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Recent notarial topics from Belgium. What affects you, what you can do and how we can help?
Selection updated on 2026-09-19. The date by each topic is that of the source publication.
To the archiveNotarial practice · Belgium · 2026-09-17
Fake emails circulate using the name and design of the Belgian notariat. A familiar logo or trusted sender does not prove the link is safe: if in doubt, call your office using an independently obtained number.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate · Flanders · 2026-06-23
A co-owners' association (VME) of an apartment building constructed before 2001 must have an asbestos certificate for the communal parts by 31 December 2026 at the latest. A certificate for the individual apartment alone does not answer that separate requirement.
Read the explanation and ask your questionAssets and real estate · Belgium · 2026-07-22
A foreign property has not only local consequences: your Belgian tax return, financing and inheritance also deserve attention. Ensure that the local purchase verification and your Belgian estate planning are aligned before you commit.
Read the explanation and ask your questionInheritance · Flanders · 2026-06-03
After a sale or received inheritance, proof may be needed upon your death about the destination of those funds. A closing bank balance does not tell the whole story: also keep records of payments, invoices, and associated agreements.
Read the explanation and ask your questionGifts and inheritance · Belgium · 2026-05-20
When making a gift to a child, it is important whether you mean an advance on the inheritance or a benefit in addition. That choice affects the later division and must be clearly recorded, respecting the protected portions.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate taxation · Flanders · 2026-08-11
In a Ghent ruling, a property tax assessment was upheld despite an issue with the notification of the cadastral income. Determining that income and disputing the Flemish tax are different procedures: have both documents examined separately.
Read the explanation and ask your questionHere we keep the last thirty earlier topics. The original publication and control date remain visible.
Notarial practice · Belgium · 2026-09-17
A digital housing file contains more than your deed of purchase. By systematically preserving plans, invoices and agreements, you will not have to start from scratch again during a sale or a family discussion.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate · Wallonia · 2026-09-17
The new Ardennes barometer reports a median price of 220,000 euros for houses in the first half of 2026. The Walloon reduction to 3% does not automatically apply for a second home: it is intended for the own and sole home, subject to conditions.
Read the explanation and ask your questionSuccession planning · Belgium · 2026-07-01
Buying a home together does not automatically determine what happens when one dies. A will can help, but the family situation, existing deeds, and protected inheritance rights determine what is possible.
Read the explanation and ask your questionEntrepreneurship · Belgium · 2026-06-24
According to the entrepreneurs barometer, the BV remains the most chosen form for new companies. The absence of a legal minimum capital does not mean you can start without adequate means.
Read the explanation and ask your questionProtection · Belgium · 2026-06-17
The reform of the status of administrator also affects the choice of mandatary in an extrajudicial protection mandate. Those who have designated an external professional should have that choice checked in good time against future conditions; these do not all apply today.
Read the explanation and ask your questionLiving and cohabiting · Belgium · 2026-06-11
According to the barometer, 39% of Flemish home purchases in 2025 were made by a single buyer. Those who later cohabit with a partner are well advised to arrange ownership, housing costs and investments separately.
Read the explanation and ask your questionInheritance · Flanders · 2026-09-16
A choice clause in the marriage contract often gives the surviving spouse several options, but the desired choice must still actually be made after death. The content of the contract, family situation and the tax declaration deadline must therefore be considered together.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate · Flanders · 2026-07-29
The Flemish kotlabel makes visible that a student room complies with housing quality, fire safety and the required urban planning permit. Municipalities decide themselves whether to introduce the label and whether it is mandatory.
Read the explanation and ask your questionGifts · Flanders · 2026-03-25
In one definitive judgment a submitted document regarding a bank gift was not registered because the required declaration about the fiscal residence was missing. Following the donor's rapid death, inheritance tax remained payable.
Read the explanation and ask your questionFamily assets · Flanders · 2026-05-05
An administrative position addresses old contractual gifts between spouses from before 6 June 1981. The precise deed determines which choice the surviving partner still has and how that interacts with the statutory inheritance law.
