Many heirs in Belgium ask themselves: do I need a notary for a simple estate? The answer is more nuanced than yes or no. In most simple situations there is no legal obligation to involve a notary for the inheritance declaration. But there are specific acts where a notary is required or strongly advisable. This guide spells it out.
When is a notary actually mandatory?
In Belgium, a notarial intervention is legally required in these cases:
- Real-estate transfer: a house, apartment or land from the estate that you wish to sell or put in an heir's name always requires a notarial deed.
- Notarial will or will with executor: the handling of a notarial will almost always involves a notary.
- Protected or minor heirs: for minors or persons under guardianship, the authorisation of the justice of the peace and notarial assistance are required.
- Declaration of acceptance under benefit of inventory or refusal: this declaration is made before the notary or at the registry of the family court.
- Inventory in the formal sense: required by law or by a court in case of dispute, or with acceptance under benefit. More on the choice.
- Deed of inheritance when there is a marriage contract with attribution clause, a will, a minor heir or a foreign component. Our guide.
In all other cases you are not obliged to involve a notary.
When can you proceed without a notary?
For a simple estate in Belgium, you can perfectly well, on your own:
- complete and file the inheritance declaration with VLABEL (Flanders) or the FPS Finance (Brussels, Wallonia);
- request an attestation of inheritance from the FPS Finance to unblock bank accounts;
- pay inheritance tax based on the assessment notice;
- cancel or transfer contracts;
- divide the household contents by mutual agreement.
Our full guide to filing the declaration yourself.
What does a notary cost for an estate?
Notary tariffs are fixed by law in Belgium. Inheritance fees roughly comprise:
- a fixed part for specific deeds (deed of inheritance, inventory);
- a proportional part based on the value of the estate for some deeds;
- additional administrative and registration fees for searches, registrations and publications.
In practice, the cost of just a deed of inheritance is often between 300 and 1,000 euros; an inventory quickly tops 1,500 euros; full assistance with an estate including real estate runs between 2,000 and 6,000 euros or more.
What exactly does a notary do for an estate?
Depending on the situation, the notary takes on:
- Identification of the heirs via a deed of inheritance.
- Reading the will, if any.
- Advising on acceptance or refusal.
- Inventory if needed.
- Private or authentic deed of partition.
- Real-estate transfer by notarial deed.
- Preparation or review of the inheritance declaration (this step can often be done yourself, or via Nalenta).
Even if you choose a notary, you can use Nalenta to keep a clear view of the file.
When is a notary useful even if not mandatory?
In these situations, involving a notary is often a wise investment:
- you anticipate conflict among heirs and want a neutral third party;
- the deceased was self-employed with open professional debts;
- there is foreign wealth or a cross-border element such as a Dutch account, a Spanish holiday home or a German pension policy;
- there is a complex marriage contract with clauses such as accretion or attribution;
- there is a company or shareholding in the estate.
Our guide for expats and cross-border files.
How to pick a notary
Through notaris.be you easily find a notary nearby and can sense their specialisation via the office profile. You are free to pick a notary, including in another region.
Tip: always ask for a written cost estimate beforehand and clarify which fees are included (cadastre lookup, deed of inheritance, registration duties, VAT where relevant).
Nalenta and the notary
Nalenta is complementary to the notary. We accompany you with what you can do yourself: the declaration, the overview, the communication and the deadlines. For steps that legally require a notary, you stay with them.
For a first idea of what you can do yourself versus what belongs with the notary, read our guide to filing the declaration yourself and the tips per region for Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.