Selecting a language will automatically trigger the translation of the page content.

How to settle an inheritance when the heir is a minor or protected adult?

Verified 08 November 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you are the representative of a minor (parents or guardian) or a protected adult (guardian, trustee, authorized person) who inherits, then you must settle the estate on behalf of the person you represent.

You have the choice between 3 solutions. That's what we call it the option to inherit. You can, on behalf of the protected minor or middle finger, choose one of the following options:

  • Simply accepting the estate
  • Accepting the succession up to net assets
  • To renounce the succession

Each option has different consequences for the payment of any debts of the deceased.

Minor heir

The procedure for settling the succession is different depending on the option chosen.

Who makes the decision?

The choice of the option to inherit belongs to one of the following:

Application for authorization

You must request permission from the Judge for Family Affairs (Jaf) acting as Judge for Guardianship of Minors to accept the succession on behalf of the minor.

You must complete your application using a form.

Application for acceptance of the succession on behalf of a minor child

FYI  

in the case where the minor is placed under guardianship, the authorization of the juvenile guardianship judge may replace the authorization of the family council if the value of the property is less than €50,000.

You must file or send your application to the Jaf Registry acting as guardianship judge for minors in the court of your domicile.

Who shall I contact

As soon as you have received the decision of authorization from the Jaf, you can accept the succession in the name of the minor.

Acceptance

Acceptance can take two forms: express or tacit.

Express form 

Express acceptance must be in writing. It can be done by privately signed document or by authentic instrument. For example, you sign and send the notary an act of acceptance pure and simple.

Tacit form

Your intention to accept the estate may be revealed if you perform certain acts or steps. For example, when you sell an item that depends on the estate, you tacitly accept the estate outright.

However, you may perform certain acts without this being considered an acceptance of the estate. For example, paying home insurance, collecting rents.

Who makes the decision?

The choice of the option to inherit belongs to one of the following:

Warning  

the authorization of the Family Court Judge (Jaf) is not necessary to accept the estate up to the amount of net assets.

Declaration of acceptance

You must declare the acceptance up to net assets either on free paper or using a form.

Declaration of acceptance of an estate up to net assets

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Succession opened after October 2017

You have the choice to send or submit the acceptance declaration up to net assets to one of the following recipients: 

  • Registry of the court of the last domicile of the deceased
  • Notary
Who shall I contact
Who shall I contact

You must publish the statement in the Official Civil and Commercial Advertising Bulletin (BODAC). This publication informs creditors of the deceased. The costs of publishing €16 shall be borne by the estate. If you go through the court registry, you have to pay the amount to the court's imprest and revenue account. They will provide you with a receipt to issue the statement.

You must have a notice published in a legal listing journal within the1 month after the declaration has been lodged at the registry of the court. The journal provides you with a certificate of publication or a copy of the journal, which is necessary to prove the publication and perform other steps.

Succession opened before October 2017

You must deposit it or send it to the court registry of the last residence of the deceased.

Who shall I contact

You must publish the statement in the Official Civil and Commercial Advertising Bulletin (BODAC). This publication informs creditors of the deceased. The costs of publishing €16 shall be borne by the estate. You must pay the amount to the imprest account and the revenue of the jurisdiction. They will provide you with a receipt to issue the statement.

You must also have a notice published in a legal listing journal within the1 month after the declaration has been lodged at the registry of the court. The journal provides you with a certificate of publication or a copy of the journal, which is necessary to prove the publication and perform other steps.

Who makes the decision?

The choice of the option to inherit belongs to one of the following:

Application for authorization

The renunciation of the succession in the name of a minor requires the authorization of the Judge for Family Affairs (Jaf) acting as Judge for Guardianship of Minors.

You must complete an application using a form.

Application for a waiver of the succession on behalf of a minor child

FYI  

in the case where the minor is placed under guardianship, the authorization of the juvenile guardianship judge may replace the authorization of the family council if the value of the property is less than €50,000.

You must file or send your application to the Jaf Registry acting as guardianship judge for minors in the court of your domicile.

Who shall I contact

As soon as you have received the decision of authorization from the Jaf, you can renounce the estate on behalf of the minor by making a declaration of renunciation.

Declaration of waiver

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Succession opened before November 2017

You must complete the declaration using a form. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Waiver of an estate in the name of a minor child

You must then deposit it or send it to the court registry of the last residence of the deceased.

