Dutch inheritance law: statutory division and legitimate portion

Without a will, Dutch law gives the surviving spouse or registered partner all the assets of the estate, while the children receive only a money claim that is generally payable after that spouse dies (Article 4:13 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW). A will can disinherit a child, but the child keeps a legitimate portion (legitieme portie) of half the intestate share, as a money claim that must be invoked within five years of the death (Articles 4:63, 4:64 and 4:85 BW).

Dutch succession law may apply to you even if you are not Dutch: across most of the EU the governing law turns on the deceased’s habitual residence at death, not nationality. The international rules are set out further below.

Who inherits when there is no will?

Book 4 BW calls the heirs in groups: first the spouse or registered partner together with the children; failing those, parents and siblings; then grandparents. A registered partnership is equated with marriage (Article 4:8 BW), but an unmarried cohabiting partner inherits nothing on intestacy, however long the relationship lasted. Unmarried partners therefore need wills to provide for each other.

How does the statutory division work?

Where the deceased leaves a spouse or registered partner and children, the statutory division (wettelijke verdeling) applies automatically under Article 4:13 BW:

• The surviving spouse acquires all the estate’s assets by operation of law, without a deed or the children’s cooperation.
• The spouse bears all the estate’s debts (Article 4:14 BW).
• Each child is an heir, but receives a money claim against the surviving spouse equal to the value of its share. The child does not become co-owner of the house, the accounts or the business.

The children’s claims are in principle not payable during the spouse’s lifetime; they fall due on the spouse’s death, bankruptcy or statutory debt restructuring, and a will may add triggers such as remarriage. Under Article 4:13 BW interest runs at the statutory rate less six percentage points, so nothing accrues while the statutory rate stays below 6 per cent, unless the will sets a different rate.

Can the statutory division be undone?

Yes. Under Article 4:18 BW the surviving spouse may set it aside within three months of the death, by notarial deed registered in the estates register (boedelregister). The estate is then divided under the ordinary rules, with spouse and children as co-owners.

Articles 4:19 to 4:22 BW also give children “will rights” (wilsrechten): the right to demand assets up to the value of their claim, usually subject to a usufruct. These rights matter mainly when the surviving parent remarries, because they keep family assets out of the new spouse’s line.

What can a will change, and what not?

A Dutch will must be made by notarial deed, or by a private document deposited with a civil-law notary (Article 4:94 BW). A purely handwritten will is not valid; the narrow exception is the codicil under Article 4:97 BW, which can only dispose of clothing, jewellery, household effects and books. Every notarial will is recorded in the Central Register of Wills (Centraal Testamentenregister), which records that a will exists and where, not its contents.

Within those formal rules, a will can:

• appoint heirs freely and disinherit anyone;
• set aside the statutory division or change when the children’s claims fall due;
• appoint an executor and an administrator (bewindvoerder);
• include an exclusion clause (uitsluitingsclausule) that keeps an inheritance outside the limited community of property in a child’s divorce;
• make a choice of law under the EU Succession Regulation.

A will cannot remove a child’s legitimate portion or the other statutory entitlements described below. A disinherited child is not an heir and receives nothing automatically, but keeps those claims.

How does the legitimate portion of a disinherited child work?

Only descendants have a legitimate portion: the children, and grandchildren where they take the place of a parent who died earlier (Article 4:63 BW). A spouse, parents, siblings and unmarried partners have none.

How much is it?

Under Article 4:64 BW the legitimate portion is half of what the child would have received on intestacy. With a surviving spouse and two children, each takes one third on intestacy, so each child’s legitimate portion is one sixth of the calculation base.

That base (legitimaire massa) is the estate’s value at death, increased by certain lifetime gifts and reduced by defined debts (Article 4:65 BW). Article 4:67 BW adds back, broadly, gifts within five years before death, gifts to descendants whenever made, revocable gifts and gifts intended to prejudice those entitled. What the child already received is set off (Articles 4:70 and 4:71 BW), so a testator cannot defeat the portion by giving everything away shortly before death.

Is it a claim for money or for the house itself?

It is a claim for money against the heirs (Article 4:63 BW), enforced where necessary by reducing dispositions and gifts under Articles 4:79 and 4:80 BW. Clients from forced-heirship systems often misread this: you cannot demand the family home or a share in the company, block a sale or vote in the administration.

When can it be collected, and what is the deadline?

As a rule the claim is not payable until six months after the death, and wills commonly postpone it until the surviving spouse has died (Articles 4:81 and 4:82 BW). You may be entitled in principle and still wait years.

The deadline for invoking it is strict. Under Article 4:85 BW the right lapses if not invoked within a reasonable period set by an heir or executor, and in any event within five years of the death. Where the child has been left something under the will, Articles 4:72 and 4:73 BW require a choice between that gift and the portion.

How do you get the information to calculate it?

Under Article 4:78 BW a child entitled to the legitimate portion (legitimaris) who is not an heir can require the heirs and the executor to provide all information needed for the calculation, and can ask the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) to have the inventory confirmed under oath. On that basis the District Court of Amsterdam ordered an heir on 21 February 2024 to hand over a statement of assets and debts, bank statements and tax returns (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2024:1063).

Which other statutory entitlements can a will not exclude?

Book 4 BW contains further protective rights (andere wettelijke rechten) that matter most where a spouse or young child is left badly provided for. Each carries a short deadline; where the claim has to be enforced, the application goes to the subdistrict court.

Should you accept the inheritance, accept it under benefit of inventory, or renounce it?

