To begin with
With a will you establish who will receive something after your death. You retain your assets today. If you want to change something later, that is generally still possible.
"We can listen, learn and adjust without letting our existence be judged by every opinion."
Your questions, step by step
You want to care well for those dear to you. Tell us what matters to you; we help you to clearly record your wishes.
Why do I go to the notaire for this?
The civil-law notary puts your wishes correctly into legal wording and examines the rights of partner and children. A will only takes effect upon death; during your life you remain free to dispose of your goods.
How do I establish who will inherit from me later?
Map out your family, assets and previous gifts.
Discuss who you want to benefit and what happens if that person dies earlier.
Have the will drawn up and arrange for its safekeeping and registration.
How does this proceed and how long does it take?
There is no general waiting period. You must be able to make your choice freely and with sufficient understanding.
Report an urgent situation. As long as you are competent, you may revoke or modify your will.
Which documents should I provide to the notaire?
Prepare what you already have. You do not need to wait until your folder is complete to make an appointment.
Is a document missing or do you not know where to find it? Check the help for each document. We will discuss what the office can obtain for you and what you still need to provide yourself.
Where can I find this?
Provide the full text and any amendments. Look in your deed folder or Mijn akten. Not everything is digitally available; if necessary, indicate which office drafted the deed.
Where can I find this?
Provide the full text and any amendments. Look in your deed folder or Mijn akten. Not everything is digitally available; if necessary, indicate which office drafted the deed.
Where can I find this?
Provide the complete version with date, attachments and later amendments. Do you not have this document or do you not know if it exists? Select “Help needed” and discuss it with the office.
Where can I find this?
Provide the complete version with date, attachments and later amendments. Do you not have this document or do you not know if it exists? Select “Help needed” and discuss it with the office.
Where can I find this?
Provide the full text and any amendments. Look in your deed folder or Mijn akten. Not everything is digitally available; if necessary, indicate which office drafted the deed.
These check marks only remain on the opened page and are not sent to the office.
Open the checklist: ready, need help or not applicableWhat does the notaire do and investigate?
- Can you freely determine and understand your wishes?
- What rights do partner and children have?
- How does the text align with your gifts and earlier wills?
- Are form, safekeeping and registration correct?
We agree on which searches the office will conduct and which information you, your bank or another expert will provide.
What should I pay attention to before I sign?
Check names, assets, substitute beneficiaries and the relationship with earlier wills. Ask which rights of close relatives may limit your wishes.
Is a passage still unclear? Feel free to ask for an explanation with an example from your own situation. Only sign when you understand what you are agreeing to.
What else must I arrange afterwards?
Keep the details of the office. Review your will after a marriage, divorce, birth, death or significant change in your possessions or debts.
Which practical tips can help me?
Discuss your own wishes, even if someone else makes the appointment or guides you. A will is a personal decision.
What do these words mean?
- Legacy
- what you bequeath to someone in a will.
- Reserve
- the inheritance share to which certain close relatives are legally entitled.
- Beneficiary
- the person or organisation for whom you designate something.
Where can I find more explanation or help?
You do not have to phrase your question in legal terms. Tell what concerns you, what you want to arrange and if an important date is approaching.
We will look together at the next step. We agree in advance on how the office will assist you and what costs are involved.
Ask your question to the officeMake an AppointmentGeneral explanation for your preparation. The rules and documents that apply to you are determined based on your file.
On this page
Will in plain words
01
You record who will receive something after your death. Today, you retain your possessions and in principle can still change your wishes.
A will is your legally valid instruction for later. It can give someone a place that the law does not automatically grant inheritance. It is not a transfer today: you can still use your money and sell your home.
Where does this protection end?
You cannot simply decide freely about everything. Children and a spouse can have a protected inheritance share. Previous gifts are also counted. A will does not give anyone authority to manage your banking affairs during your lifetime.
Relate it to your life: Who would you like to leave something to who may not receive anything under the law?
What do I establish and what do I keep for myself?
