What to bring to your notaris meeting
A notaris (civil-law notary) bills by the hour — €200 to €400 including VAT — and walking in prepared can cut the billed time by 30 to 50 percent. The rate depends on the office and the complexity of the work, but preparation is the single biggest lever you have on the final fee. Walking in with the right documents and a few decisions already made can cut the billed time by 30 to 50 percent and turn a vague conversation into a precise one.
This guide explains what to bring, what to decide before you arrive, what questions to ask, and what you walk out with.
Why preparation matters
Notaris fees in the Netherlands are not regulated. The KNB publishes indicative starting prices (a basic testament from around €650 incl. VAT), but the final invoice depends on how long the file takes. A meeting where the notaris has to extract every detail from you in conversation costs more than one where you arrive with the data already structured.
Preparation also protects the quality of the document itself. A notaris who has your asset list, your partner's details, and your candidates for executor and gevolmachtigde in writing can ask sharper questions and spot the gaps you would otherwise discover months later.
The eight things to bring
These are the questions every notaris will ask in the first conversation about a testament or levenstestament. Bring written answers, not memories.
1. Your testament intent. What do you want the document to do? Provide for an unmarried partner. Appoint a guardian for minor children. Leave a legacy to a charity. Disinherit a relative. Pass your business on. The clearer the intent in one sentence, the faster the rest goes.
2. Marital and partnership status. A copy of your marriage certificate or registered partnership certificate, plus any huwelijkse voorwaarden (prenuptial agreement) or partnerschapsvoorwaarden (partnership agreement). If you are cohabiting under a samenlevingscontract, bring it. The notaris needs the original arrangement to know what you can dispose of and what is already shared property.
3. Children and dependants. Names, dates of birth, and BSN of each child, including stepchildren and children from a previous relationship. If you and your partner have minor children together, decide in advance who you would name as voogd (guardian) if you both die.
4. An assets list. A one-page overview is enough: bank accounts (with bank names, not numbers), property in the Netherlands or abroad, pension entitlements, life insurance, business assets, and significant debts. The notaris does not need exact balances; they need to know the shape of your estate.
5. Partner details. Full name, date of birth, BSN, and current address of your spouse, registered partner, or cohabiting partner. If your partner is also making a testament, both of you should attend.
6. Executor candidate. The executeur is the person who handles your estate after your death — closing accounts, paying debts, distributing what remains. Decide who. The default choice is a family member with patience and a head for paperwork, but the executor can also be a notaris or a professional. Bring a name, a phone number, and confirmation that the person has agreed.
7. Gevolmachtigde candidate (for a levenstestament). A levenstestament names someone to act for you while you are alive but no longer able to decide for yourself — usually for finances and care. Bring a name, contact details, and ideally a second person as backup. If you want different people for finances and for medical decisions, decide that too.
8. Trusts, foreign assets, or unusual situations. Property abroad, an inheritance from another jurisdiction, a trust, a foreign bank account, a business with international shareholders, dual nationality. Any of these can change which law applies to your estate and add complexity to the document. Flag them at the start, not at the second meeting.
Questions to ask the notaris
The conversation is not one-way. A good notaris will welcome the questions below.
- "Given my situation, what does my testament actually need to say, and what is optional?"
- "What does Dutch intestate law (versterferfrecht) already do for me by default? Where would it not do what I want?"
- "Are there constructions that would reduce inheritance tax for my heirs without changing who inherits?" (For example, a tweetrapsmaking, or making use of jaarlijkse vrijstelling.)
- "What changes when I marry, divorce, have a child, or move abroad? When should I come back?"
- "If I appoint X as executor, what happens if X cannot or will not act when the time comes?"
- "If I write a levenstestament, when does it take effect? Who decides that I am no longer wilsbekwaam?"
- "What is your fee for this work, and how is it calculated?"
The last question is normal. The KNB encourages clients to ask for a price estimate in writing before the work starts.
How long the meeting takes
A first meeting for a straightforward testament typically takes 60 to 90 minutes. A levenstestament tends to take 90 to 120 minutes because it covers more decisions: finances, real estate, gifts, medical authority, choice of caregiver, end-of-life wishes. If you are doing both at the same appointment, plan for two hours.
Most notarissen split the work into two appointments. The first is the conversation and the data-gathering. The notaris then drafts the document and sends it to you to read at home. The second appointment is short — typically 20 to 30 minutes — and is for confirming that you understand what you are signing, signing, and registering. The total elapsed time from first appointment to signed document is usually two to four weeks.
What you walk out with
After signing, the original of your testament stays with the notaris. You go home with a copy and a confirmation that the existence of the document and the holding office have been entered in the Centraal Testamentenregister (CTR), the national register run by the KNB. After your death, any notaris in the Netherlands can check the CTR to see whether you left a will and where it is kept.
For a levenstestament, the document is registered in the Centraal Levenstestamentenregister (CLTR). Banks and care institutions check the CLTR before acting on a power of attorney.
Keep your copy somewhere your trusted person can find it, and make sure they know the name of the notaris.
Plan it
Intentions become actions when they have a time and a trigger attached:
- ☐ This week: put the eight documents and answers above into one folder.
- ☐ This week: call a notaris and book a 60 to 90 minute appointment.
- ☐ The day before: re-read your answers so the meeting moves fast.
When I have a date for the notaris, I will bring the folder, not assemble it in the waiting room.
In the app
In the Personal Portal, Stages 4 (Legal Papers) and 3 (Money & Accounts) collect exactly the answers your notaris will ask. Walk into the meeting with the data already structured.
Closed beta — access by invitation.
Sources
- KNB / notaris.nl — Testament and the standard process for drawing up a will, including indicative starting price. https://www.notaris.nl/testament
- KNB / notaris.nl — Levenstestament, contents and registration in the CLTR. https://www.notaris.nl/levenstestament
- Rijksoverheid — Erfenis en erfrecht, statutory succession rules. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/erfenis