Title 4

A testamentary disposition (uiterste wilsbeschikking) is a unilateral juridical act whereby a testator makes a disposition which only takes effect…

A testamentary disposition is not subject to annulment on the ground that it was entered into under an abuse of circumstances.

A testamentary disposition the content of which is contrary to public morality or public order is void.

A condition or a testamentary burden that is impossible to fulfill, or that is contrary to good morals, public policy, or a mandatory statutory…

In the interpretation of a testamentary disposition, regard must be had to the relations which the will apparently wishes to regulate, and to the…

When the execution of a testamentary disposition, other than as a result of a circumstance occurring after the death of the testator, is permanently…

When two or more persons have been called to the same property in the same last will, whether or not for specific shares, and the disposition has no…

A legacy made at the expense of an heir of a specific asset, or of a right to be established on a specific asset, shall lapse if the asset does not…

Unless the testator has provided otherwise, a bequeathed asset shall be delivered in the state in which it is at the moment of the death of the…

When a spouse has bequeathed a specific asset from the community of property (huwelijksgemeenschap) at the expense of his joint heirs, the legatee…

A testamentary disposition, made in favour of the person to whom the testator was married or with whom the testator had already exchanged promises of…

A testamentary disposition in favour of the closest blood relatives or the closest blood of the testator, without further designation, is presumed to…

Legal actions for the annulment of a testamentary disposition shall be barred by prescription one year after the death of the testator, as well as…

In addition to those who have the capacity to act, minors who have reached the age of sixteen, and those who have been placed under guardianship…

In order to derive a right from a testamentary disposition, one must exist at the moment the estate falls open. Rights from a testamentary…

A testator cannot make a testamentary disposition for the benefit of the person who, at the time the disposition is made, is his guardian.

Minors cannot make a testamentary disposition for the benefit of their teachers with whom they reside together.

Healthcare professionals in the field of individual healthcare who have provided assistance to a person during the illness of which he has deceased…

The following are excepted from the provisions of the two preceding articles:

The notary or other person who has executed a last will or a deed of deposit of a non-closed privately executed last will, and the witnesses who were…

A testamentary disposition that is in conflict with the provisions of Articles 57–61 is voidable. The annulment shall only take place insofar as it…

The legitimate portion of a forced heir (legitimaris) is the share of the value of the estate of the deceased to which the forced heir may lay claim…

The legitimate portion of a child of the deceased shall amount to half of the value over which the legitimate portions are calculated, divided by the…

The legitimate portions shall be calculated on the basis of the value of the assets of the estate, which value shall be increased by the gifts to be…

For the purposes of this section, gifts shall be valued as at the time of the performance, subject to the provisions of the following paragraphs. No…

In calculating the legitimate portions, the following gifts made by the deceased shall be taken into account:

Gifts from the deceased to his spouse shall, for the purposes of this Section, be disregarded to the extent that, as a result of a community of…

For the purposes of this Section, the following shall not be considered gifts:

The value of gifts, made by the deceased to a person entitled to a legitimate portion (legitimaris), shall be deducted from his legitimate portion.

The value of everything a person entitled to a forced share (legitimaris) acquires by virtue of inheritance law shall be deducted from his forced…

The value of that which a person entitled to a legitimate power (legitimaris) can acquire as an heir shall also be deducted from his legitimate…

The value of a legacy to a person entitled to a forced share (legitimaris) of a specific sum of money or of assets of the estate not consisting of a…

The present value of a legacy made to a forced heir (legitimaris) consisting of a sum of money payable in instalments shall be deducted from his…

The value of that which a person entitled to a forced share (legitimaris) may acquire under the law of succession subject to a protective trust…

In determining the value of that which, in accordance with Articles 70 to 75 inclusive, is deducted from the legitimate portion, no account shall be…

The periods referred to in Articles 72, 73 paragraph 1, final phrase, and paragraph 2, 74 paragraphs 2 and 3, and 75 paragraphs 2 and 4 may be…

A forced heir (legitimaris) who is not an heir may, as against the heirs and the executors charged with the administration of the estate, claim…

With respect to his legitimate portion, the forced heir may acquire a claim:

A forced heir (legitimaris) who makes a claim thereto has, in respect of that which is due to him as a forced share (legitieme portie) with due…

The claim is not exigible until six months have elapsed after the death of the deceased.

