An estate needs management while heirs still discuss its eventual division. A home needs maintenance, income must be collected and bills keep arriving. This interim period can particularly cause disputes about access, permitted costs and who provides information. Dutch law offers different routes depending on who has management authority and the problem's nature. This guide helps define the dispute and create a temporary arrangement protecting assets and participants' interests.
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1. First determine who manages the estate
Without a special arrangement, co-owners generally manage jointly held assets together. In an estate, however, an executor, testamentary administrator or liquidator may have their own statutory or testamentary powers. Therefore investigate the will, certificate of inheritance and any court orders before taking measures. An estate power of attorney may enable representation but is not appointment as executor. Nor does years of handling banking prove that person may independently make all decisions after death.
Make an overview for each asset pool. Where both parents die in succession while the first estate remains undivided, several communities of assets may coexist. Being executor in the second estate does not automatically confer management of every undivided community from the first death. Record which assets and debts belong to which legal relationship. This initial organisation prevents a request against the wrong person or a manager claiming powers applicable only to another estate.
2. Distinguish urgency, ordinary management and disposition
Article 3:170 of the Dutch Civil Code distinguishes different acts. Ordinary maintenance, preservation and acts allowing no delay may, where necessary, be performed independently by each co-owner. Other management generally occurs jointly unless an arrangement provides otherwise. An active executorship or liquidation may limit this starting point for heirs. Stopping a leak may require a different assessment from commissioning extensive renovation. Therefore record the specific danger and why waiting would be irresponsible.
Acts outside management, such as a definitive transfer, must be assessed separately. A management agreement does not automatically authorise sale or division. For disputed expenditure, request a quotation, explanation of necessity and proposal for who commissions it. Advancing a cost does not, merely through payment, prove all heirs must bear it. Authority, necessity, agreements and the debt's nature remain relevant to final settlement.
3. Make information and money flows verifiable
A management dispute often worsens because no shared overview exists. Therefore collect the inventory, current bank balances, insurance, taxes, income and outstanding costs. Record who keeps original documents and how other entitled persons get copies. One set of records prevents different versions becoming mixed. Also agree how conflicts of interest are disclosed, for example where a manager engages a relative for maintenance or personally uses an estate home.
Request information focused on the management act and account concerned. An executor has a statutory duty to provide information about performance of their role. For a co-owner managing for others, accounting rules and the chosen arrangement may matter. A family relationship does not justify omitting all substantiation. Equally, an information request gives no unlimited entitlement to every private file of another heir; keep the link to jointly held assets specific.
4. Record a temporary management arrangement
Article 3:168 allows co-owners to agree arrangements for enjoyment, use and management. Describe the assets covered, who may pay and which expenses require prior discussion. Include a budget limit and urgent procedure. For a home, arrange keys, inspections, insurance and receipt of rent, for example. For each task, state whether someone acts independently or only for the joint heirs after prior permission.
Also include reporting, accounting, remuneration and termination. A good arrangement describes what happens if someone is temporarily unavailable or a payment is disputed. A bank may impose its own requirements before implementing the arrangement. Also check compatibility with executorship, liquidation and third-party rights. Do not grant management powers the signatories do not themselves hold. For an existing arrangement, first establish what was agreed before proposing an entirely new structure. Also describe handling of implementation complaints: written explanation first, then discussion and, if necessary, assessment by an agreed expert or court. A temporary disagreement over an invoice then does not automatically block all necessary work. Record which payments may continue meanwhile.
5. Seek a subdistrict court arrangement if necessary
Insofar as no agreement exists, the subdistrict court may make a management arrangement on application under Article 3:168(2). Assets may be placed under administration if necessary. The court fairly considers parties' interests and the public interest. Therefore explain which part is blocked without an arrangement and which solution is practically workable. Merely saying the other heir is difficult offers little basis for an appropriate decision's content.
For an existing arrangement, Article 3:168(3) allows amendment or disapplication because of unforeseen circumstances. An application must therefore match the current legal situation. Attach the earlier arrangement, specific incidents, correspondence and a workable proposal. This route differs from enforcing definitive division or removing an executor. Have it assessed which applications can be combined and which procedure and parties fit. A management measure does not automatically determine ownership or every internal monetary claim.
6. Choose a separate route for an executor or liquidator
Where an executor falls short, information, accounting or removal for serious grounds may be relevant. That role does not end because one heir revokes an ordinary power of attorney. Different duties and supervision rules apply to a liquidator. Therefore identify precisely the capacity in which someone is addressed. A request for joint management may be insufficient where the actual obstacle stems from exclusive management powers still in force.
In January 2026, the Limburg District Court showed how different routes can operate alongside each other. The court removed an executor after established failings and recognised a successor designated in the will. It also made a management arrangement for another, older estate. This concerned a specific file involving, among other things, missing information and stalled administration. The judgment establishes no general rule that every disagreement justifies removal or that a successor executor can be designated without a testamentary basis.
7. Connect temporary management with further administration
Fictional example: three heirs disagree about an empty home. One wants to sell, another to renovate and the third does not respond. A temporary agreement can first prevent damage by arranging insurance, inspections and necessary repairs. This does not yet decide who gets the home or its sale price. Show in the file which problem management resolves and which valuation and division issues remain open.
For advice, prepare a timeline of requests, responses and management decisions. Add evidence of costs and threatened damage and define the measure sought precisely. Urgency may require separate interim relief; the correct procedure depends on the desired result. A lawyer is required for civil division proceedings. Also safeguard deadlines for any payment or damages claims: management discussions do not automatically preserve them. A temporary arrangement should be checked regularly against progress towards definitive administration.
Frequently asked questions
May I have a leak repaired without permission?
Under conditions, this can be a necessary preservation or urgent act. Record the necessity and check who has authority, particularly during executorship or liquidation. Not every renovation falls under this exception.
Can the subdistrict court give management to one person?
On an application for a management arrangement, an appropriate division of tasks can be made, with administration if necessary. The court assesses circumstances and interests; a desired appointment is not automatically required.
Is a management arrangement the same as division of the inheritance?
No. A management arrangement organises interim use and management. Sale, allocation and final settlement may require other agreements, powers or proceedings.
Sources
These sources relate to this page. For a specific case, check current rules and your own documents.
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 3 — gemeenschap Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Officiële publicatie tekst BW Boeken 3, 5, 6 en 7 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Rechtbank Limburg — ECLI:NL:RBLIM:2026:555 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Rechtspraak — Erfenis Accessed: 2026-10-23
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Editorial team Inheritance law in the Netherlands
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