As an heir you have three options, and the choice decides whether the estate’s debts can reach your own money:

• Pure acceptance (zuivere aanvaarding): you become personally liable for all the estate’s debts, including any excess over the assets.
• Acceptance under benefit of inventory (beneficiaire aanvaarding): liability is limited to what the estate contains, but the estate must be wound up under the statutory liquidation rules, creditors first. You file a declaration at the district court.
• Renunciation (verwerping): you reject the inheritance entirely by declaration at court. This is irrevocable, and the share generally passes to your own descendants, who must then choose for themselves.

Pure acceptance can happen by conduct. Under Article 4:192 BW an heir who behaves as an unconditionally accepting heir is treated as having accepted: clearing the flat, selling the car or paying some creditors and not others can count. Where solvency is uncertain, touch nothing until you have taken advice. A minor’s representative may only accept under benefit of inventory.

What do the executor and the certificate of inheritance do?

An executor (executeur) can only be appointed by will (Article 4:142 BW). The executor administers the estate’s assets, pays its debts and represents the heirs in and out of court (Articles 4:144 and 4:145 BW), may sell assets where needed to pay debts (Article 4:147 BW) and must give the heirs all information they request (Article 4:148 BW).

The certificate of inheritance (verklaring van erfrecht) is a notarial document under Article 4:188 BW stating who died, whether there was a will, who the heirs are and who may act for the estate. Banks and the Land Registry (Kadaster) normally release nothing without one. For international families it takes longer, because foreign certificates may need an apostille and a sworn translation.

How does inheritance tax work?

Dutch inheritance tax (erfbelasting) is governed by the Inheritance Tax Act 1956 (Successiewet 1956), separate from the civil law. The beneficiary pays tax on what they receive, and the charge follows the deceased’s residence: it is due where the deceased lived in the Netherlands at death, wherever the heirs live. A Dutch national who emigrates is deemed to have remained resident for ten years after leaving (Article 3 Successiewet 1956); this does not apply to foreign nationals.

Exemptions depend on the relationship: a surviving spouse or registered partner has a large exemption, a child a modest one, and a sibling or friend a small one. Rates are progressive in two bands. Under Article 32 Successiewet 1956 the value of a survivor’s pension is set off against the partner exemption, down to a statutory minimum. The Belastingdienst adjusts the figures every 1 January, and the table for the year of death applies; we work alongside your tax adviser on the return.

For deaths on or after 1 January 2026 the filing deadline is twenty months after the death, instead of eight, and tax interest (belastingrente) also runs from twenty months. For earlier deaths, check which period applies to that estate.

Which law applies to an international estate?

For deaths on or after 17 August 2015, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 applies. Under Article 21 the law of the State where the deceased had their habitual residence at death governs the whole estate, movable and immovable, wherever situated. Habitual residence is not the same as municipal registration or tax residence; for an expat posted here for a few years with a family home abroad, it may be arguable.

Article 22 allows you to choose the law of a State whose nationality you hold, expressly in a will. A foreign national who does not want a Dutch legitimate portion can choose their national law, and a Dutch national abroad can choose Dutch law to keep the statutory division. Many civil-law systems have stricter forced heirship than the Dutch one, and a choice of law changes nothing about tax.

The Regulation binds the EU Member States other than Denmark and Ireland. In the Netherlands a civil-law notary issues the European Certificate of Succession under Article 4:188a BW; certified copies are valid for six months (Article 70), so request one when you need it.

What should you check as a surviving spouse?

• Whether the statutory division applies or the will sets it aside, and whether you want to undo it within three months (Article 4:18 BW).
• Whether the estate is solvent before you act as heir (Article 4:192 BW).
• Which events make the children’s claims payable under the will, and at what interest rate.
• Whether you need the usufruct rights of Articles 4:29 and 4:30 BW, and their six-month and one-year deadlines.
• The inheritance tax filing date, twenty months after the death for deaths from 2026.

What should you check as a disinherited child?

• Whether you are disinherited in full or have been left something you must weigh against the portion (Articles 4:72 and 4:73 BW).
• Whether an heir or executor has set a reasonable period to invoke the portion; otherwise the five-year limit of Article 4:85 BW applies.
• Which gifts must be added back under Article 4:67 BW, including gifts to siblings.
• Which information you need and request it under Article 4:78 BW.
• When your claim becomes payable under the will (Articles 4:81 and 4:82 BW).

What can we do for you with inheritance law?

Our family lawyers advise heirs, surviving spouses and disinherited children:

• We review the will and establish who inherits and on what terms.
• We calculate the legitimate portion, including gifts to be added back, and invoke it in writing within the deadline.
• We request the estate information under Article 4:78 BW and, if it is withheld, apply to the court.
• We advise on accepting, accepting under benefit of inventory or renouncing before you act.
• We advise on a choice of law under the EU Succession Regulation for your own will.

Summary

• Without a will, a surviving spouse or registered partner receives all the assets (Article 4:13 BW); children receive a money claim, generally payable later. An unmarried partner inherits nothing.
• A will can disinherit a child, but not remove the legitimate portion: half the intestate share, as a money claim to be invoked within five years (Articles 4:64 and 4:85 BW).
• Behaving as an heir can count as pure acceptance and make you liable for the estate’s debts (Article 4:192 BW).
• If the Netherlands is your habitual residence at death, Dutch law governs your whole estate unless your will chooses your national law.
• For deaths from 1 January 2026, the inheritance tax return is due twenty months after the death.

Frequently asked questions