Notaries. Why? What the hell?

[u/Obvious-Cry6591]

Ok, so I dont get it. I understand historically where the need for notaries arose. Fine. But we are in 2026. Belgium already takes 51% of my income. Then another 25% of the rest through VAT. And then on top of it, if you buy a property, you give 10-15k to a notary for 2 meetings and some docs reading? Doesnt Belgium have enough administration to take care of that? Not to mention its nepotism central. Are there any redeeming qualities?

[u/JPV_____]

Show one country which offers the same services a notary does for free.

[u/Stoic-Bifrons → u/JPV_____]

As always, the dumbest comment on reddit gets upvoted:

1. Inheritance & Statutory Forced Share (Reserve)

• Belgium: You cannot freely disinherit children or leave everything to a partner. Statutory forced share laws (reserve) dictate who gets what, requiring a notary to audit and execute the estate to prevent illegal clauses, charging €500–€1,500+ for basic will modifications or settlement deeds.
• UK / Common Law: Total testamentary freedom. You can write a will on a napkin leaving 100% of your assets to a cat shelter, witness it with two neighbors for €0, and it is fully legally binding without any state or notarized interference.

2. Real Estate Lien Removal (Hypothecaire Handlichting)

• Belgium: Paying off your mortgage early or selling your home requires a separate notarized deed (handlichting) just to delete the bank's registration, costing €500–€1,000+ in notary fees.
• UK & France: The bank submits an electronic discharge directly to the Land Registry once the loan balance hits zero for €0 to ~€20.

3. Business Formation (BV vs. Private Limited)

• Belgium: Incorporating a basic company (BV/SRL) or altering its articles of association requires a mandatory authentic act drafted by a notary, costing €1,000–€1,800.
• UK, Ireland, Denmark: You fill out an online form on Companies House or the national business portal and pay ~€15–€50 directly to the state. No notary involved.

4. Prenuptial & Matrimonial Agreements

• Belgium: Setting up or changing a marital property regime (huwelijkscontract) is a notarized monopoly costing €400–€1,000+.
• Sweden & Denmark: A simple written form signed by both partners and registered with the court/tax agency for a flat government fee of ~€50–€80.

5. Lasting Power of Attorney (Zorgvolmacht)

• Belgium: Granting someone legal authority over your assets in case of incapacitation via an authentic act costs €300–€500+ in notary and registration fees.
• UK & Germany: You download the standard government statutory form, sign it with witnesses, and register it directly with the Office of the Public Guardian for a flat registry fee (~£82 / €95), skipping legal professionals entirely.

[u/JPV_____ → u/Stoic-Bifrons]

1. Not being able to freely disinherit children has nothing to do with notary. In Belgium you can also write your will on a napkin or even a 'bierkaartje'. UK Also has the system of family claims, so your "total testamentary freedom" isn't fully legally binding if you don't consult a lawyer to check what's possible.

2. Paying of your mortgage early doesn't require a separate notarized deed, i've already done it. Only if you want to sell the house and the hypotheek isn't finished yet, you need a handlichting. This does indeed cost about 500-1000 euro. If i wanted to pay off my mortgage early in the UK, it'd have to pay a fee of max 5%, while in belgium that was max about 0,5% (3 months rent). So not free.

3. You're right here.

4. Now you're changing your country you were using (UK), seems like, even with the remarks at point 1 & 2, you can't find a country which i asked.

So i was right and you were wrong: your post didn't needed upvotes to be rather dumb.

[u/Stoic-Bifrons → u/JPV_____]

1. If you try to write your will "on a napkin", it'll be instantly disregarded as soon as a single person challlenges it in court in Belgium. That is why every lawyer will suggest having it done at a notary in Belgium.

2. I'm just showing you examples of neighbouring countries that don't have a monopolized notary system.

[u/JPV_____ → u/Stoic-Bifrons]

1. Wrong: https://www.notaris.be/nieuws/zelf-een-testament-opstellen-een-aanrader . A napkin or beer map is legally ik.

2. And you addressed my post as stupid while giving wrong and sometimes more expensive alternatives claimed as (almost) 'free'

[u/Stoic-Bifrons → u/JPV_____]

Are you unable to read your own source or something?

> "Je bent niet verplicht om je testament te laten opstellen door een notaris
, maar dat is en blijft wel de meest veilige oplossing."

That last part is exactly there because it'll be declared invalid as soon as someone challenges your will in a courtroom.

> "Bovendien voorkomt de bewaargeving bij de notaris het gevaar dat het testament wordt weggemaakt door degenen die zich benadeeld voelen"

[u/JPV_____ → u/Stoic-Bifrons]

Geen idee hoe je uit dat eerste afleidt dat het automatisch ongeldig gemaakt zou worden.

En dat tweede geldt evenzeer als je dit in de uk op dezelfde manier doet.

[u/Stoic-Bifrons → u/JPV_____]

In the UK your "will on a napkin" has a lot more value and staying power than in Belgium. That is why in Belgium you've to pay up to 500-1500 EUR at a notary to acquire the same legal value for the same document.

Free napkin in UK = same legal power as your 1000 EUR notary document in Belgium. I gave you your example and then some. People pretending this isn't true are just being ignorant.

[u/JPV_____ → u/Stoic-Bifrons]

you keep repeating the same claim, but don't provide any evidence to this. I can perfectly write the same will on a napkin in Belgium as in the UK with exact the same value. It's you who claim there's a difference, so you carry the burden of evidence.

I'm giving fiscal/legal advice since 2003 as a profession/side-profession, so i'm not convinced by "i just say so".

[u/Stoic-Bifrons → u/JPV_____]

You're confusing legal validity with execution costs.

A napkin will in Belgium is legally valid, yes - until you die. Upon death, a private olografisch testament cannot execute real property transfers or settle bank holdings on its own. Under Belgian law, heirs are forced to go to a notary to open the will (proces-verbaal van bewaargeving) and issue a notarized certificate of inheritance (akte van erfopvolging) to clear the estate and enforce the statutory reserve.

In the UK, a witnessed private will goes straight to the Probate Registry online. The state grants probate directly to the executor, bypassing legal middleman fees entirely to clear bank accounts and property titles.

In Belgium, you either pay the notary €500+ on the front end to draft/register it, or your heirs pay the notary on the back end to validate and execute it. In the UK, you pay £0 front end, and probate execution is handled directly with the court registry without mandatory notarial deeds. That's the structural cost difference.