Rest in Peace : A Guide to Wills and Inheritance Tax in Belgium

This is the second edition of Rest in Peace, a Guide to Wills and Inheritance tax in Belgium.

After four years an update was long overdue. There have been numerous changes, in Belgium and abroad, with new inheritance tax rates and rules, the European Succession Regulation, etc...

Estate planning is not just about drawing up a will and finding ways to minimise taxes.
It is essentially about peace of mind.

Smart estate planning can be complex, and if you need to plan across borders, that can be quite daunting.

This book is for you if you live in Belgium and

• you want to understand how the rules work and how you draw up a valid will;
• you live in Belgium and you want to plan your estate in an efficient manner;
• you want to know what happens when you inherit from your parents in Greece;
• your children live in other countries;
• you have property in other countries;
• you have investments and bank accounts in other countries;
• your parents have set up a trust for your benefit.

This book is also for you if you do not live in Belgium and

• you own property in Belgium ;
• you stand to inherit from someone who died in Belgium and you need to understand whether you should accept or waive the inheritance;
• you consider retiring in Belgium;
• you are an official of an international institution and you live temporarily in Belgium;
• you plan your estate and one or more of your children live in Belgium.

This book can help you make sound decisions that could help your loved ones when you are gone.

Table of contents for a preview see https://issuu.com/taxation.be/docs/rest_in_peace_2017

• Dealing with death
• Who inherits what?
• Last will and testament
• Forced heirship
• Usufruct
• Community property
• Inheritance Tax
• Cross border successions
• The art of estate planning
• Plan in your will
• Plan by donating
• Change your marriage contract
• Plan with life insurance
• Planning by contract
• Trusts and foundations
• Plan your life
• Practical planning
• Annexes

Marc Quaghebeur TEP is a Belgian tax lawyer with Cabinet DAVID, Brussels. He specialises in international taxation and cross border estate planning.

Marc is a member of the Brussels Bar since 1984. He holds a law degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and a further degree in tax law from the Fiscale Hogeschool.

He is a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP ).

Marc has published on a wide range of tax matters relating to legal issues and trends in Belgium and across Europe. He is the author of European Cross Border Estate Planning (Belgium) (publ. Sweet and Maxwell) and the International Guide to the Taxation of Trusts (Belgium) (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation). He is the Belgian Contributor to Tax Notes International. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of Tijdschrift voor Fiscaal Recht and the EC Tax Journal.