How to settle after mother's death without information?

Questioner

My mother passed away a year ago and her partner (with a cohabitation contract) took over her assets with usufruct. This partner was executor at the time and arranged everything concerning her death and funeral. This partner was terminally ill and I had agreed with my mother and her partner that I would inherit her assets after he passed away. All this is stated in my mother's will. They both lived together in a nursing home. I was my mother's sole heir. Six months later I had to file a tax return for my inheritance that I did not yet have, so I went to get the story from that partner. Then I found out that her partner had died in the meantime and since then I have heard nothing from any agency about this whole process. So I have been completely left in the dark the entire time. The nursing home was also closed for demolition during that period. I then went to their notary to pick up the will and to see where I stood. I was then advised to accept the inheritance under benefit of inventory, as I thought there was still residual value of my mother's house before she went into the nursing home. At the time, I asked the notary whether I was mentioned in her partner's will. To which the notary indicated that this was the case. So I applied for an order of execution via the notary, went to the bank to request her bank statements. These showed that her bank balance was approximately 2700 euros at the time of her death. A year before her death she transferred 30,000 euros to her partner's account. Then I investigated the partner's will and found out that he had his will changed just before his death. Finally I went back to the notary to explain the story and it turned out that another unknown woman is the sole heir of the partner and that I am no longer in the will. This woman accepted his inheritance under benefit of inventory. I was not allowed to know whether I was in the old will or not, since it was rejected by the new will. I asked for advice from the notary and asked again whether I should accept under benefit of inventory, to which the answer was that this would not do any harm and would be sensible. It was indicated that there is almost no chance that I can claim the 30,000 euros, given that there is a burden of proof for an appeal to a legitimate portion and I cannot meet this requirement. I went to court to accept the inheritance under benefit of inventory, not knowing that I would have to arrange a lot as liquidator. I found this out later and now regret not having rejected the inheritance. I can no longer undo it and/or reject the inheritance if I can believe the notary on the phone. The notary did not tell me anything about these consequences and I feel cheated. I feel that information is being withheld from me in order to make me spend more money on notary fees. This entire process has taken several months. So now I have to arrange the settlement of my mother for beneficiary acceptance without any information about her assets, household effects and possible creditors. Her bank account has been blocked for almost a year and there is no more money in it. I have no idea what happened to her household effects, while I have to draw up an inventory of household effects. I do not know who the heir of my mother's partner is. And finally, I also have no idea whether there are any creditors who may need something from my mother. I no longer know what to do in my situation, how to handle this process and who to contact. I am afraid that I will be held liable for my own assets if I do not handle this correctly.

Lawyer

What a complicated and painful process, I sympathize with you. These types of situations are always complex and emotionally charged. What is important to realize is that once you have accepted the inheritance under benefit of inventory, you are not personally liable for any debts of the inheritance. If there are more debts than assets and you have accepted under benefit of inventory, you do not have to pay the debts out of your own pocket. These are paid from the inheritance itself. As the administrator of the estate, you must track down creditors and invite them to submit their claims to you. You can reach potential creditors by placing a public notice in a national or local newspaper. In addition, the assets and debts of the estate must be mapped out. Whether or not you can reject the inheritance once you have accepted it under benefit of inventory is very difficult. Your notary can advise you best on this. As for the usufruct of your mother's partner; usufruct is the right to enjoy something that someone else owns, without it decreasing in value. This right expires upon the death of the usufructuary. This means in theory that you can still claim your mother's inheritance. However, as your mother’s partner’s will has been changed, these matters will likely affect your eventual inheritance rights. It is advisable to seek legal advice from an experienced inheritance lawyer to fully understand how these changes will affect your situation. Finally, given the complexity of your situation, I recommend that you seek legal assistance to be certain of your rights and responsibilities. You may want to first consult with another notary for a second opinion. If an inheritance after beneficiary acceptance proves to be complex, a notary can act as the liquidator. Although there are costs involved, a notary can help you to properly handle the pursuit and settlement of the inheritance.' ---------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.