On Friday 1 September 2017, the legislation concerning the reform of inheritance law was published in the Official Gazette.
Belgian inheritance law, still mainly derived from the Napoleonic Code of 1804, will be updated due to the publication of these new texts. The three main topics of the reform are the following:
- Modification of the rules with respect to the reserved portion;
- Modification of the rules with respect to the contribution of donations;
- Possibility to draw up inheritance agreements.
The new rules will apply as from 1 September 2018. Until then, it is possible to make a declaration in front of the notary public if you would like the changes to the inheritance law not to be applicable on your existing planning. In the absence of such a declaration, the new rules will become applicable as from 1 September 2018.
Needless to say that your current planning will have to be reviewed in the light of these new inheritance rules.
In case of questions in this respect, please feel free to contact your regular PwC adviser or Kristof Wuyts (+32 3 259 32 10 – kristof.wuyts@pwc.com).
