Leave a legacy to Semisto
Naming Semisto in your will funds food forests that will feed generations you will never meet. The exact wording to copy, and what Belgian law allows.
A will commits to a horizon you will not see. So does a food forest. That is the only reason this page exists: to give you — and your notary — the exact wording to copy if you wish to name Semisto among your beneficiaries.
This page describes Belgian inheritance law, and assumes your estate will be settled in Belgium. If you live elsewhere, the principle still holds — Semisto can receive a legacy from abroad — but the tax rates and the required formalities will be those of your own country. Ask a notary or solicitor where you live.
Why leave a legacy to a food forest
A food forest takes ten to fifteen years to come into full production. Past that point, it yields for decades — the old orchards in our valleys are a reminder of it every autumn. Whoever plants one therefore never harvests most of what they put in the ground. That is exactly the gesture of a will: deciding today something that others will benefit from.
A legacy to Semisto does not fund running costs that evaporate within the accounting year. It funds living things: trees planted, land secured so that it stays food-producing, people trained to design more of them elsewhere. It is an asset that produces, and that will still be producing when nobody remembers the gift that made it possible.
Semisto is a non-profit — an ASBL under Belgian law — and its approach is open: the knowledge we produce, from planting plans to species lists to field notes, stays freely available. A legacy therefore also benefits, indirectly, everyone who plants without us.
What a legacy makes possible
- Planting and maintaining food forests on public or shared land
- Securing land so that it stays food-producing
- Training the next generation of food forest designers
- Stocking the teaching nursery and the seed library with resilient varieties
The forms a legacy can take
Universal legacy. You name Semisto as the beneficiary of your entire estate.
Legacy by general title. You leave it a share — a half, a third — or a category of assets, for example all of your real estate.
Specific legacy. You leave it one defined asset: a sum of money, a plot of land, a portfolio, a work of art.
Duo legacy (legs en duo). Still available in Wallonia and Brussels, this arrangement leaves an amount to Semisto on condition that it pays the inheritance tax due by your other heirs. It becomes markedly less advantageous under the Walloon reform due on 1 January 2028, which lowers the rates applying to non-direct heirs. It must be calculated case by case by your notary. Note that Flanders abolished this arrangement in 2021.
Whichever form you choose, the reserved portion (réserve héréditaire) of your children and your spouse is always protected: you can only leave what the law calls the freely disposable portion.
The wording to copy into your will
Copy the French wording below. It is the language your Belgian notary will work in, and the one the Central Register of Wills records.
Je soussigné(e) [Prénom NOM], né(e) à [lieu] le [date],
domicilié(e) à [adresse complète],
révoque toute disposition testamentaire antérieure et déclare
léguer à l’ASBL Semisto, inscrite à la Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises
sous le numéro 0790.631.657, dont le siège social est établi
Fonds d’Ahinvaux 1, 5530 Yvoir (Belgique),
[la somme de … euros / le bien suivant : … / la quotité disponible de ma succession].
Fait à [lieu], le [date].
[Signature manuscrite]
What it says, in English — for your understanding, not for copying:
I, the undersigned [First name SURNAME], born in [place] on [date], residing at [full address], revoke any previous testamentary disposition and declare that I leave to the non-profit association Semisto, registered with the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0790.631.657, with its registered office at Fonds d’Ahinvaux 1, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium, [the sum of … euros / the following asset: … / the freely disposable portion of my estate]. Done at [place], on [date]. [Handwritten signature]
If you intend to write your will entirely in English, ask your notary to confirm the appropriate wording for your situation before you write anything.
Three things that matter:
- A holographic will must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed by its author. A printed or typed text is void.
- It is strongly advised to register it with the Central Register of Wills (Registre central des testaments) through a notary: that is what guarantees it will be found when the time comes.
- A will is revocable at any time. Nothing you write today is set in stone.
What the legacy costs, in full transparency
A legacy to an association never arrives intact: the state levies inheritance tax, at a rate that depends on your region.
- Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region: 7% on a legacy to a non-profit.
- Flanders: 0% for good causes since 1 July 2021.
In other words, on a €10,000 legacy in Wallonia, €9,300 actually reaches Semisto. We would rather you knew that beforehand than discovered the gap afterwards.
This information is given for guidance only and does not replace the advice of your notary, who alone is qualified to validate the drafting of your will.
Let’s talk about it
A legacy is prepared, not improvised — and it is discussed with a person, not a form. If you are considering this gesture, write to us: Semisto’s founder will get back to you for a confidential conversation, with no commitment on your part.
You can also go through our contact page if you prefer.