Someone who managed a parent's finances for years often holds most of the information after their death. This can cause problems when heirs discover unexpected transfers, missing investments or payments to the representative. A power of attorney does not give free rein to give money away as one pleases. Equally, a payment to the representative does not itself prove abuse. An inheritance lawyer examines the wording of the authority, the underlying agreements and the actual management, and determines which claims may belong to the estate.
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1. Collect the complete power of attorney and management agreements
Request the complete deed or agreement, including appendices, amendments and any conditions for its taking effect. A bank authorisation may be narrower than a notarial living will. Check which accounts and acts are mentioned, whether a second signature was required and whether supervision or periodic reporting was agreed. Use the full text: a relative's summary may omit the very restriction decisive for the disputed transfer.
Also record the actual instructions. Someone may have had permission to make payments while the parent continued to decide on all expenditure. Someone else may have taken over the entire financial management. Collect messages about this division of tasks, existing summaries and the parent's responses. Ask your lawyer to distinguish authority to act towards third parties from the agreements the representative had to observe towards the parent. Also check whether a supervisor actually received and responded to reports. An appointed supervisor who never saw documents offers different factual indications from someone who discussed every transaction with the parent each month. Request existing reports and expressly record which periods are missing, without immediately treating that absence as proof of abuse.
2. Divide the investigation at the date of death
In the usual situation, a living will concerns representation during life. The KNB describes it as valid until death. Therefore do not use an old power of attorney as evidence of authority to administer the inheritance without further examination. Who may act afterwards must be established afresh from the will, heirship, any executorship and other applicable arrangements. For special power-of-attorney clauses, also have statutory exceptions and third-party protection assessed.
For each disputed payment, record the instruction and posting dates and who knew of the death at the time. Payment of a care invoice already scheduled before death requires a different investigation from a new private transfer a week afterwards. Notify the bank of the death through the authorised contact and ask how future payment powers will be recorded. Keep the confirmation so the actual course of events can later be reconstructed.
3. Check payments to the representative separately
A representative transferring money to themselves may, for example, be receiving reimbursement for groceries advanced, an agreed fee or a gift. These are different legal bases requiring different evidence. Request the original invoices, remuneration agreement or gift document. Broad powers to carry out banking transactions do not in themselves establish that a gift to the representative was substantively intended and permitted.
Suppose a nephew transferred 1,200 euros to himself each time over eighteen months, described as care. Compare that pattern with the management agreements, the help actually provided and any separate expense claims. Also investigate duplicate payments. First let the representative respond to a list of specific entries. A verifiable explanation may narrow the dispute; missing or changing explanations may warrant deeper investigation. Check whether other relatives also received payment for the same care period and which agreements applied. This may provide context, but does not automatically authorise a disputed payment. Record differences in work and expenses separately.
4. Determine whether an account can be required
An obligation to account does not automatically follow from a power of attorney in every situation. Examine any contractual obligation and the wider legal relationship. In its judgment of 9 May 2014, the Supreme Court identified factors including the reason for the management, the parties' relationship, customary practice, independence and opportunities for supervision. That was a Curaçao company case; the circumstances of financial management within a family must be established separately.
In the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal's judgment of 22 September 2026, the parties agreed that an obligation to account had existed during life. The remaining right to it had passed to the heirs; health and lack of supervision were relevant. Therefore do not use that judgment as proof that every bank representative always has the same duty. Document who checked the management in your case and for which period no account has yet been provided.
5. Investigate vulnerability without prejudging conclusions
Abuse of circumstances differs from merely an unfavourable payment or advanced age. Describe the particular circumstances, how the recipient knew of them and how they exploited them. Consider specific dependence, pressure surrounding a move or cutting off contact with others. Include dates and witnesses. Distinguish a medical diagnosis, the ability to understand a particular decision and whether improper influence actually occurred.
For disputed gifts, Article 7:176 of the Dutch Civil Code may entail a special allocation of the burden of proof after appropriate facts have been asserted. In 2020, the Supreme Court addressed exceptions, including a notarial deed of gift and conflict with reasonableness and fairness. Let your lawyer determine which route fits the specific payment. The deceased's need for care does not invalidate all earlier gifts or give heirs unlimited access to their medical records.
6. Frame information and repayment as separate steps
First ask which documents are needed to check the account: bank statements, a summary of receipts and expenditure, invoices and the destination of investments. A total without underlying entries is difficult to verify. Identify missing parts in writing and allow a practicable response period. Record whether information alone is requested or whether a specific payment is also disputed and a right to repayment reserved. Separate amounts supported by an invoice from entries for which only an oral explanation exists. For cash withdrawals, ask how the money was spent and whether notes were made. A withdrawal does not prove who ultimately received the money. Therefore also compare cash records and other available information before calculating a repayment amount.
An obligation to account does not automatically entail liability for loss. The investigation must clarify which amounts were withdrawn without proper grounds or which specific breach caused loss. A claim belonging to the deceased may form part of the estate; an individual heir cannot simply demand payment of their own share into their private account. Have it assessed who is authorised to act and where recovered money must go.
7. Make a feasible plan with an inheritance lawyer
Prepare a file containing the power of attorney, will, main transactions and management timeline. Also state whether the same person is now executor and thus retains access to information or money flows. Ask the lawyer for an initial view on disclosure duties, possible challenges to legal acts, repayment and recovery. Discuss which missing documents could actually change the assessment, keeping the investigation focused and costs manageable. Also ask who your regular contact will be during the investigation and when an initial interim assessment will follow. This prevents missing bank records from stopping the entire case while specific decisions can already be made on other transactions.
If there are indications that money continues to disappear or records are being destroyed, discuss appropriate protective measures immediately. Proceedings against the former representative and a dispute about their current role as executor each require their own legal basis. Have deadlines, any interruption of limitation and the necessary parties to proceedings checked. A settlement may then include clear payment terms, transfer of records and monitoring arrangements, with a considered choice about which claims it settles definitively.
Frequently asked questions
May someone with a living will continue making payments after death?
An ordinary power of attorney for use during life does not automatically authorise this. Have the deed, possible exceptions and powers in the estate administration checked.
Must the representative repay every amount withdrawn?
No. It must first be investigated which payments were lawful and which amounts have a basis for repayment or compensation.
Is dementia sufficient evidence of abuse?
No. The person's condition at the relevant time, the specific legal act and the recipient's involvement must be investigated. A diagnosis alone does not decide this.
Sources
These sources relate to this page. For a specific case, check current rules and your own documents.
- KNB — Herroepen of wijzigen van het levenstestament Accessed: 2026-10-23
- ECLI:NL:HR:2014:1089 — volledige officiële uitspraak Accessed: 2026-10-23
- ECLI:NL:GHARL:2026:6085 — volledige officiële uitspraak Accessed: 2026-10-23
- ECLI:NL:HR:2020:1240 — volledige officiële uitspraak Accessed: 2026-10-23
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Editorial team Inheritance law in the Netherlands
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