Levenstestament — what it covers in the Netherlands
Without a levenstestament, a court can appoint a stranger to handle your money and speak to your doctor if you lose the capacity to decide for yourself. A levenstestament (continuing power of attorney) is the notarial document that prevents this: it takes effect while you are still alive and says who may handle your finances, who speaks to your doctor, and who looks after the practical side of your life. A testament arranges what happens after you die. A levenstestament arranges what happens if you are still here, but unable to act. This article explains what fits inside one, who reads it, what it costs, and what changes if you do not have one.
A levenstestament is not a will
The two documents are often confused. A testament only takes effect after death and deals with inheritance. A levenstestament takes effect during life and deals with capacity. The trigger is wilsonbekwaamheid (loss of legal capacity) — for example after a stroke, a serious accident, or advanced dementia. As long as you are wilsbekwaam (able to understand decisions and their consequences), you remain in charge. Your gevolmachtigde (proxy) only steps in when you cannot.
You can have both documents at the same time, and most people who plan ahead do. They cover different parts of life and never overlap.
What you can put in it
The KNB (Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries) lists three main areas a levenstestament can cover:
- Financial matters. Access to bank accounts, paying bills, managing investments, selling or renting out a house, dealing with the Belastingdienst, running a business.
- Medical matters. Speaking to doctors on your behalf, agreeing to or refusing treatment, accessing your medical file, decisions about admission to a care home. Specific medical wishes such as a behandelverbod (treatment refusal) or DNR are usually written in a separate wilsverklaring (advance directive), which the levenstestament then references.
- Personal matters. Care of pets, decisions about where you live, who can visit you, what happens to letters and email, even what should happen to your social media accounts.
You can give one person authority over everything, or split the roles — for example, your partner for medical decisions and a sibling for finances. You can also appoint a toezichthouder (supervisor) whose job is to keep an eye on the gevolmachtigde, check unusual expenses, and reduce the risk of financial misuse.
You decide the scope. You decide when the powers start: immediately, or only when a doctor confirms you are no longer wilsbekwaam. You decide what your gevolmachtigde may not do without consulting someone else.
Notarial vs onderhandse (private)
There are two ways to give someone the right to act for you.
A notarial levenstestament is drawn up and signed at a notaris (civil-law notary). The original stays at the notaris's office. It can be registered in the Centraal Levenstestamentenregister (CLTR), a national register run by the KNB. Banks, hospitals, and other institutions in the Netherlands generally accept a notarial document without further questions, because the notaris has verified your identity and your wilsbekwaamheid.
An onderhandse volmacht is a private power of attorney that you write and sign yourself, sometimes with a witness. It is legally valid but practically limited. Banks often refuse it for larger transactions. Hospitals may not accept it for medical decisions. There is no register, so if the document is lost, the authority is lost with it. For small, specific tasks — picking up a parcel, signing for a delivery — a private volmacht is enough. For real protection if you lose capacity, the notarial form is the one that holds.
Registration in the CLTR
The Centraal Levenstestamentenregister records that a levenstestament exists, when it was signed, and at which notaris's office. It does not store the contents. Only notarissen and candidate-notarissen can search the register. The point is simple: if you ever become incapacitated, any notaris in the country can find out whether you left a levenstestament and where it is kept. Registration is optional and inexpensive — EUR 5.50 excluding VAT, paid through the notaris.
What it costs
Notaris fees are not regulated, so prices vary by office. A single levenstestament typically falls in the range of a few hundred to around a thousand euros, depending on complexity and how many appointments are needed. Couples can usually draw up two related documents at the same appointment for less than the sum of two single ones. Online notarissen offer fixed-price options at the lower end of the range. [Specific cost figures depend on the office; the KNB does not publish a fixed tariff — unverified for an exact average.]
For comparison, the cost of not having one is paid in time and friction. Without a levenstestament or onderhandse volmacht, a court can appoint a bewindvoerder (financial administrator), mentor (personal-affairs supervisor), or curator (full guardian) to act on your behalf. This is a kantonrechter (subdistrict court) procedure that takes weeks, costs money, and gives the decision to a judge rather than to you.
When it makes sense to write one
A levenstestament is most useful when there is something — or someone — you would want managed in a particular way if you could no longer speak for yourself. Common reasons:
- You own a house, a business, or significant assets and want a specific person to manage them.
- You live with a partner you are not married to, and you want them to make medical decisions for you.
- You have strong views about treatment, care home admission, or end-of-life choices, and you want them respected.
- You have children abroad, or no close family in the Netherlands, and you want a clear person in charge.
- You are caring for a parent who has not yet lost capacity, and you want to prepare before it becomes urgent.
The KNB suggests reviewing a levenstestament every few years and after major life events: a new partner, a divorce, the death of a gevolmachtigde, a serious diagnosis, or moving country.
In the app
The Personal Portal has Stage 4 (Legal Papers) where you record whether you have a levenstestament, who holds it, and when it was made. Trusted persons (in Profile) is where you list the gevolmachtigde, with the role described in the notes field. The app does not draft the document — your notaris does — but the Zorgmap keeps the trail.
Closed beta — access by invitation.
Sources
- KNB / notaris.nl — Levenstestament: wat is dat? Scope (financial, medical, personal), gevolmachtigde, toezichthouder. https://www.notaris.nl/levenstestament
- KNB / notaris.nl — Centraal Levenstestamentenregister (CLTR), registration cost EUR 5.50 excl. VAT, access limited to notarissen. https://www.notaris.nl/centraal-levenstestamentenregister
- Rijksoverheid — Erfenis en erfrecht (for distinction between testament and arrangements during life). https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/erfenis