02
A will governs what should happen to your inheritance after your death. Until then, your assets remain yours. A named beneficiary, the person who will receive something, does not become owner today through the will. In principle, you can continue to sell, spend or amend your will.
Your estate is what you leave at death: assets and debts. For married couples, it must first be determined what already belongs to the surviving spouse. Only what belongs to your own inheritance can be distributed by your will.
Some heirs have a protected minimum share. This is called a reserve. To calculate it, the law can also count earlier gifts. For that reason, "I only divide what is still in my account" is not always the full calculation.
You can bequeath a certain amount, a specific asset or a share in your inheritance. These choices behave differently. A fixed amount may weigh heavily if your assets later decrease; a specific property may have been sold at death. Also, a substitute for a deceased beneficiary deserves attention.
What if my relationship ends?
03
A will is not an arrangement for division upon divorce. It only gives someone rights upon your death. Still, you should have it reviewed immediately after a break-up, because the person named may no longer be the one you want to protect.
Are you still married but living apart? Then your marriage is not ended. Inheritance rights may still exist. Loss or limitation of rights during a divorce situation has conditions; a different address alone does not answer that question.
After a divorce, an ex-spouse no longer has the legal inheritance rights of a spouse. But the consequences for testamentary benefits, earlier gifts and special agreements must be read separately. Do not assume all documents automatically have the same effect.
For unmarried partners, a break-up is likewise not a safe replacement for checking the will. Have established what the used words mean and adjust your will if your intention has changed.
How does the will work after my death?
04
First it is checked which will is valid and applicable. Then the inheritance is established and it is examined how the provisions fit together with debts, earlier gifts, the marriage contract and protected inheritance shares.
Usufruct and full ownership do not grant the same freedom. Whoever gets usufruct of a property may in principle use it or receive the rent. The bare owner has ownership without that use. For the sale of the full ownership, usually cooperation of both rights is required. Special options to convert rights require a separate assessment.
Your will does not automatically determine how much inheritance tax someone pays. That depends among other things on what someone receives, their relationship to you and the applicable tax rules. A legal arrangement can fit but be financially difficult to execute if there is insufficient money available.
What does this mean in your situation?
05
Select your situation. You will find two fictional examples each time. They illustrate which questions matter; your own documents, family and assets will determine the outcome.
YOUR SITUATION
Single
A will can be important if you want someone to inherit who under the law does not or not in that way inherit.
Example 1: Can my girlfriend receive something?
Anne has no children and wants to leave a part to the girlfriend who has been helping her for years.
What happens in practice?
Anne can determine in a valid will what her girlfriend receives. Without such an arrangement, that girlfriend does not inherit merely because she has helped for years. Anne retains her possessions during her lifetime. She can immediately also arrange who replaces her girlfriend if she dies earlier. Afterwards, the notaire can explain how much tax the girlfriend would pay on the acquisition.
Example 2: Can I help my grandchildren directly?
Luc has children and grandchildren. He wants to leave each grandchild a sum of money.
What happens in practice?
Luc can leave an amount to his grandchildren, but his children are collectively entitled to a legally protected portion. Therefore, it is calculated how much room there is, taking into account earlier gifts. A fixed amount also deserves attention: what seems modest today can become a large part of the inheritance if Luc later incurs many care costs.
What does this mean for your choice?
Having no children does not mean that every special entitlement is excluded. Your entire family and personal history remains relevant.
To pause and consider
Record who is to receive something, what you mean, and who qualifies as a substitute.
YOUR SITUATION
De facto cohabiting
Partners living together in fact do not automatically inherit from each other. A will can provide a solution for this.
Example 1: Does my partner get my half of the house?
Sara and Pieter each own half. Pieter has a child. Sara thinks that upon his death she will automatically inherit the home.
What happens in practice?
Sara keeps her own half. Pieter’s half, without additional arrangements, in principle goes to his child. A will can grant Sara additional rights, for example the right to use the home. It must be checked what is compatible with the child’s protected inheritance share. For Sara, it is especially important whether she can continue to live there and who will decide later about a sale.
