In a will you include how your inheritance will be divided and settled when you die. A notary draws up the will and sends it to you in draft form. Once you agree with the contents of the will, you sign it in the presence of the notary. The notary then also signs the will, making it final. But what happens if you die before signing the will? Is the draft still worth anything then? The courts have different opinions on this. Curious? Then read on!
Marriages: changed your mind?
The husband and wife were in a long relationship and had even gone into remarriage. The woman had a draft will prepared by the notary, who then came by to discuss it and prepare it for signing. However, the woman found that the draft was not yet “sign-ready” and left. Shortly thereafter, the woman stopped responding to the notary’s requests to sign the will and died. Her partner claimed that it was her will that he be the sole heir, but the court did not go along with that. There was no certainty, according to the court, that the woman would have signed the will in this form had she had more time. [1]
Just before the wedding day
On August 28, 2024, the East Brabant District Court ruled that the draft will of a man who died just before his marriage had no effect. The man intended to enter into (second) marriage with his new lover and wanted her to share in his inheritance through his will. The will was not signed and thus the wife inherited nothing. The wife asked the judge to assume the draft will anyway, but the children from the husband’s first marriage objected. The judge ultimately ruled that it was not “absolutely certain” that what was in the draft will was also the will of testator and therefore denied the request.[2]
In the face of divorce
A petition for divorce had been filed by the wife. In addition, the woman had had a will drawn up in which she disinherited her (almost) ex-husband, also in case she died before the divorce was officially pronounced. Her children were named as heirs. Despite having received the draft, the notary refused to have it signed because the invoice had not yet been paid by the woman. Unfortunately, when that invoice was finally paid, the notary did not contact her again. Fate struck: the woman died before she could sign the will.
In this case, the children filed the lawsuit and were vindicated. The court ruled that it was perfectly clear that the woman wanted to disinherit her (former) husband. As a result, the children became her sole heirs. [3]
In conclusion
It is more common for a draft will not to be declared valid. So do you want to make sure that your estate is distributed exactly as you want? Then make sure your will is not only drafted, but actually signed!
Do you have questions about how to settle this properly, or is there another inheritance law issue you are dealing with? If so, feel free to contact Kim van der Bijl, Kimberly Rozema, Elina Jonis or one of our other inheritance law specialists.
[1] Gelderland District Court March 6, 2024, ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2024:1299
[2] East Brabant District Court August 28, 2024, ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2024:3870
[3] Court of The Hague August 30, 2023, ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2023:13021
