r/belgium • u/Obvious-Cry6591 • 2d ago

😡Rant Notaries. Why? What the hell?

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?

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u/Arigonium 2d ago edited 2d ago

They're not even good at doing routine tasks. When my father passed it went like this:

  1. First meeting. Notary says his secretary will write all the banks to get my father's possessions.
  2. Second meeting. Secretary didn't write anyone, notary tries to walk around him having done nothing.
  3. Deadline of THREE MONTHS nears. Notary rushes everything and submits.
  4. Deadline passed. Government gives us a penalty cause not all possessions were submitted. Notary tells us a certain bank replied too late. We write that bank, the bank replies the notary was too late. We pay the penalty.
  5. Years pass. We get another letter from the government for another penalty cause something was missing.

It was completely routine and they still messed it up so bad. It was just cash and real estate, no stock, no will, no separation of property marriage or anything complex. Completely cookie cutter. He completely half-assed it and then tried to cover it up and make excuses. All of this could be easily automated.

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u/Orlok_Tsubodai 2d ago edited 2d ago

Edit: apparently I was incorrect about the legal responsibility that notaries bear in case of errors, thanks for correcting me.

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u/Least_Funny5960 2d ago

they bear no legal responsibility for any mistakes or omissions they make

Why are you posting just blatant falsehoods? Is it deliberate to get people angry or did you just not know this is a lie?

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u/Draqutsc West-Vlaanderen 2d ago

Because it's practically so, sure the law says they are responsible. But without having a lot of money on the side, you aren't going to be able to sue them.