Have you inherited a house or land? Have the property registered in your name at the notary!

Prevent pollution of the land registry
Currently, approximately 260,000 deceased people in the Netherlands are registered as homeowners with the Land Registry. Besides posing a risk of crime, this "contamination" of the Land Registry can also lead to significant problems for the heirs (the so-called "legal successors" of the deceased). How does this work exactly, and how can such problems be proactively prevented?

Clarity about who is the owner by registering the declaration of inheritance
As long as a deceased person is registered as the owner, the property remains connected to the deceased. This can lead to problems, such as:

• confusion among various (government) agencies or parties (such as banks, the tax authorities or future buyers) about who owns the property;
• uncertainty about who has the authority to sell or use the property;
• delays in processing transactions, such as a sale.

To avoid such problems, it is wise to go to the notary after the death of someone with real estate to have a so-called 'declaration of inheritance' drawn up.

What is a declaration of inheritance?
A declaration of inheritance is a notarial deed which states (among other things):

• who has died;
• who the heirs are and in what proportion they inherit;
• whether the heirs have accepted the inheritance.

The certificate of inheritance establishes, after a person's death, who receives which assets from the estate. If the inheritance includes real estate, the successor owner will also be declared. Such a certificate can only be prepared by a civil-law notary. The civil-law notary will ensure that this certificate (if necessary) is registered with the Land Registry.

By registering the declaration of inheritance, the heirs are registered as the successor owners of the property. The Land Registry offers this registration process free of charge. This means you only pay the costs of preparing the declaration of inheritance.

Arrange the declaration of inheritance!
Have you inherited a home, building, or piece of land and want to ensure it's correctly registered with the Land Registry? We're happy to advise and guide you through the process of preparing a certificate of inheritance.

Contact us. An initial (phone) consultation is free. To schedule an in-office meeting or a video call, please call +31 (0)10 44 53 777. We look forward to seeing you.

This article is taken from 'Notariskrant', a product of FBN Juristen. This article should not be considered legal advice. FBN Juristen and MAES notarissen take the utmost care with the content of these articles but accept no liability for any incompleteness or inaccuracy of an article, nor for any consequences thereof.