Terminal Illness & End-of-Life Administration in Netherlands: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Coordinate Specialist Palliative Home Care, District Nursing, and Hospice Services

   In the Netherlands, the general practitioner (huisarts) - or the treating hospital medical specialist in coordination with the hospital transfer nurse (transferverpleegkundige) - plays the central role in initiating palliative and terminal care [1][2]. You can use the national platform Overpalliatievezorg.nl (supported by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport) and the knowledge platform Palliaweb to find an overview of care options and regional facilities [1][2]:

   • Palliative care at home and district nursing (wijkverpleging): if the ill relative remains at home or moves into a volunteer-run hospice (bijna-thuis-huis) and does not yet hold a Long-Term Care Act (Wet langdurige zorg - Wlz) assessment, nursing and personal care are generally funded under the Healthcare Insurance Act (Zorgverzekeringswet - Zvw) based on a care assessment carried out by the district nurse (wijkverpleegkundige) of the home care provider [2]. Trained palliative care volunteers (Vrijwilligers Palliatieve Terminale Zorg - VPTZ) can also provide support at home [1].
   • Hospice care: when care at home is no longer feasible (often when life expectancy is assessed at three months or less), admission can be arranged to a bijna-thuis-huis or a high-care hospice with 24-hour specialist nursing care [2].
   • Long-Term Care Act (Wet langdurige zorg - Wlz) and the CIZ: if your family member already holds a Wlz care assessment from the Centrum Indicatiestelling Zorg (Care Assessment Centre - CIZ) [3], no new assessment is required for palliative terminal care; the physician or care provider can apply directly to the regional care office (zorgkantoor) for additional funding for intensive palliative care [2][3]. A new application to the Centrum Indicatiestelling Zorg is only needed when there is a permanent, long-term need for 24-hour care outside regular Zvw district nursing [2][3].
2. 2

   Record a Written Advance Directive and Treatment Limits with the General Practitioner

   While the ill relative has full decision-making capacity, they can draw up a written advance directive (schriftelijke wilsverklaring) specifying which medical treatments they do or do not wish to receive if they later become unable to make decisions themselves [1][4]. Under the guidelines of the Rijksoverheid (Government of the Netherlands), an advance directive can be written in the patient's own words, provided the document is clear and bears their full name, date, and signature [4][5]:

   • Refusal of treatment (behandelverbod) and do-not-resuscitate order (niet-reanimeerverklaring): this sets out specific medical interventions that the patient refuses (such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, intensive care admission, or hospitalisation). Physicians are legally required in principle to honour a clear refusal of treatment [4].
   • Written healthcare proxy (schriftelijk vertegenwoordiger / medical power of attorney): the patient can authorise a trusted relative or close contact in writing to speak with doctors and make medical decisions on their behalf once incapacity occurs [4].
   • Registration in the medical file: discuss the advance directive during an advance care planning consultation (behandelwensengesprek) with the general practitioner (huisarts) and any treating specialists so that it is recorded in the medical file (including for the out-of-hours GP service and ambulance service) [1][5].
3. 3

   Execute a Notarial Living Will, Powers of Attorney, and Bank Mandates

   Standard bank mandates (bankmachtigingen) are often limited to everyday payments and may be rejected by financial institutions or public authorities for complex legal acts (such as selling a home or handling tax affairs) once a person loses mental capacity. To avoid having to petition the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) later for protective administration (beschermingsbewind) or mentorship (mentorschap), your family member can have a notarial living will and enduring power of attorney (notarieel levenstestament) drawn up while still fully capable by a civil-law notary affiliated with the Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie (Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries - KNB) [6][7]:

   • Financial and medical powers of attorney: in the levenstestament, the grantor appoints one or more trusted representatives (gevolmachtigden or levensexecuteurs) to manage bank accounts, assets, and real estate as well as personal and medical affairs [6][7].
   • Capacity verification and registration in the CLTR: the civil-law notary verifies legal capacity when executing the deed and registers the levenstestament in the Central Register of Living Wills (Centraal Levenstestamentenregister - CLTR), enabling banks, doctors, and care institutions to verify the representative's authority [7].
   • Note when powers of attorney expire: both a levenstestament and an ordinary bank mandate terminate automatically by law at the moment of death; after death, statutory inheritance law or the deceased's regular will governs the estate [6].
4. 4

   Access Statutory Caregiver Leave and Informal Care Support

   Family members and close relatives providing care can use statutory leave schemes under the Work and Care Act (Wet arbeid en zorg - Wazo) alongside municipal support services [8][9]:

