Declaring a death at the municipality

A death is declared at the municipality where the person died. In practice the funeral director makes that declaration, with a statement from the doctor and the particulars of the deceased. As executor you do not have to go to the counter yourself when that has been agreed, but you check that the declaration has been made. Ask which municipality draws up the certificate and when a certified copy (afschrift) is ready. Put that appointment down as a task, with the name of the funeral director as the source. Note the date on which the funeral director says the declaration has been made.

The death certificate is the document that banks, insurers and many other bodies later want to see. A mourning card or a statement from the funeral director is usually not enough for them. Ask in time for enough certified copies, or ask whether a digital issue is enough for a particular body. Not every organisation accepts the same form, so note per body which document you have sent and on which date. Keep one copy that stays in the file, so that you do not have to order again and again. As long as the certificate is missing, the task stays open and you do not send an incomplete set to the bank.

The certificate states at least the name, the last place of residence and the date and place of death. Check those particulars against the identity document and against what the family names. A spelling error or a wrong date carries through into letters to the bank and the pension fund. Report an error to the municipality and keep the reply with the certificate. Put in the file the certificate number and the name of the municipality that issued the document. That saves searching when an insurer asks for the number months later.

The declaration is something other than a certificate of inheritance. With the death certificate you show that someone has died. The certificate of inheritance, drawn up by a notary, says who has authority to dispose of the estate. A bank usually asks for that second document before it releases balances. Do not ask the municipality to establish the heirs; that is not its task. Plan the death certificate as the first document and the certificate of inheritance as the next step, without inventing a price or a date the notary has not yet named.

Foreign death certificates belong on a separate track and do not replace the Dutch municipal certificate. For a death in the Netherlands that municipal certificate is the document with which you approach most Dutch bodies. Ask the funeral director whether you still have to sign or bring something. Supply only copies that are legible, and keep the original certified copy available for whoever wants to inspect it. A body that wants the certificate returned gets a certified copy and not your only copy. Write in the task when you sent the document and when an acknowledgement of receipt has come in.

This is an administrative checklist, not legal advice. The notary, the bank or the body concerned decides what this file needs and in which order. Ervazo keeps the tasks, the letters and the recorded values. The program does not send the letters, does not pay any debts and does not file a return. For each step, note the date, the person and the document you have received. What is still missing stays an open task. A ticked line means only that the administration has been updated. The task around the certificate closes only once the certified copy is actually in the file.