When should you have a will drawn up?

Having your habitual residence in the Netherlands means that inheritance tax applies to your full estate. All your assets and debts, wherever they are located, are considered for your Dutch inheritance tax.

There is a reduction in tax for property located abroad but this only applies to real estate and business establishments. All other assets are fully taxed for inheritance tax. For income tax purposes, there is a special scheme for expats, but unfortunately this does not apply to inheritance tax.

The succession of your estate

Having your habitual residence in the Netherlands also means that Dutch law applies to the succession of your estate. When there is no will, your heirs will need to be determined. If you are married and have children, they will need to know how many children you have.

For expats, this might mean that sometimes they need to check in other jurisdictions to see if you have had children there. If you are unmarried and do not have children, they need to determine who your ascendants are. This needs to be checked in the jurisdiction where your ascendants live.

These checks often cost a lot of time and money, and during these checks, a Dutch notary cannot issue a certificate of inheritance, which means your estate will be difficult to settle.

If you have your habitual residence in the Netherlands and you have children, the Dutch court has jurisdiction in guardianship matters. If both parents pass away and a guardian needs to be appointed, the Dutch court will search for possible guardians among your relatives and, after the necessary considerations, will appoint a guardian.

This is time consuming, and, in the meantime, it is unclear for your child who their guardian will be. During this time, the government will be responsible for the care of your child.

So, having your habitual residence in the Netherlands has legal consequences, which might make matters more complex in an international context. But the good news is, these matters can be easily tackled!

Drawing up a will

If you have a will drawn up, you can make sure that all tax exemptions are used optimally. This reduces or eliminates inheritance tax implications in case of death. You can also appoint your heirs in a will. This prevents the necessary search for children and ascendants and therefore eliminates the costs of a time-consuming check in case of death.

Both in a will or at the court guardianship registration, you can appoint a guardian for your child. The court still needs to appoint the guardian in case of death and therefore the court will want to check whether your child is safe with the proposed guardian. If that is the case, the court does not have to look further for other persons that are also able to fulfil that role. The guardian is appointed faster, and your child is in the safe arms of your appointed guardian quicker.