Glossary

Aansprakelijk

Legally responsible.

Aanvaarden

To accept, adopt, take into possession or use.

Aanverwanten

In-laws or children of spouse.

Aflossen

To pay off/repay.

Aflossen boetevrij

To pay off or repay without being charged penalty interest.

Aflossingsvrije hypotheek

An interest-only mortgage; during the term of the mortgage, only the interest is paid as a monthly sum.

Afsluitprovisie

Handling fee; the amount that the bank charges for taking out a mortgage.

Akte

A deed or legal instrument.

Akte van eigendomsoverdracht

A deed of transfer of legal ownership: the notarial act that governs the transfer of ownership of property to a new owner.

Annuïteitenhypotheek

An annuity mortgage (level payments consisting of a decreasing interest component and an increasing principal component).

Anti-speculatiebeding

An anti-speculation clause is a clause that allows a house to be resold only under certain restrictive conditions. It usually involves relinquishing a portion of the profit to the municipal government if the house is resold within a certain period (e.g. 10 years).

Appartement

An apartment or flat is a dwelling situated in a larger building, such as a block of flats. An ‘appartement’ usually refers to a single-storey dwelling; A one-room flat is often referred to as a ‘studio’.

Ascendenten

Relatives in ascending line (e.g. your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents).

Beleggingshypotheek

An investment-linked mortgage is a mortgage loan that is linked to investments in securities (e.g. shares).

Beneficiaire aanvaarding

Beneficial acceptance is a way of accepting an inheritance from someone who is deceased. You accept the inheritance, but all creditors of the testator are paid pro rata from the assets. This avoids you having to make up the shortfall from your own resources.

Bloedverwanten

Blood relatives are your descendants: your children or grandchildren. They are also your ascendants: your parents and grandparents. Horizontally, blood relatives are your siblings. These are all people who descend from a common forefather and/or foremother.

Bloot eigendom

Bare ownership. This is having the ownership of a property but not having usufruct. For example, if you have bare ownership of a house, you are not permitted to live in it or to rent it out. It means that you have no right to use it (live in it) or exploit it economically (by earning rental income).

Boedelkosten

Estate costs are the costs paid out of the estate prior to the distribution of the estate. To begin with, these are the funeral costs (burial, cremation, etc.). They are also the costs incurred in distributing the estate. For example, the costs of an executor are part of the estate costs.

Centraal Testamenten Register (CTR)

The ‘Central Register of Wills’ is a Dutch national register that keeps track of those who have made a will (or wills), as well as when and by which notary it was drawn up.

Echtscheidingsconvenant

A divorce agreement is an agreement between two (prospective) ex-spouses/ex-partners who wish to break up. It sets out financial arrangements as well as agreements on who the children will stay with, as well as to how the contact arrangements of and to the children are to be arranged.

Eigendomsakte

A title deed is a certified copy of the deed of transfer (Dutch: leveringsakte).

Eigendomsoverdracht

The transfer of ownership of property by the notary by means of a notarial deed and the registration of this document in the Land Registry.

Erfdienstbaarheid

Easement is a right in rem that gives someone, as a natural person, the right to make use of land or part of that land that belongs to another person. In an easement, a piece of land may be used by the owner of an adjacent piece of land.

Erflater

A testator is a deceased person who leaves assets to heirs in the form of an inheritance.

Erfpacht

A ground lease is a right in rem; a form of lease in which the lease does not end when the landlord dies. In economic terms, the position of the leaseholder is almost equal to that of the owner.

Erfstelling

A provision in a will in which you name someone as an heir. This is sometimes not necessary in a will because that person is already an heir under the law. If you want someone to inherit who is not automatically considered to be an heir by law, you must do this in a will.

Executeur testementair

An executor is the person who executes the will of the testator upon death. The executor may be a notary but can also be any other person designated by the deceased.

Gemeenschap van goederen (before 2018)

‘General community property’ means that the assets held by both spouses are merged to become shared property, except where a prenuptial agreement has been made and specifies otherwise.

Holografisch testament

A holographic will is a will that has been written by the testator.

Huwelijkse voorwaarden

A prenuptial agreement is an agreement between spouses that sets out the rights that each have to marital property (possessions and income).

Hypotheekakte

A mortgage deed that is drawn up by a notary when a person takes out a mortgage. The mortgage deed includes all the rights and responsibilities of the mortgagor (the buyer) and the mortgagee (the lender).

Hypotheekregister

In most cases, mortgages are entered into a register which is accessible to the public.

Ik-opa-testament

A will in which a grandparent leaves part of their assets to their grandchildren in the form of a bequest and leaves the remaining assets to their children

Langstlevende testament

A will in which a person makes a provision in favour of the surviving spouse or partner to ensure that he or she is cared for after their death.

Legalisatie

Legalisation is a procedure that enables official documents to be valid for use in countries other than the country of issue. It means that authorities in one country can be certain that a document from another country is official and legal.

Levenhypotheek

A form of mortgage that is linked to an endowment insurance policy. No repayments are made during the term of the mortgage itself but are only made through the life insurance policy attached to the mortgage. The insurance pays out at the end of the term or in the event of earlier death.

Leveringsakte

The deed of transfer is the deed that ensures that property ownership is transferred. It must be drawn up by a notary and signed by the seller, the buyer and the notary.

Lineaire Hypotheek

A linear or ‘straight-line’ mortgage is a form of mortgage in which your monthly costs decrease over time. This is because the costs of a linear mortgage consist of a fixed repayment component and an interest component. The fixed repayment component remains the same throughout the term of the mortgage.

Notariaat

‘Notariaat’ can refer to the notarial profession – the profession to which a notary belongs – or to the office of the notary.

Notaris

A person who sets down agreements between people in a legally recognised form. A notary is a public official who is authorised by the government to, among other things, draw up certain official documents. For example, a notary is authorised to draw up mortgages and wills.

Spaarhypotheek

A savings-based mortgage involves a mortgage loan that carries insurance. It consists of a mortality risk component and a savings component. A monthly premium is paid for the insurance, but the mortgage is not repaid until the end of the term.

Testament

A will is a document in which a person sets out what is to happen to their estate upon death. This document is usually drawn up by a notary.

Verblijvingsbeding

A ‘survivorship clause’ is a provision, usually in a notarised cohabitation agreement, by couples who live together without children. This is a clause between you and your partner.

Verklaring van erfrecht

A certificate of succession is a notarial deed in which a notary reports facts following the death of a person.

Verwerpen

To reject (e.g. an inheritance, if you choose not to accept it).

Vruchtgebruik testament

This translates as ‘usufruct’ in English and refers to the right to make use of property that is not actually your own possession. This legal right in a will lays down that the children become the owners of their portion of the inheritance (e.g. the house) but that the surviving partner may continue to make use of it.

Zuiver aanvaarden

This term refers to a situation in which the inheritance is accepted with all associated rights and responsibilities without an inventory being made and regardless of whether the financial balance is positive or negative.