Example 2: Is the right to continue living there sufficient?
One partner wants the other to continue living in the home but leave the savings to the family.
What happens in practice?
Being able to stay in the home is one part of the protection. The partner must also be able to pay heating, maintenance and daily expenses. Therefore, besides the right of residence we look at what income or funds remain available. The will must clarify whether the partner may live alone, also rent out, or receive broader ownership rights.
What does this mean for your choice?
Each person makes their own will and can, in principle, later change it themselves. Mutual intentions are not an unchangeable joint arrangement.
To pause and consider
Bring the deed of purchase and calculate what resources your partner needs.
YOUR SITUATION
Legal cohabitation
Legal cohabitation gives, in principle, a limited inheritance right to the family home and household effects. A will can supplement or limit that.
Example 1: Does my partner also get my savings?
A legally cohabiting couple each has their own savings account aside from the home.
What happens in practice?
The legal inheritance right of a legally cohabiting partner in principle includes usage rights on the family home and household effects, but not automatically the savings. With a will, you can also leave money to your partner. If you have children, it is first calculated what is possible alongside their protected inheritance share. This way, your partner knows not only where they can live but also with what they can continue their life.
Example 2: What about my second home?
Eva owns an apartment by the sea. She wants her partner to be able to continue using it after her death.
What happens in practice?
Eva can specify in her will what her partner may do with the apartment. Usufruct, for example, gives the right to use it and receive rental income, while naked ownership may lie with others. Full ownership grants broader rights. The choice depends on her wishes: whether to permit only use, or also independent decision-making about sale.
What does this mean for your choice?
A legally cohabiting partner does not have a legally protected minimum share of the inheritance. Do not assume that legal protection is inviolable.
To pause and consider
Which assets must support your partner in addition to the family home?
YOUR SITUATION
Married under the statutory regime
For married couples, the division according to the matrimonial property regime comes first. The will relates to what then belongs to the inheritance.
Example 1: Can I leave an inherited home to my partner?
Wim inherited a home from his parents. He is married under the statutory property regime and has children.
What happens in practice?
The home Wim inherits initially remains his alone. A choice clause that only concerns their joint property does not automatically include that home. Wim can specify in a will what rights his partner has to it, within the limits of his children's protected inheritance share. First get the home properly registered, then choose the protection: that order prevents wrong expectations.
Example 2: Will children from both our relationships be treated equally later?
Both spouses have children from a previous relationship. They want to protect each other first and then all children.
What happens in practice?
If the surviving spouse receives everything in full ownership, that becomes their own property. At the second death, the children of the first deceased do not automatically inherit that, as they are not the surviving spouse's own children. Therefore, we consider both deaths separately. What does the partner need first, and what does each want to reserve for their own children afterwards?
What does this mean for your choice?
A will and marriage contract can influence each other. Read them together, even if each document seems clear on its own.
To pause and consider
Bring the marriage contract, previous wills, and an overview of gifts.
YOUR SITUATION
Married with separation of property
Separation of property determines what belongs to each. It does not mean your spouse has no inheritance rights.
Example 1: Does my partner inherit my own home?
Hilde owns the family home alone. She is married with separation of property.
What happens in practice?
Hilde is the sole owner, but her spouse generally has inheritance rights upon her death. Separation of property does not remove those rights. With children, the spouse generally receives usufruct according to the statutory inheritance law: the right to live there or receive rent. The children then get the naked ownership. A will can adapt the arrangement within legal limits to Hilde's wishes.
Example 2: Can my assets ultimately go to my own children?
A remarried couple wants to combine housing security for the partner with a later destination for their own children.
What happens in practice?
For example, the partner can receive the usufruct: to live in or to receive rent. The children can obtain the bare ownership: they are the owners, but during the usufruct they cannot freely dispose of the use themselves. At the end of the usufruct, these rights generally come together. It must also be clear in advance who pays costs and who must cooperate if the home is sold earlier.
What does this mean for your choice?
Even in the case of separation of property, the spouse may have a protected hereditary portion. A contractual title alone does not suffice to exclude that.