Who shall I contact

Succession opened after October 2017

You must complete the declaration using a form. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Waiver of an estate in the name of a minor child

You have the choice to send or deposit the waiver statement to one of the following recipients:

  • Registry of the court of the last domicile of the deceased
  • Notary
Who shall I contact
Who shall I contact

Protected Major

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Guardianship major

You are the guardian of an heir under guardianship.

If the value of the estate's assets (assets) is clearly greater than the amount of the estate's debts (liabilities), you can simply accept the estate without the judge's permission. To do this, you will need to obtain a certificate from the notary responsible for settling the estate.

In other cases, you must complete an application for authorization of pure and simple acceptance of the estate in the protection litigation judge using a form.

Application for acceptance of the succession on behalf of an adult placed under legal protection (family or guardianship entitlement)

You must then deposit it or send it to the registry of the judge for protection disputes of the court of the domicile of the protected adult.

Who shall I contact

As soon as you have received the authorization decision from the protection litigation judge, you can accept the estate purely and simply on behalf of the guardianship major.

Acceptance can take two forms: express or tacit.

Express form 

Express acceptance must be in writing. It can be done by privately signed document or by authentic instrument. For example, you sign and send the notary an act of acceptance pure and simple.

Tacit form

Your intention to accept the estate may be revealed if you perform certain acts or steps. For example, when you sell an item that depends on the estate, you tacitly accept the estate outright.

However, you may perform certain acts without this being considered an acceptance of the estate. For example, paying home insurance, collecting rents.

Major under Trusteeship

It is not necessary to seek authorization from the protection litigation judge for the outright acceptance of a succession by a guardian major.

The middle man under curatorship can accept the succession purely and simply with the assistance of his curator.

Acceptance can take two forms: express or tacit.

Express form 

Express acceptance must be in writing. It can be done by privately signed document or by authentic instrument. For example, you sign and send the notary an act of acceptance pure and simple.

Tacit form

Your intention to accept the estate may be revealed if you perform certain acts or steps. For example, when you sell an item that depends on the estate, you tacitly accept the estate outright.

However, you may perform certain acts without this being considered an acceptance of the estate. For example, paying home insurance, collecting rents.

Adult under family authorization

You are the authorized person of an heir protected adult. You must complete an application for authorization of pure and simple acceptance of the estate in the protection litigation judge using a form.

Application for acceptance of the succession on behalf of an adult placed under legal protection (family or guardianship entitlement)

You must then deposit it or send it to the registry of the judge for protection disputes of the court of the domicile of the protected adult.

Who shall I contact

As soon as you have received the authorization decision from the protection litigation judge, you can accept the estate purely and simply on behalf of the adult under family authorization.

Acceptance can take two forms: express or tacit.

Express form 

Express acceptance must be in writing. It can be done by privately signed document or by authentic instrument. For example, you sign and send the notary an act of acceptance pure and simple.

Tacit form

Your intention to accept the estate may be revealed if you perform certain acts or steps. For example, when you sell an item that depends on the estate, you tacitly accept the estate outright.

However, you may perform certain acts without this being considered an acceptance of the estate. For example, paying home insurance, collecting rents.

You must make a declaration of acceptance of an estate "up to net assets" if you are in any of the following situations:

  • You are an heir (in the case of a guardianship or a family entitlement)
  • You are the guardian of the heir (in the case of a guardianship)

You must declare the acceptance up to net assets either on free paper or using a form.

Declaration of acceptance of an estate up to net assets

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Succession opened after October 2017

You have the choice to send or submit the acceptance declaration up to net assets to one of the following recipients: 

  • Registry of the court of the last domicile of the deceased
  • Notary
Who shall I contact
Who shall I contact

You must publish the statement in the Official Civil and Commercial Advertising Bulletin (BODAC). This publication informs creditors of the deceased. The costs of publishing €16 shall be borne by the estate. If you go through the court registry, you have to pay the amount to the court's imprest and revenue account. They will provide you with a receipt to issue the statement.

You must have a notice published in a legal listing journal within the1 month after the declaration has been lodged at the registry of the court. The journal provides you with a certificate of publication or a copy of the journal, which is necessary to prove the publication and perform other steps.