A testator may attach to a testamentary disposition for the benefit of his spouse, who is not subject to a legal separation (scheiding van tafel en…

By testamentary disposition, the testator may, insofar as the claim of the forced heir would be at the expense of the spouse or the other life…

The claims shall be increased by a percentage corresponding to that of the statutory interest, insofar as this percentage is higher than six…

The possibility to claim the legitimate portion (legitieme portie) shall lapse if the forced heir (legitimaris) has not declared that he wishes to…

If Section 2 or 3 of Title 18 of Book 1 has been applied with respect to the deceased, the periods referred to in Article 81, paragraph 1, and…

The satisfaction of the debts to the forced heirs (legitimarissen) shall first be borne by that part of the estate which the deceased has not…

To the extent that the claim of the forced heir (legitimaris) is not exigible pursuant to Article 81, paragraph 2, or a condition as referred to in…

If the amount that a person entitled to a forced share (legitimaris) can obtain on the basis of his claim referred to in Article 80, paragraph 1, is…

Abatement of a gift shall be effected by a declaration to the donee. The latter is obliged to compensate the forced heir for the value of the abated…

If the deceased has made testamentary dispositions or gifts to a stepchild, in deviation from Articles 80 to 89 inclusive, such testamentary…

After the death of the person entitled to a statutory share (legitimaris), his powers shall accrue to those who are entitled to his estate.

A last will made by two or more persons in the same deed is void.

Subject to the provisions of Articles 97-107, a last will may only be made by a notarial deed or by a private deed deposited with a notary.

A private last will cannot be validly made by a person who, due to ignorance or other causes, has been unable to read the last will.

The burden of proof rests upon the person who contests the validity of a deposited last will on the ground that the testator did not sign or write…

By means of a private instrument, entirely handwritten, dated and signed by the testator, dispositions may be made without further formalities for:

In the event of war or civil war, military personnel and other persons belonging to the armed forces may make a last will and testament before an…

The possibility mentioned in Article 98, paragraph 1, shall continue to exist until the King has determined that, for the application of that…

Those who are on a journey on board a seagoing vessel or aircraft may make a last will and testament in the presence of the master or the first…

In places where normal communication with a notary or a competent consular official is prohibited for or severed from the testator as a result of…

The last wills, referred to in Articles 98, 101 and 102, shall be executed in the presence of two witnesses. They shall be properly set down in…

In the cases referred to in Articles 98, 101 and 102, the testator is also authorised to make a signed private last will, which he shall place in…

If, in a case as referred to in the preceding article, the holographic last will is dated and the testator dies without the last will having been…

He who has in his possession a deed of last will, of deposit or of withdrawal, as referred to in Articles 98, 100 to 105 inclusive and 113, shall…

The last wills, referred to in Articles 98 and 100 to 104 inclusive, are voidable if the testator dies more than six months after the possibility for…

A last will and testament made in a manner specified in one of the Articles 98, 101, 102 and 104, but not under the circumstances indicated therein…

A last will and testament is void if the required signature by the testator is missing from the deed of last will and testament or from the deed of…

The provisions of Article 54 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the power to annul a testamentary disposition.

The same formal requirements apply to the revocation of a testamentary disposition as apply to the making of that disposition.

A later testamentary disposition which does not expressly revoke a previous one, shall cause the latter to lapse insofar as it has become…

A testator may at any time reclaim his holographic last will and testament placed in custody, provided that, for the accountability of the notary or…

A testamentary disposition validly made by a private instrument that has not been placed in custody is revoked when the testator destroys this…