{"id":1752,"date":"2026-05-29T09:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.ellenslentze.nl\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2026-10-08T09:52:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T07:52:57","slug":"wel-de-lusten-maar-de-lasten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ellenslentze.nl\/en\/wel-de-lusten-maar-de-lasten\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoying the benefits, but what about the burdens?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\tIn his own words\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tEnjoying the benefits, but what about the burdens?\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
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The Backer family is large. Grandma Cathrien and Grandpa Dirk are in their late seventies and recently married. They and the (grand)children from their respective families occasionally need the help of a notary. You can read about their recognisable situations here.<\/p>\n

Enjoying the benefits, but what about the burdens?<\/p>\n

If an inheritance turns out to bring unpleasantly large debts, you can refuse it. But only under certain conditions.<\/p>\n

\u2018Did you know that, Dad? That you\u2019re allowed to disclaim an inheritance?\u2019 Dirk\u2019s son Jaap had had his neighbour over. The neighbour had been saddled with an enormous debt from his late father. But he had refused it.<\/p>\n

Gambling debts
\nDirk happened to have just had a conversation about it with a notary friend. \u2018Yes. But I don\u2019t think your neighbour can say: give me the household contents, but not the debts. It\u2019s all or nothing.\u2019
\nJaap nodded. \u2018Right. He refused everything. Because he knew his father had gambling debts. The catch was that the \u201cinheritance\u201d then automatically passed to his own children. But they refused too, and their notary helped them with that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Time to think it over
\nWhether or not you accept an inheritance, you\u2019re allowed some time to think about it. Namely three months. But in the meantime you must not \u2018behave as an heir\u2019. For example by already taking that lovely little painting with you. Or transferring money to your own account. Then you are an heir, and automatically liable for any debts. Accepting the inheritance this way is called \u2018unconditional acceptance\u2019.<\/p>\n

Accepting with benefit of inventory
\n\u2018You can also \u201caccept with benefit of inventory\u201d,\u2019 said Dirk. \u2018Then you inherit all the assets and debts together with any other heirs. Only, you are then not liable with your personal assets. This is a sensible choice if it is unclear which is larger: the debt or the assets.\u2019
\n\u2018But what if Mari\u00eblle and I both die? Then our son Sem, who is five, surely can\u2019t just accept everything?\u2019
\n\u2018No, if someone does not have free management of the assets, such as a minor, then it is automatically with benefit of inventory. And then the subdistrict court judge comes into the picture. But Jaap, first make sure you don\u2019t run up any debts,\u2019 Dirk joked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t