Reasonable period for house clearance after death | Legal aid

Questioner

Case ... the mother of my colleague had usufruct of the house after the death of her partner. Now that she has died, the children of the man immediately claim the house. My colleague... the woman's child... does not yet have the opportunity to vacate the house. The cremation was only 2 days ago. What is the reasonable period of time that the heirs should give her to deliver the house?

Lawyer

The person who has maintained a lasting joint household with the testator until the testator's death has a right towards the heirs to continued occupation and continued use of the contents for six months after the death.

Questioner

There was no question of a joint household. In this case, it concerns a reasonable period for the IP and eviction of the home where the mother lived alone. My colleague lives independently

Lawyer

To my knowledge, there is no statutory reasonable period. As long as the daughter has not made a choice whether to reject or accept her mother's inheritance, article 4:185 section 1 BW applies. This provision grants the heir a period of three months to determine his choice. During this period, an estate creditor cannot take recourse to the assets of the estate. The heir is given time to take stock of the state of affairs in the estate and to investigate its size and composition. Based on this, he can determine his choice. But the end of the usufruct is a fact. If your colleague becomes (or has already become) the legal successor of her mother by accepting the inheritance, she has the delivery obligation to the owners. I would intuitively find a term of a few weeks reasonable, but I know of no confirmation of this in case law.