Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands In the Netherlands, same-sex marriage ( or commonly "homohuwelijk") has been legal since 1 April 2001. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Unregistered partnerships or informal cohabitation is when same-sex or opposite-sex couples live together as a couple but they choose to keep the legal status of their relationship unregistered or informal. This means all worldwide assets that belong to a single party remain the sole property of the party with no legal entitlement by the other party, whether owned before or acquired during the relationship. This legal
Same-sex marriage in Sweden said they would like a gender-neutral marriage law which states that marriage can be conducted solely by the state, as is done in several other countries, rather than the current system in which churches have the authority to (legally) marry people, because this would further the separation of church and state. Sweden also has a separate and more limited common-law marriage act for both unmarried and unregistered opposite-sex and same-sex couples. From 1988 to 2003, there were two different laws, one for opposite-sex couples and one for same-sex couples, which have since been united into a single law. Common-law marriage