European Notarial Network

On 27 November the Dutch and Belgian notaries from the border region met in the Dutch border town of Hoeven to discuss several topics from their daily practice, in the context of the ENN transnational forum. At the end of the day the presidents of both Notariats also signed a cooperation agreement in the library of the former monastery that was the location for this event.

After the opening words by the chairperson of the day, Me Philippe de Jonghe, and an introduction by the presidents of the Dutch and Belgian Notariats, Ms. Annerie Ploumen & Ms. Katrin Roggeman, the seminar-part of the afternoon began. Three topics were discussed, each at different tables presided by notaries. At the end of the day every notary had been able to talk to colleagues about all these three topics.

The first topic was private international law. Case studies on matrimonial property law and succession law were debated from both a Dutch and Belgian perspective while making use of the relevant European Regulations.

A second topic was the customer journey in the real estate purchasing process. This was more of a strategy exercise, during which notaries were challenged to think about what the role of the notary is at the very beginning of the process, but also whether an additional role is possible after the authentic act has been signed and the keys have been handed over.

The third topic was real estate but with a focus on an aging population and what role the notary plays in their journey on the real estate market. New housing concepts where parents and adult children want to find ways to live together in the same house, but with separate living units, were discussed, and an output was that there is a lack of legal rules for these types of living arrangements. Furthermore, the concepts of living wills (in The Netherlands) and lasting power of attorney for caring (in Belgium) were analysed and some interesting differences between the two remarked upon.

The lively debates continued during a well-deserved coffee break and a networking reception afterwards.

Dutch and Belgian Notaries meet in Hoeven (NL) for the second ENN transnational Forum