Avoid the hassle of searching for your legal heirs; make a will!

Hundreds of people die in the Netherlands every year without their heirs claiming their inheritance. These heirs may be unaware of their inheritance because they had little contact with the deceased. Television programs like "De Erfgenaam" (The Heir) and "Waar is mijn erfgoed" (Where is my inheritance) are popular; often, much suffering and uncertainty could have been avoided if the deceased had left a will. In a will, you can appoint someone to settle the estate, even if, for example, one of the heirs cannot be found because they have emigrated to a distant location.

The importance of a will: appoint your own heirs!

You can't prevent someone who would legally inherit from you (for example, a brother or sister) from disappearing; sometimes life just happens. But what you can do is draw up a clear will with a notary. In this will, you can specify to whom you want to leave your inheritance after your death and who will receive what portion of your inheritance. If you don't designate your heirs in a will, the law determines who inherits from you, and sometimes the search for these legal heirs (through a so-called heir investigation) can be costly and time-consuming.

Appoint a will executor

In a will you can also appoint one or more persons who will map out your estate after your death and handle current affairs, namely: (a) an 'executor', and; (b) a 'settlement administrator'.

An executor manages your estate and can settle debts and expenses. Another task of the executor is to inventory your estate's assets.

You can give a settlement administrator the authority in your will to distribute your inheritance among your heirs.

The role of executor and/or settlement administrator can also coincide in the same person.

Absenteeism in case of untraceable heir

If no executor and/or administrator has been appointed, it will be more difficult to settle an inheritance if one of the heirs cannot be found. In such cases, an absentee trust can be used. This means that the subdistrict court judge is asked to appoint someone to manage the affairs of the missing person. The person appointed as administrator can cooperate in settling the inheritance on behalf of the untraceable heir. Naturally, such a trust entails costs. These costs are charged to the untraceable heir's share of the inheritance. The administrator will hold the portion to which this heir is entitled for a certain period. After a certain period, the administrator will transfer the remaining amount to the State's consignment fund. The heir in question can then claim it from the State for another 20 years.

If a person's existence is uncertain, it's also possible to request a declaration of presumed death from the court. Who will then receive the inheritance depends on the provisions of your will.

Conclusion

A well-drafted will can prevent the settlement of your estate from becoming a costly and time-consuming affair. This can be achieved by clearly naming your heirs and appointing an executor and/or trustee. You can schedule an appointment with your notary to draw up a will.

Would you like more advice on this topic and also benefit from the exemptions that still apply this year? For information about gifting, please also visit "How does gifting work, gift tax, and exemptions ?" And come by or give us a call. An initial (phone) consultation is free. To schedule an appointment for 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 'Met Recht Geregeld' (www.metrechtgeregeld.nl), a product of FBN Juristen.

This article should not be considered legal advice. FBN Lawyers and MAES Civil-Law Notaries take the utmost care in the content of these articles, but accept no liability for any incompleteness or inaccuracy of an article, nor for any consequences thereof.