Your Estate, Your Right
Geritance is a Belgian probate genealogy firm that traces heirs and represents their rights.
CLOSED CASES
INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
HEIRS LOCATED
Our numbers
At Geritance, we believe in transparency, accuracy and measurable results. Our figures reflect our experience and reliability, but behind every number there is, above all, a human story.
Our services
Heir tracing
This is our expertise. You provide us the information relating to the deceased person. Following our research, we deliver a clear genealogical report including a family tree.
Unclaimed estates
An unclaimed estate arises when a deceased person leaves no heirs, or when the heirs renounce the estate.
Legal Assistance
We provide the necessary legal support to notaries, lawyers and court-appointed administrators to ensure the careful settlement of the estate. We also assist in drafting the required documents.
Verification of heirship
This involves properly verifying existing family relationships and legally validating them, so that the estate can be correctly distributed.
Locating Heirs
Heirs may be known, but untraceable. This may be the case, for example, when heirs have been residing abroad for many years.
Estate Distribution
Estate distribution is the process by which the estate of the deceased is transferred to the heirs in accordance with the law or a will.
Actors we work with
Our network
Originally from Flanders, today internationally active
Flanders
Geritance originated in Flanders and, from Ghent, handles a significant portion of its Flemish files.
Our knowledge of regional sources and local practices enables us to quickly locate heirs and efficiently assist notaries, court-appointed administrators and heirs in Flanders.
Belgium
Geritance’s registered office is located in Brussels.
Thanks to our trilingualism and our familiarity with French-speaking administrations and archives, we have been handling Brussels and Walloon files for many years.
International
Increasingly, estates have an international dimension. Heirs reside abroad, families are dispersed and documents are located outside Belgium.
Geritance therefore collaborates with an extensive network of international correspondents and professional partners.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I being contacted?
Our firm is responsible for tracing heirs in estate matters. It is common for the notary, lawyer, heir, international genealogist, etc., not to conduct this search themselves, as it often concerns distant relatives who are entitled to inherit.
If you are contacted, this means that you are one of the potential heirs in this estate. At the time of contact, it is likely that not all heirs have yet been identified. This research may take some time, as it often takes several months to trace all beneficiaries.
Will I have to advance any costs?
You are not required to advance any costs during the procedure. Geritance covers all expenses, which are only settled at the time of the distribution of the estate, and only if the net balance is positive (you will therefore never pay more than you receive). No payments are requested from heirs before the estate has been distributed.
If you receive any letter requesting payment or your financial details, it does not originate from our firm. You may always contact us to request confirmation.
Are notaries not responsible for settling estates?
That is correct. We do not contact you to settle the estate. We contact you because you are a potential heir in an estate. It is possible that no notary has yet been appointed in the file.
Once we represent you and we are certain that all heirs have been located, we will appoint a notary who will contact you.
Will I need to invest a lot of time in this?
No. Our firm will fully represent you and safeguard your interests. We will maintain contact with the notarial office and the other heirs, so that you do not need to concern yourself with the procedure.
You will be regularly informed of the progress, but your active involvement may remain limited if you so wish.