Someone has passed away

The office helps determine who inherits, which choices are possible and how assets, debts and taxes are handled. You do not need to gather everything beforehand to make contact.

1. Register the death and notify the banks. Discuss urgent payments with them.

2. Have heirs, wills and matrimonial agreements investigated and seek advice before you accept the inheritance or divide goods.

3. Inventory assets and debts and prepare the declaration of estate.

4. Then arrange the release, possible real estate formalities and division. These steps can partly run in parallel.

Not everything has to be done at once, but the declaration of estate does have a legal deadline. That declaration serves to calculate the inheritance tax.

For a Flemish declaration the deadline is normally four months after a death in Belgium. For a death in another country of the European Economic Area (EEA) it is five months; outside the EEA six months.

Blocked bank accounts or disagreements among heirs do not automatically suspend that deadline. The full settlement of the estate can take longer.

Please feel free to contact us if you do not yet have all the documents. We will consider which date counts first and what still needs to be gathered.

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.

These check marks only remain on the opened page and are not sent to the office.

• Who are the heirs and which arrangements apply?
• What choice does the risk of debt require?
• Which documents are needed for the bank and tax authorities?
• What follow-up steps are required by the goods and the division?

We agree on which searches the office will conduct and which information you, your bank or another expert will provide.

Check heirs, goods, debts and what you are signing. A deed of succession, tax declaration and deed of division each have a different purpose.

If there are unknown debts, first discuss your inheritance choice.

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.

Check the assessment notice and payments. Arrange insurances, subscriptions, home and digital accounts through the appropriate channels.

Keep the documents and report goods or debts found later.

Make one folder with bank letters, invoices and existing deeds. Keep urgent payments separate and do not use the deceased's access codes.

Inheritance choice

deciding whether and how you accept an estate, or reject it.

Inheritance tax

tax on what you obtain from an estate.

Settlement and distribution

calculating mutual rights and allocating the goods.

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.