Information
Inheritance in the Netherlands
If you live here without speaking Dutch, the hardest part is often not the rules themselves but the vocabulary. This page explains which documents and offices exist in the Dutch system and what the words mean — so that when someone hands you a form, you know what you are looking at.
The one question to settle first
Before any of the vocabulary below matters, there is a question we deliberately do not answer on this page: which country’s inheritance law applies to your estate?
Living in the Netherlands does not automatically mean everything is settled under Dutch law. A will drawn up in your home country does not automatically work here, and one drawn up here does not automatically work there. The answer depends on your nationality, where you live, and what you have already arranged elsewhere — which is precisely why no website can give it to you.
Put that question to a notary, and bring what you already have: a foreign will, a marriage contract, a prenuptial agreement. Those documents are what the answer turns on. What a Dutch notary is, and why the word does not mean what it means in English, is explained separately.
The words you will meet
| Dutch | Roughly | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Testament | Will | A notarial document in which you determine yourself what happens to your estate after your death, departing from the statutory rules where you want to. |
| Levenstestament | Living will / lasting power of attorney | Arrangements for while you are still alive but no longer able to decide for yourself — who may act on your behalf, in money matters and in medical ones. Not the same as a testament, which only takes effect on death. |
| Verklaring van erfrecht | Certificate of inheritance | An official document from the notary stating who has died, who the heirs are, who is authorised to administer the estate, and whether the estate has been accepted. Banks and insurers often ask for it before releasing anything. |
| Executeur | Executor | The person authorised to settle the estate. Who that is can be set out in a testament. |
| Nalatenschap | Estate | Everything someone leaves behind: possessions, money, and debts. |
| Erfbelasting | Inheritance tax | Tax on what you inherit. Rates and exemptions depend on your relationship to the deceased. |
The English column is an approximation, not a translation with legal force. The Dutch term is the one that appears on the document.
Why a certificate of inheritance holds so much up
Of all these documents, the verklaring van erfrecht is the one people run into unprepared. Banks, insurers and other organisations often require it before they release funds or provide information. Until it exists, accounts stay closed.
The notary carries out the research: wills, personal records, civil status, who the heirs are, and whether the estate has been accepted or rejected. But part of the paperwork has to come from the family — the death certificate, identity documents of the heirs, and depending on the situation a marriage certificate, a prenuptial agreement or proof of ownership.
That is the part that stalls. Not the notary’s research, but a family looking for documents nobody knew the location of, sometimes in another country and another language.
What this has to do with a vault
Familiekluis does not resolve any of the legal questions above. What it does is make sure that when the questions arrive, the documents are not the obstacle: recorded in one place, with the people you choose able to reach them, wherever they live.
If your family is abroad, that is worth more than it is for a Dutch family. They will not know which Dutch office needs which paper, and they will not be able to search your house from another country.
General information, not advice
This page is general information, not personal legal or tax advice. For your own situation, consult a notary. The detailed Dutch pages are at /informatie — sixteen topics, in Dutch. English versions of those are planned.