   • Short-term care leave (kortdurend zorgverlof): employees are entitled to a maximum of twice their weekly working hours per 12-month period to provide necessary temporary care for an ill relative, during which the employer continues to pay at least 70% of wages (and at least the statutory minimum wage) [8].
   • Long-term care leave (langdurend zorgverlof): to care for a relative with a life-threatening illness or a prolonged need for care, an employee is entitled to up to six times their weekly working hours per 12-month period [8][9]. By law this leave is unpaid unless an applicable collective labour agreement (cao) or employment contract provides for continued pay [8][9].
   • Municipal support (Wmo) and caregiver guidance: medical aids, home adaptations, or respite care (respijtzorg) can be requested through the municipal Social Support Act desk (Wmo-loket) [9]. In addition, the national association MantelzorgNL provides guidance and support on combining paid work with informal caregiving during the palliative phase [9][10].
5. 5

   Prepare the Will, Pensions, Certificate of Inheritance, and Tax Returns

   Organising financial and legal documents in advance ensures that surviving relatives know exactly which steps are required before and after death:

   • Will (testament) and executor (executeur): check whether a will has been drawn up and registered in the Central Register of Wills (Centraal Testamentenregister - CTR) via the Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie [6], and whether an executor (executeur) has been appointed to administer the estate after death [6]. Also document funeral wishes and details of any funeral insurance policy (uitvaartverzekering).
   • State pension (AOW), survivor benefit (Anw), and pension funds: once a death is registered with the municipal civil registry (burgerlijke stand), the municipality automatically notifies the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (Social Insurance Bank - SVB) of deaths occurring in the Netherlands [11]. The AOW state pension stops the day after death, a surviving partner automatically receives a lump-sum death benefit (overlijdensuitkering), and a surviving partner who has not yet reached AOW pension age (and who, for example, cares for a child under 18 or is at least 45% incapacitated for work) can apply to the Sociale Verzekeringsbank for a survivor benefit (Anw-nabestaandenuitkering) [11][12]. If the death occurs outside the Netherlands, it must be reported directly to the Sociale Verzekeringsbank within 4 weeks [11].
   • Certificate of inheritance (verklaring van erfrecht) and estate election: accessing frozen bank accounts after death frequently requires a notarial certificate of inheritance (verklaring van erfrecht) [6]. Heirs have three legal choices: unconditional acceptance (zuiver aanvaarden), acceptance under benefit of inventory (beneficiair aanvaarden, which protects heirs from personal liability for estate debts beyond the estate's assets), or renunciation (verwerpen) [13][14]. For acceptance under benefit of inventory or renunciation, a formal declaration must be filed with the district court (rechtbank) of the deceased's last place of residence via de Rechtspraak (the Dutch Judiciary), and heirs must refrain from selling or withdrawing estate assets beforehand to avoid tacit unconditional acceptance [13][14].
   • Final income tax return (F-biljet) and inheritance tax (erfbelasting): the Belastingdienst (Tax and Customs Administration; Bereaved Relatives Tax Helpline BelastingTelefoon voor Nabestaanden: 0800 - 235 83 54, free of charge within the Netherlands) sends instructions regarding the final income tax return for the year of death (F-form / F-biljet or online via survivor authorisation) and the inheritance tax return (aangifte erfbelasting); for deaths on or after 1 January 2026, the filing deadline for inheritance tax is 20 months after the date of death [15][16].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Recording care wishes and palliative care at home or in a hospice — Overpalliatievezorg.nl (Ministerie van VWS / PZNL)
2. [2]
   Organisation and financing of palliative terminal care (Zvw and Wlz) — Palliaweb (PZNL)
3. [3]
   Palliative terminal care and the Long-Term Care Act (Wlz) — Centrum Indicatiestelling Zorg (CIZ)
4. [4]
   Drafting an advance directive (wilsverklaring): refusal of treatment and medical proxy — Rijksoverheid
5. [5]
   Recording care and treatment preferences in the medical file — Thuisarts.nl (NHG)
6. [6]
   Certificate of inheritance (verklaring van erfrecht), wills, and settling an estate — Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie (Notaris.nl)
7. [7]
   Living will (levenstestament), power of attorney, and Central Register of Living Wills (CLTR) — Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie (Notaris.nl)
8. [8]
   Short-term and long-term care leave (Work and Care Act) — Rijksoverheid
9. [9]
   Statutory leave schemes and support for informal caregivers — MantelzorgNL
10. [10]
    Informal caregiving during the palliative and terminal phase — MantelzorgNL
11. [11]
    Reporting a death and impact on the AOW state pension — Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB)
12. [12]
    Applying for an Anw survivor benefit and eligibility conditions — Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB)
13. [13]
    Accepting or renouncing an inheritance at the district court — de Rechtspraak
14. [14]
    Inheritance choices: unconditional acceptance, acceptance under benefit of inventory, or renunciation — Belastingdienst
15. [15]
    What to arrange with the Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) after a death — Belastingdienst
16. [16]
    Inheritance tax return (aangifte erfbelasting) and deadlines for survivors — Rijksoverheid