Your estate; this is what you need to know
Your estate, it is not a fun and pleasant topic of conversation. Yet it is incredibly important to pay attention to this. Because how are things arranged if something unexpected happens to you? At the notary you can have all your wishes recorded in a will. That gives you peace of mind and it ensures that your next of kin know where they stand.
A will is not mandatory. If you do not have a will, then the distribution of the inheritance is regulated by law. The surviving spouse or registered partner then receives the inheritance. Would you like to record something else? Or do you have additional wishes when it comes to inheritance? Then you can record this in a will.
There are several reasons why people want to draw up a will. After all, it allows you to record much more than the established rules according to the legal distribution in inheritance law. We list a number of important reasons for you.
Cohabitation
If you live together but are not married and do not have a registered partnership, then by law you are not heirs of each other. Your estate then goes to the heirs according to the legal provision. In a will you can stipulate that you are still each other's first heirs.
Sometimes agreements about, for example, the home are already recorded in a cohabitation contract. In order to arrange everything in your personal situation as well as possible, it may be useful to seek personal advice.
Donation
Would you like to leave a beautiful piece of jewelry with emotional value to a close friend, give away a beautiful work of art to a museum or donate an amount of money to charity? Then you can record that bequest - as such a gift is called - in your will.
Own business
"After death, your business often automatically becomes the property of your heir. The exact details of this depend on the type of business. Do you want to lay down something different about this? Then you can do so in a will."
Twan Peeters
Mortgage advisor at Alpina Roerdalen
Settling inheritance
In a will, you can appoint someone to handle the settlement of the inheritance. The so-called executor can be a family member or friend, but also an outside expert.
With a clear will and an executor, you can avoid disagreements in your family around inheritance as much as possible.
Inheritance tax
The recipient of an inheritance must pay tax on it. In a will, you can include certain arrangements and conditions to ensure that the inheritance tax is as favorable as possible.
Legal provisions
In addition to all the things you can set down yourself in a will, some things are regulated by law. If one of the parents dies, the children do not receive their inheritance directly. They receive a claim in money, the amount of their inheritance. They can only claim this amount once both parents have died. Did you enter into a marriage or registered partnership on or after Jan. 1, 2018? Then an inheritance does not fall into the community of property.
Have questions? Please contact us.
Team Alpina Roerdalen
Independent advisor of RegioBank in Sint Odiliënberg