Read the explanation and ask your questionCompanies · Flanders · 2026-07-13
A prior decision qualified the contribution of company shares into a maatschap without issuing new maatschap shares in that case as an indirect gift to the children. The value ratio and documentation were decisive.
Read the explanation and ask your questionFamily assets · Flanders · 2026-08-06
A prior ruling of 29 June 2026 evaluates optional survivorship and allocation clauses in one specific marriage contract. The ruling shows that wording, chosen assets and the moment an option is exercised weigh fiscally.
Read the explanation and ask your questionAsset planning · Flanders · 2026-08-05
A Flemish advance ruling concerning two investment portfolios did not confirm that the intended contract could be regarded as a balanced chance contract under onerous title. Uncertainty about an earlier revocable gift and the equality of the contribution weighed heavily in that case.
Read the explanation and ask your questionGifts and inheritance · Flanders · 2026-08-05
In an old Dutch residual gift, the Flemish administration accepted that substitution of assets can be legally possible. Whether the exact same donated value is still present later remains a matter of evidential evaluation at the time of death according to the decision.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate and gifts · Flanders · 2026-08-04
In a prior ruling, the Flemish administration saw no genuine contribution debt before the planned division of previously gifted real estate. The intermediaries in that case were considered artificial, resulting in transfer duties rather than division duties being applicable.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate · Flanders · 2026-06-16
A Flemish administrative position clarifies registration tax when existing usufruct on a private part is described or extended. A pure extension of only the duration can remain outside the transfer tax, but changed modalities or a broader right can be taxed as new usufruct.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate · Flanders · 2026-08-11
In a Ghent judgment, a former bakery was accepted as a dwelling for the reduced transfer duty. It concerned a purchase from 2023 where ordinary repair and maintenance works sufficed for full habitation.
Read the explanation and ask your questionInheritance · Flanders · 2026-08-11
A Ghent judgment refused the exemption for the former family home after both spouses registered elsewhere. The counter-evidence concerning their joint main residence was insufficient in that case.
Read the explanation and ask your questionInheritance · Belgium · 2026-08-26
The bank can pay certain funeral invoices directly from the deceased’s blocked accounts. The mere payment of funeral expenses does not by itself constitute acceptance of the estate.
Read the explanation and ask your questionThinking ahead · Belgium · 2026-08-31
The recent explanation about advance directives invites a conversation that often remains pending. What care do you want later, who knows your wishes, and where can they be found? Different declarations have different legal consequences.
Read the explanation and ask your questionReal estate · Belgium · 2026-09-10
In the first half of 2026 there were 8.1% more sales on the Belgian coast than in the same period in 2025. The median price of a coastal apartment amounted to €272,000, 6.7% higher than in 2025. Differences between locations and buildings remain large.
Read the explanation and ask your questionGifts · Flanders · 2026-09-11
The FAQ published on 11 September 2026 explains the Flemish favourable scheme for family companies. A valuation report is mandatory, even without residential real estate. The explanation concerns the scheme applicable since 1 January 2026.
Read the explanation and ask your questionProtection · Belgium · 2026-09-04
More and more Belgians choose an extrajudicial protection mandate. You can determine in advance who manages certain matters for you if you can no longer do so yourself later.
Read the explanation and ask your questionLiving · Belgium · 2026-08-26
The bank assesses your income, expenses and own resources. Have a look beforehand which financing condition fits your situation before making your offer.
Read the explanation and ask your questionOwnership · Belgium · 2026-08-14
Finding a valuable object does not automatically make you the owner. Who can claim ownership depends on the circumstances and applicable rules.
Read the explanation and ask your questionGifts · Flanders · 2026-07-14
An inheritance sometimes arrives at a time when your children need the money more urgently. In Flanders, a conditional door-to-door gift can result in an exemption from gift tax. The term runs from the date of death.
Read the explanation and ask your question"On which concrete facts is the judgement that now concerns you based?"
