What happens to your bank account after death

What triggers the freeze

A bank does not act on a death until it has been notified. The notification can come through several routes: the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen) update from the gemeente, a direct call from a family member, or a letter from the uitvaartondernemer (funeral director) with a copy of the akte van overlijden (death certificate).

Once the bank has the notification, all personal accounts in the deceased's name are frozen. The freeze blocks new transfers, debit-card use, and most automatische incasso (direct debits). It is not a punishment — it protects the estate from unauthorised transactions while heirs are identified and the inheritance is sorted out.

What you need in order to notify the bank:

• An uittreksel van de akte van overlijden (extract from the death certificate, issued by the gemeente).
• ID of the person doing the notifying.

Most major banks have a dedicated nabestaandendienst (bereavement service): ING (online via Mijn ING or in-branch), ABN AMRO (online or by phone), Rabobank (online or in-branch).

En/of-rekening — joint accounts

A joint account in the Netherlands is called an en/of-rekening — "and/or-account". The "and/or" part is the key word: either holder can act independently. When one holder dies, the other continues to have full access. The account is not frozen; only personal accounts in the deceased's name alone are.

That access matters for the surviving partner — daily groceries, fuel, the gas bill — in the weeks before the estate is settled. But it comes with two caveats:

1. The bank may still place a temporary hold on the deceased's share of the joint balance until inheritance is clarified. Practice varies by bank.
2. The surviving partner is a co-owner of the funds, but the deceased's share of the balance is part of the nalatenschap (estate) for inheritance-tax purposes.

A practical implication: couples who keep all money in personal accounts (instead of an en/of-rekening) leave the survivor with no usable bank access until paperwork is in place. Many couples in NL keep at least one joint account precisely for this reason.

Verklaring van erfrecht — when it is required

A verklaring van erfrecht is a notarial document stating who the heirs are and who is authorised to act on behalf of the estate. It is issued by a notaris and costs roughly several hundred euro, depending on the estate's complexity. [Exact KNB-published price ranges as of 2026 — unverified, ask a notaris for a quote.]

For bank access, NL practice is fairly consistent across banks:

A verklaring van erfrecht is not required when:

• The deceased had a partner and/or children.
• There was no will (so the standard legal inheritance applies).
• The total amount across all accounts is within the bank's own threshold — in NVB-aligned practice this is roughly EUR 10,000 to EUR 25,000, and each bank sets its own figure.

In that case, the bank usually accepts the uittreksel akte van overlijden and the heir's ID.

This threshold is not statutory — it is a common operational floor the major NL banks use to keep small estates moving without unnecessary paperwork. Because it varies per bank (and a few set it higher for specific situations), the only reliable step is to ask the deceased's bank directly what it requires for the actual balance involved.

A verklaring van erfrecht is required when:

• The total in the accounts exceeds the bank's threshold (roughly EUR 10,000–25,000, varies per bank).
• There is a testament (will).
• There are no obvious heirs.
• The inheritance situation is unusual in some other way.

The threshold and the four conditions are common bank policy, not a single national rule, so the exact line can vary. For larger or more complex estates, plan on the verklaring being needed.

Joint mortgage and the role of insurance

If the deceased held a mortgage jointly, the mortgage does not disappear — the surviving co-borrower remains liable. What can change the picture is an overlijdensrisicoverzekering (term life insurance) linked to the mortgage. If one is in place, the insurer pays out a sum to the bank, fully or partly clearing the remaining balance. Without one, the mortgage continues at its existing payment level, and the lender expects payment to continue from the surviving holder or the estate.

How to find out whether an ORV exists: check the original mortgage paperwork; check bank statements for a small monthly debit to an insurance company; or call the mortgage bank's nabestaandendienst.

Automatische incasso — what stops, what continues

Once the personal account is frozen, automatische incasso initiated against that account fails. Energy, telecom, gym, charities, streaming — all bounce. That sounds like a clean cut, but two effects often surprise families:

1. The contracts themselves are not cancelled. Late-payment notices and reminders arrive, sometimes with extra charges, until the contracts are formally terminated. (See the subscriptions guide for the cancellation logic.)
2. Critical recurring payments (rent, mortgage, utilities) also stop. If the home is still occupied — by a partner or by adult children — these need to be transferred to a different account quickly to avoid service interruption.

Two practical notes from the bank's side. First, keep the deceased's bank cards until the bank confirms it does not need them returned — some do. Second, do not cancel the deceased's mobile number on day one. SMS verification is part of closing many accounts, including bank accounts; the number is typically needed for around 3 months.

The 7-day rule for funeral payment

This is one of the most useful (and least known) rules in the system. Even with a frozen account, the bank is required to pay expenses directly related to the funeral when presented with the invoice from the uitvaartondernemer.

In practice, the family submits the funeral invoice to the bank — through the nabestaandendienst — and the bank pays the funeral home directly from the frozen account. No verklaring van erfrecht is needed for this specific payment. [The "7 days" framing is the common name for this pay-direct-from-the-estate principle in NL banking practice; the actual processing time varies by bank — unverified for an exact statutory timeline.] The principle is widely respected across NL banks because it solves an obvious humanitarian problem: a funeral bill of EUR 7,500–9,500 cannot wait for inheritance paperwork that may take weeks.

A short timeline

What to do as a planner

Three things, each small.

1. Note your account types. Personal accounts, joint en/of-rekeningen, and any accounts where the spouse or co-owner is not on the title. The clearer this is, the faster nabestaanden can act.
2. Hold a joint account. For day-to-day expenses, an en/of-rekening with the partner removes the worst of the freeze problem.
3. Tell the executor where the accounts are. A list of bank names, account types, joint holders, and the contact for the nabestaandendienst — kept somewhere the executor can reach.

In the app

In the Personal Portal you record the accounts you hold — bank, type, joint holders, automatic payments tied to each — and the executor's contact for the nabestaandendienst. The app makes the list available to the right person at the right moment, so the freeze is not also a black box.

Join the beta ->

Closed beta — access by invitation.

Sources

1. NVB (Nederlandse Vereniging van Banken) — bank notification, account freezing, en/of-rekening rules, role of nabestaandendienst. https://www.nvb.nl
2. Rijksoverheid — overlijden, akte van overlijden, verklaring van erfrecht. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/erfenis
3. ING, ABN AMRO, Rabobank — published nabestaanden procedures. https://www.ing.nl, https://www.abnamro.nl, https://www.rabobank.nl
4. KNB (Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie) — verklaring van erfrecht and notarial fees. https://www.notaris.nl