Dutch Supreme Court rules man who killed wife cannot inherit her estate
The Dutch Supreme Court ruled Friday that a man declared legally insane after killing his wife is not entitled to inherit her estate due to the unique circumstances of the case.
The man, who had been married to the woman for two years, killed her while experiencing a psychotic episode. The criminal court found that he was legally insane at the time of the act and, therefore, not criminally liable. He was sentenced to psychiatric treatment under Dutch law but was not convicted of a crime.
Since the woman did not leave a will or have children, Dutch inheritance law stipulated that the man would be her sole heir. However, her brother contested this in court, arguing that the man’s actions rendered him morally unworthy of inheriting.
A district court initially ruled in favor of the man, stating that Dutch law explicitly requires a criminal conviction for a killer to be deemed unworthy to inherit. The appellate court, however, overturned this decision. It concluded that, despite the absence of a conviction, the man should be deemed unworthy due to the unique and extreme circumstances of the case.
The appellate court also considered Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects the right to family life. The court determined that the man’s actions, including years of abusive and controlling behavior toward the woman and her family, justified denying him inheritance rights.
The Dutch Supreme Court upheld the appellate court’s ruling, emphasizing that legal insanity does not automatically bar someone from inheriting under current law. However, the court stated that extreme circumstances can make it "unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness" for someone to inherit from a person they killed.
The court highlighted the man's history of aggression and isolation of his wife from her family and friends, as well as his attempts to influence the handling of her parents' estate. These actions, coupled with the violent nature of the killing, justified barring him from inheriting, the court said.
The court clarified that its decision does not alter the statutory requirement for a criminal conviction to determine unworthiness to inherit. Instead, it affirmed that civil courts can intervene in exceptional cases where enforcing inheritance rights would violate principles of fairness and justice.
The man’s appeal was ultimately dismissed, and the ruling confirms that he has no claim to his late wife’s estate.
Under Dutch law (Article 4:3 of the Civil Code), a person is automatically deemed unworthy to inherit if they have been convicted of intentionally killing the deceased.
The Supreme Court’s decision aligns with a recommendation from the Attorney General, who advised rejecting the man’s appeal.
