Choosing your gevolmachtigde (proxy) in NL

This article is about the first one: who your gevolmachtigde is, what they can and cannot do, and how to choose one well.

What a gevolmachtigde actually is

A gevolmachtigde is the person you authorise to act in your name. The authorisation itself is called a volmacht (power of attorney). You can give a volmacht for a single transaction (selling a car, signing one contract) or for broad ongoing matters.

When the volmacht is set up specifically for the situation in which you can no longer make decisions yourself — through illness, an accident, dementia — the document is usually a levenstestament (continuing power of attorney). According to the KNB, the notarial association, a levenstestament records "who handles your financial, medical and personal affairs if you can no longer do this yourself" [see Sources].

So:

• A volmacht is the underlying instrument.
• A levenstestament is the most common, broadest form of volmacht for incapacity.
• A gevolmachtigde is the person named in either.

What a gevolmachtigde can be authorised to do

The scope is something you choose. In a levenstestament drawn up at the notaris, three areas are usually addressed separately:

• Financial: managing bank accounts, paying bills, handling tax returns, selling or renting out the home, dealing with investments and pensions.
• Medical: speaking with doctors, agreeing or refusing treatment, deciding about hospitalisation, palliative sedation, end-of-life care.
• Personal: choosing where you live, organising care at home, deciding on a move to a verzorgingshuis, handling daily wellbeing.

You can name one person for all three areas, or different people for each. You can set conditions, for example "the medical proxy may only act once two doctors confirm I cannot decide for myself." You can require that two people sign together for large financial decisions.

A simple onderhandse volmacht (private power of attorney, not at a notaris) usually covers narrow practical matters — collecting a parcel, signing one contract. For the broader job of representing you when you cannot decide for yourself, banks, insurers and many care institutions will only accept a notarial levenstestament. [unverified — practice varies by institution, but this is the standard advice from notaris.nl]

Gevolmachtigde, executeur, erfgenaam — who is who

These three roles are easy to mix up. They do not overlap.

• Gevolmachtigde acts for you while you are alive. Their authority ends at the moment of your death. After that, they have no role.
• Executeur is named in your testament (will). Their authority begins at your death. They arrange the funeral if you appointed a begrafenisexecuteur, settle debts, file the inheritance tax return, and ensure the estate is handled in line with your will. The KNB notes that standard executor compensation, unless your will says otherwise, is one percent of the estate's value [see Sources].
• Erfgenaam is whoever inherits, by your testament or, if you have none, by Dutch intestate law. Heirs decide on the actual division of assets among themselves; the executeur prepares but does not impose that division.

The same person can wear more than one hat — your partner can be your gevolmachtigde during illness, your executeur after death, and one of your erfgenamen — but the documents that grant each role are separate.

How a gevolmachtigde is appointed

For a levenstestament, the steps are straightforward:

1. You think through the scope: financial, medical, personal, or a combination. You decide whether to appoint one person, two acting jointly, or different people for different areas.
2. You discuss it with the person you want to name. A volmacht given to someone who is unwilling or uninformed is a fragile document.
3. You go to a notaris. The notaris drafts the levenstestament, confirms that you understand it and are signing it freely, and registers it in the Centraal Levenstestamentenregister (CLTR). The CLTR records that your levenstestament exists, which notaris holds it, and the date — not the contents.
4. You give a copy to the gevolmachtigde, and ideally keep one in your 72-hour folder at home.

A simple onderhandse volmacht for a narrow purpose can be written and signed at home, but it is rarely accepted by banks or care institutions for ongoing representation.

What it costs and what to think about

Notaris fees for a levenstestament typically range from a few hundred euros for a basic single-person document to over a thousand euros for a more complex couple's arrangement [unverified — fees are not regulated; the KNB recommends asking for a written quote in advance].

A few questions worth sitting with before you walk into the notaris:

• Who knows you well enough to make medical choices that match your values, not just your stated wishes?
• Who is practically able to manage your finances — geographically close enough, financially literate, willing to do the work?
• Is the right person for medical decisions the same as the right person for money?
• What conditions do you want to attach? A second signature for transactions over a certain amount? A requirement that your wilsverklaring (advance directive) be followed without negotiation?
• What happens if your first choice cannot or will not act? Name a substitute.

How to change or end it

A levenstestament is not permanent. You can revoke it as long as you are still legally competent to do so. The revocation goes through a notaris and is updated in the CLTR.

If you do nothing and lose capacity without a valid volmacht, the alternative is a court-appointed curator, bewindvoerder or mentor — a slower, more public, less personal route. Choosing your own gevolmachtigde is the way to keep that decision in your own hands.

In the app

The Personal Portal lets you add the people you trust (Profile → Trusted persons): name, relationship, phone, email, and a notes field where you describe the role you want them to play (proxy, executor, simply informed). The Stage 4 (Legal Papers) section is where you record whether a formal levenstestament exists, who holds it, and when it was made.

Join the beta ->

Closed beta — access by invitation.

Sources

1. KNB — Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie, on the levenstestament and the role of the gevolmachtigde. https://www.notaris.nl/levenstestament
2. KNB — on the executeur, the three types (begrafenisexecuteur, executeur, executeur-afwikkelingsbewindvoerder) and the standard one-percent compensation. https://www.notaris.nl/executeur
3. Rijksoverheid — guidance on volmacht, curatele, bewind and mentorschap. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/curatele-bewind-en-mentorschap