Klaas Zondervan

Klaas Zondervan was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands, the only child of Theodorus Zondervan and Mina Oedske Janke Leegstra. Zondervan studied law between the years of 2001-2003 at the University of Groningen and subsequently took employment with a bailiff in Dordrecht, Netherlands, where he developed a passion for debt recovery investigation, an interest that would later serve him well. Later on he specialized in inheritance law, with a focus on probate research and unclaimed estates, starting his own companies in 2013 (Erfgenamenonderzoek.nl and Executeur.nl). In 2016 he was approached by the Dutch production company EndemolShine, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands to make a reality TV show about unclaimed estates. Unfortunately, the pilot did not sell and ended up on the shelf. Until 2018 that is, when he was again approached by EndemolShine, informing him that the well-known Dutch stand-up comedian Ruben Nicolai had shown an interest. Zondervan's role would be that of the show's on-screen expert. Zondervan jumped at the renewed opportunity of making the TV show now known as "De Erfgenaam" ["The Heir"], which has aired on Dutch television (RTL 4) for three seasons so far (17 episodes in total). The series turned out to be a big ratings hit, averaging over 1 million viewers per episode (with a population of 18 million in the Netherlands) and can also be viewed on Videoland [a Dutch streaming service similar to Netflix]. Further specializing in probate research and asset recovery worldwide, Zondervan has since become an established name in the legal field of inheritance law and probate research in the Netherlands.