To pause and consider
What must your partner be able to use, decide for themselves, and ultimately pass on?
What mistakes can I avoid beforehand?
06
- First write down your intention.
Who do you want to protect? What must that person be able to use, receive or decide for themselves? After that comes the legal formulation.
- Consider a second order.
Who receives if a named person predeceases? What if the home has been sold or the intended amount is no longer available?
- Place all documents next to each other.
Your will, marriage contract, gifts and any accession clauses must form a coherent whole.
- Ensure the will can be found.
A correct text only helps if it is found after your death. Discuss safekeeping and registration.
- Have a personal text checked.
A holographic will must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed. Even a correctly handwritten document can be ambiguous in content.
What do I ask the notaire?
07
You do not need to memorise these terms. Bring the questions that suit you. Feel free to ask to see the answer with your own home, your money and the people you want to protect.
Click on a question for an initial explanation or practical tip. You do not need to have an answer to everything yet.
Who receives what if I do not arrange anything extra today?
Start from your own family and possessions. This way you see what your will must change.
How much can I freely bequeath, taking previous gifts into account?
Request the calculation of the protected hereditary portions to be shown in normal amounts.
Can my partner continue living there and move later?
Have the difference explained between rights of use and full ownership, and who must cooperate for the sale.
What if the person I designate dies earlier?
Discuss a substitute and what happens if a designated asset has meanwhile been sold.
The details that make a difference.
FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO READ FURTHER
View the conditions, possible variants and legal basis for your question.
When is it useful?
You want to benefit someone who does not inherit automatically. Or you want to supplement the statutory arrangement: to additionally protect a partner, bequeath something to a grandchild, or include a charity.
Start with your intention and then have your available space calculated. Previous gifts, the reserve of children and that of a spouse are relevant.
What can you establish?
Who receives what?
You can benefit persons or organisations and work with specific assets, amounts or shares. Correct identification prevents confusion. Also determine who bears the costs and how the arrangement is executed.
What if a beneficiary dies earlier?
Where appropriate, designate a substitute beneficiary. Otherwise, the outcome can differ from your intention. Also consider the case where a particular home has meanwhile been sold.
How do you coordinate with your other documents?
A marriage contract first determines what goes into the estate. Gifts can count towards the division and the reserve. A will must align with those documents.
Which form fits?
A holographic will must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed. A typed text signed only is not sufficient for that. A notarial will is drawn up and kept in accordance with the legal formalities.
Form alone does not make the content correct. Wording, capacity, safekeeping and findability also deserve attention. In case of foreign links, a separate assessment of applicable law is necessary.
When should you have it reviewed?
When there is a new relationship, divorce, death of a beneficiary, a large gift, or changes in your assets. Moving abroad can also be a reason to review again.
First read what is already written. You do not automatically need to replace a suitable will.
Frequently Asked Questions
FROM READING TO PREPARATION
Already a first answer.
Must I first find all the documents?
You can already ask your question with what you have. Note which agreements you remember and what has changed since. Using the checklist on this page, you can see what to gather and what still needs to be discussed with the office.
How do I prepare a conversation with my relatives?
First explain what you want to achieve or avoid. Give everyone space to express expectations and practical limits. Note what you agree on and which questions remain open, so that the conversation also takes into account who bears the consequences.
What if I am unsure between different solutions?
Write down for each option what you hope to achieve and what you do not yet understand. Bring existing documents. The consultation is meant to compare possibilities and consequences with your own situation before making a choice.
EASY PREPARATION
Your checklist: notarial will
Which documents do you prepare, where do you find them and when can the office assist? Indicate what you have and where you need support.
Useful websites on this topic
RELIABLE CONTINUED READING
FROM FIRST QUESTION TO NEXT STEP
You do not have to figure it out alone.
First your situation
Explain what is happening, who is involved and what you want to avoid.
Weighing possibilities
We discuss your questions, the available documents and the consequences of possible choices.
Your Next Step
We record what you want to have prepared and what follow-up is appropriate.
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