Hooray, your child is 18 and of legal age. A lot will change for your son or daughter. Young adults are responsible for their own health insurance, must apply for a grant themselves, arrange health care allowance and perhaps a ‘student allowance’. The parents’ maintenance obligation continues until they are ‘really’ adults on their 21st birthday. What changes on your child’s 18th birthday?
Contents
- The most important changes on the 18th birthday
- Duty of care until the 21st birthday
- For parents: duty of care is not liability
- DigiD
- Student allowance
The most important changes on the 18th birthday
Parents receive less money from the 18th birthday. Child benefit, the child-related budget and possibly alimony will stop. In addition , your child is no longer insured for free medical expenses. The changes at a glance:
- Child benefit stops. Child benefit is paid quarterly, so if someone turns 18 in the middle of that quarter, you will still receive child benefit for the entire quarter. The child budget for parents with a low income will also stop.
- When you study, you are entitled to a study grant, sometimes a supplementary grant and a loan. The fair includes a public transport card. Information can be found on the DUO-IB Group website . Please note, 18 and at MBO? You are also entitled to a grant. For the conditions, see the DUO-IB Group website
- If you are 18 but still at a secondary school, e.g. a HAVO or VWO, you are entitled to a ‘student allowance’. This allowance consists of a basic part and an additional allowance that depends on the income of the parents.
- If you receive alimony for your child, your child will receive this from now on. The maintenance obligation remains in force. It doesn’t matter whether your child is still in school or already working. If your child works or receives a grant, this may influence the amount of alimony.
- Your child is no longer insured for free medical expenses. Children over 18 can simply stay on the policy with their parents. You can also choose to take out separate insurance. There are collective insurance policies for students and various ‘youth insurance policies’. You must discuss this with your child because from now on your son or daughter can decide for themselves which insurance to take out. Your child can apply for a healthcare allowance from the tax authorities. The healthcare allowance is a contribution to the costs of health insurance. Healthcare allowance is income-related, the income of the 18-year-old, not the parents! A student grant or allowance is not income and if you receive it, you are always entitled to healthcare allowance. The application takes two months to process, so make sure you apply for the allowance on time.
Duty of care until the 21st birthday
Parents have a duty of care for children until their 21st birthday. Does your child have a scholarship, a ‘student allowance’ or does it already work? This makes no difference to the duty of care. You must contribute financially to subsistence and possible studies. How much you have to contribute depends on the amount of the grant, allowance or salary. If you pay alimony, it will continue as usual, but you now pay alimony to the child. The amount of this alimony also depends on the ‘income’ of your child.
For parents: duty of care is not liability
From your 18th birthday you can take out your own insurance, take out a loan or make major purchases. In short, you are allowed to get into debt. Parental consent is no longer necessary, but contrary to popular belief, parents are also not responsible for any debts. Parents are also not liable for damage caused by their child. The duty of care says nothing about liability, the duty of care continues until the 21st birthday, the liability of parents is no longer valid after the 16th birthday. Children from the age of 16 are already liable for damage they cause. Parents must then be able to demonstrate that they could not prevent the behavior that caused the damage. The family’s liability insurance usually remains in force for children up to the age of 21, but it is certainly useful to inquire.
DigiD
To apply for healthcare allowance, a study grant, a student allowance and much more, you need a DigiD, a Digital IDentity. You can request a DigiD on the digid.nl website. To complete the form, you will need your citizen service number (which can be found on your health insurance card, among other things), your postal code and house number and your date of birth. When applying, you choose a username and password. After the application has been sent, you will receive an activation code by post within an average of one week. You can activate the request with this code. If you do not yet have a DigiD, this is the time to apply for one.
Student allowance
If you are 18 and still at a secondary school, you are entitled to a ‘student allowance’. Secondary education means: everything between VWO and practical education, VAVO and secondary special education. You always receive a basic allowance. A supplement to this depends on the income of the parents and is divided into a contribution to school costs and a contribution to tuition fees. The compensation does not include an annual public transport pass. Applications are submitted via the DUO-IB Group .