Certificate of Inheritance Translation for the Netherlands

The notaris and the verklaring van erfrecht

Official proof of heirship in the Netherlands is the verklaring van erfrecht drawn up by a notary; it sets out the heirs and their powers and is looked for at steps such as access to a bank account or a transaction over immovable property. Where a Turkish certificate of inheritance is to serve as the basis for that process, the notaris reads the heirs and the share proportions from the translation. The certificate is not equated with a verklaring van erfrecht; the name of the issuing authority (civil court of peace or notary) and the numbers are carried over in their original form, because the notary will be transferring that information into the document he or she draws up.

Share proportions are usually written as fractions and are the most delicate point in the translation; the fractions, numerators and denominators alike, are preserved exactly and never turned into decimals. Translating the terms that mark degrees of kinship only approximately blurs who inherits in what capacity and makes the footing of the shares arguable.

Dutch banks usually insist on a verklaring van erfrecht for estate accounts above a certain amount; the notaris who is to draw that document up relies on the Turkish certificate in order to establish the heirs and their powers. The translation of the Turkish certificate thus stands at the first link of the chain and forms the footing for every step that follows. Once it is settled at the outset what the certificate is to be used for and which annexes it will be submitted with, the notaris can assess the file in one go.

Presentation to a bank and for immovable property

Where the estate touches an account or immovable property in the Netherlands, the bank, or the transaction before the land registry Kadaster, takes the verklaring van erfrecht as its basis, since such matters usually run through a notary; the translation of the Turkish certificate is the support the notary needs in order to establish the heirs and the shares correctly. At this stage what proves decisive is that the heirs’ names match the spelling in their passports exactly; a different spelling raises doubt as to whether the record belongs to the same person.

Where the deceased has left a will as well, the notaris establishes heirship together with that expression of intent; since the certificate and the will perform different functions, they are not confused with one another in translation. The certificate shows the heirs and their shares while the will carries the intention, and carrying both forward with the same terms and the same spelling of names holds the file together. Whether the document is to be an electronically signed print-out or a certified copy is settled in advance according to what the notaris in the Netherlands expects. Since several heirs may each need a certified copy for their own transactions, how many copies are to be issued is also planned from the start.

In the file the certificate usually travels with a civil registry extract and the death certificate. Consistency of name spelling, dates and kinship details across these documents makes it easier for the notary to assess the file as a whole; which law applies, on the other hand, is the business of the notary and a lawyer, not of the translator.

In Dutch succession law, choices such as accepting an inheritance outright or accepting it subject to an inventory (beneficiaire aanvaarding) bear directly on an heir’s liability; those choices lie with the notary and the lawyer, not with the translator. The translator only carries the heirs and their shares in the Turkish certificate over as they stand. Where the estate touches immovable property in the Netherlands, the transfer will be registered with the Kadaster through a notary, so the translation of the certificate is prepared in full as the first link in that chain.

Rbtv registration and the order of certification

A translator producing an official translation in the Netherlands is expected to be entered on the register of sworn translators (Rbtv); the registration number appears on the statement page and the notary can verify it. In a translation produced in Türkiye, a sworn translator signs it, it is notarised where required, and an apostille is added. Before delivery, the safest step is to learn the form in which the document will be asked for from the notaris in the Netherlands rather than from a notaire.

• Do not equate the certificate with a verklaring van erfrecht; carry the name of the authority over in its original form.
• Convey the share fractions exactly; do not turn them into decimals.
• Check that the Rbtv number is visible on the statement page.

The Netherlands is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; for a judicial or notarial document the apostille is obtained from the relevant judicial justice commission, and the current position should be confirmed from the official HCCH list. You can run your file through our single office in Kızılay, Ankara, see the cost on our pricing page and upload your document to request a quote. This page is for general information and does not take the place of legal advice; for the succession consult a notaris and your lawyer.