The statutory share and rejection of an inheritance

The statutory share is the portion of the estate that children and grandchildren of the deceased are entitled to by law. However, the law provides an exception: a child or grandchild who renounces their inheritance may still claim their statutory share.

Importance of a simultaneous declaration for the statutory share in the rejection of the inheritance

This claim must be submitted at the same time as the rejection of the inheritance. In practice, this is known as the ‘contantenverklaring’. It means that the statutory heir (the child or grandchild entitled to the statutory share) must clearly state that, despite rejecting the inheritance, they still wish to claim their statutory share.

If this declaration is not made simultaneously the right to the statutory share expires. This means the child or grandchild cannot claim any part of the inheritance in a later stage. It is therefore crucial that this declaration is made correctly and on time.

Real life example

A case before the Arnhem Leeuwarden Court of Appeal involved a similar situation. One of the children had rejected his mother’s inheritance but still wanted to claim his statutory share. The other heirs argued that he had lost that right because he had not properly asserted his statutory claim.

The court ruled otherwise. Documents submitted showed that, prior to the formal rejection, the child had already expressed in writing several times that he wished to secure his statutory share. Furthermore, the official rejection statement explicitly included the sentence: “I hereby also declare that I wish to claim my statutory share.” As a result, the legal requirements were met, and his claim was upheld.

Risk of incorrect procedure

If heirs or the executor do not acknowledge or contest the ‘contantenverklaring’, the claim to the statutory share may be deemed invalid. This risk lies with the statutory heir, so it is advisable to clearly record the declaration and send it by a reliable method.

Another important point is that the value of the rejected inheritance is deducted from the statutory share. This is called the imputation of rejected acquisitions ‘imputatie van verworpen verkrijgingen’. It prevents someone from receiving more than they are legally entitled to by rejecting part of the estate.

More information

Are you considering rejecting an inheritance but still want to claim your statutory share? Make sure your declaration complies with the legal requirements. If you are unsure or need help drafting your declaration, please contact me or one of our other inheritance law specialists.

This article was written in collaboration with inheritance law expert Sieta Autar Matawlie.