Wills

In the Netherlands, a will must be drawn up and co-signed by a civil-law notary. You will be invited to discuss your wishes during a personal interview. Your will establishes who your heirs are.

You may also decide to make individual bequests of specific items of property or money to named individuals or organisations. If you wish to appoint an executor, or a guardian to take responsibility for your children, this too must be recorded in the will.

Once your will has been signed, the civil-law notary will file it with the Central Register of Wills so that it can always be found when it is needed.

Your civil-law notary can also advise on the legal validity of a will that has been made in another country. In some cases, it may be necessary to make a separate will in the Netherlands. Such a Dutch will may contain entirely new or only supplementary testamentary dispositions.

Personal, tailored advice is essential to ensure that the terms of two or more wills made in different countries do not conflict. On occasion, the civil-law notary may wish to consult a colleague in another country. If such external expertise is required, Van Buttingha Wichers can rely on an extensive network of professional advisers throughout the world.

When a person who is domiciled in the Netherlands dies and/or when an estate includes assets in the Netherlands, the services of a Dutch civil-law notary are required to wind up the estate. The civil-law notary will prepare all necessary documents and will advise the heirs and the executor.