsibility has already been assigned to the father or a guardian (voogd). In that case, you can ask the court to give you responsibility for your child.

Applying for responsibility as a father under 18

If a father under the age of 18 wants parental responsibility for his child, he must be married to or in a registered partnership with the child’s mother. A father who is under 18 cannot be declared an adult by a court. If the child’s mother is also a minor and does not have responsibility, a guardian will be given temporary responsibility. If the father is 16 or 17, he can acknowledge the child. This makes him officially the father.

A father who is 18 or over and has acknowledged his child can ask the court to give him responsibility.

Legal adulthood

You are legally an adult if:

• you are 18 or over;
• you are aged 16 or 17 and are married or in a registered partnership;
• you are a mother aged 16 or 17 and a court has declared you an adult.