Succession opened before October 2017

You must deposit it or send it to the court registry of the last residence of the deceased.

Who shall I contact

You must publish the statement in the Official Civil and Commercial Advertising Bulletin (BODAC). This publication informs creditors of the deceased. The costs of publishing €16 shall be borne by the estate. You must pay the amount to the imprest account and the revenue of the jurisdiction. They will provide you with a receipt to issue the statement.

You must also have a notice published in a legal listing journal within the1 month after the declaration has been lodged at the registry of the court. The journal provides you with a certificate of publication or a copy of the journal, which is necessary to prove the publication and perform other steps.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Guardianship major

Deceased after October 31, 2017
Authorization of the protection litigation judge

You are the guardian of an adult placed under guardianship and who inherits a succession. You want to relinquish the estate in his name. You must first apply to the protection litigation judge for an authorization by completing a form.

Request for renunciation of the succession on behalf of a guardianship adult

You must then file it or send it to the Registry of the Protection Dispute Judge of the court of the domicile of the protected adult.

Who shall I contact
Declaration of waiver

Once you have obtained the authorization of the protection litigation judge, you must then complete a declaration of waiver of the estate using a form. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Declaration of surrender in the name of a guardianship major

You must send or file the declaration of waiver at the court registry of the last domicile of the deceased.

Who shall I contact
Deceased before November 1, 2017
Authorization of the protection litigation judge

You are the guardian of an adult placed under guardianship and who inherits a succession. You want to relinquish the estate in his name. You must first apply to the protection litigation judge for an authorization by completing a form.

Request for renunciation of the succession on behalf of a guardianship adult

You must then file it or send it to the Registry of the Protection Dispute Judge of the court of the domicile of the protected adult.

Who shall I contact
Declaration of waiver

Once you have obtained the authorization of the protection litigation judge, you must then complete a declaration of waiver of the estate using a form. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Declaration of surrender in the name of a guardianship major

You have the option to send or deposit the waiver statement to one of the following recipients:

  • Registry of the court of the last domicile of the deceased
  • Notary
Who shall I contact

Major under Trusteeship

Deceased after October 31, 2017

You're under a trusteeship. You don't need to seek permission from the protection litigation judge.

You must complete a declaration of renunciation of the estate using a form with the assistance of your trustee. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Declaration of surrender of succession by a guardian

You must send or file the declaration of waiver at the court registry of the last domicile of the deceased.

Who shall I contact
Deceased before November 1, 2017

You're under a trusteeship. You don't need to seek permission from the protection litigation judge.

You must complete a declaration of renunciation of the estate using a form with the assistance of your trustee. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Declaration of surrender of succession by a guardian

You have the option to send or deposit the waiver statement to one of the following recipients:

  • Registry of the court of the last domicile of the deceased
  • Notary
Who shall I contact

Adult under family authorization

Deceased after October 31, 2017
Authorization of the protection litigation judge

You are the authorized person of an adult under family authority who is an heir. You want to relinquish the estate in his name. You must first apply to the protection litigation judge for an authorization by completing a form.

Application for a waiver of succession in the name of an adult under family authorization

You must then file it or send it to the Registry of the Protection Dispute Judge of the court of the domicile of the protected adult.

Who shall I contact
Declaration of waiver

Once you have obtained the authorization of the protection litigation judge, you must then make a declaration of waiver of the estate using a form. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Waiver of the estate in the name of an adult under family authorization

You must send or file the declaration of waiver at the court registry of the last domicile of the deceased.

Who shall I contact
Deceased before November 1, 2017
Authorization of the protection litigation judge

You are the authorized person of an adult placed under family authorization who has the status of heir. You want to relinquish the estate in his name. You must first apply to the protection litigation judge for an authorization by completing a form.

Application for a waiver of succession in the name of an adult under family authorization

You must then file it or send it to the Registry of the Protection Dispute Judge of the court of the domicile of the protected adult.

Who shall I contact
Declaration of waiver

Once you have obtained the authorization of the protection litigation judge, you must then make a declaration of waiver of the estate using a form. The form's package leaflet tells you the list of attachments.

Waiver of the estate in the name of an adult under family authorization

You have the option to send or deposit the waiver statement to one of the following recipients:

  • Registry of the court of the last domicile of the deceased
  • Notary
Who shall I contact

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region