Belgian Notary Ranking Exam cheat sheet

Consent is valid only if free and informed; defects are error, dol (fraud), violence, and lesion in narrowly defined cases.

Error vitiates consent only if it concerns the substance of the object or the person when the contract is concluded intuitu personae; error in motive is generally irrelevant.

Dol requires misrepresentation or concealment deliberately intended to deceive, and it must have been decisive for consent.

Violence includes physical force and moral coercion; fear of serious harm to person or property makes the contract voidable.

Obligations may arise from contract, quasi-contract, delict, quasi-delict, and statute; the sources are exhaustive under the Civil Code.

Performance must be complete, personal unless delegation is agreed, and timely; partial performance may be refused by the creditor.

Damages for non-performance cover foreseeable loss; moratory interest is statutory, compensatory damages require proof of harm and causal link.

Solidary liability: each co-debtor may be pursued for the whole debt; contribution among co-debtors is proportional unless otherwise agreed.

Default regime is community of property (régime légal) unless spouses elect separation of property or a conventional regime before the notary.

Community comprises acquisitions during marriage; own property (propres) includes assets owned before marriage and gifts/inheritances received during it.

Change of regime is possible after two years of marriage by notarial deed, subject to homologation by the family court.

Marriage contract must be executed before the notary before the civil marriage and registered; post-nuptial amendments follow the same formalities.

Separation of property requires each spouse to prove contributions to acquisitions; a claim for participation (créance de participation) may apply.

Cohabitants (legal or de facto) have no automatic community; contractual cohabitation agreements are drafted before the notary.

Divorce by mutual consent requires notarial agreements on liquidation and division; contentious divorce is judicially liquidated.

Parental authority and residence arrangements are recorded in the notarial deed when the parties agree on custody and support.

Intestate succession devolves to descendants, then ascendants, then collaterals, then the surviving spouse, then the State.

Reserved portion (réserve) protects forced heirs; disposable portion varies with number of children (1/2, 1/3, 1/4).

A will may be holographic, authentic (before notary), or international; holographic wills must be entirely handwritten, dated, and signed.

Revocation of a will is express (new will, notarial act) or tacit (destruction, later incompatible will).

Inheritance pact (pacte successoral) is generally void except for permitted family arrangements approved by notary and court.

Estate planning tools include donation with reservation of usufruct, tontine clauses, and life insurance with beneficiary designation.

Inheritance tax is calculated per heir on net share after debts and funeral costs; rates depend on degree of kinship and region.

A notarial deed of estate inventory (acte de notoriété) establishes heirs and is a prerequisite for liquidation.

Ownership is the right to use, enjoy, and dispose of property absolutely, subject to statutory limitations and nuisance rules.

Co-ownership (indivision) requires unanimous decisions for disposal; partition may be demanded at any time unless a convention fixes a term.

Usufruct grants use and enjoyment for a term; naked ownership remains with the bare owner; usufruct terminates on death or expiry.

Mortgage (hypothèque) is a non-possessory security registered against the property; it requires a notarial deed or authentic act.

Pledge (gage) over movables requires dispossession or registration in the pledge register for certain assets.

Land registration (publicité foncière) makes transfers and mortgages opposable to third parties; transcription is constitutive for mortgages.

Easements (servitudes) run with the land and must be established by title, prescription, or destination of the owner.

Pre-emption rights (e.g., tenant, co-owner, public authority) must be cleared before sale; breach may allow substitution.

Company forms include SRL/SBV, SA/NV, SC/CV, SNC/VOF, and SCS/CommV; each has distinct capital, liability, and governance rules.

SRL/SBV has no minimum capital but requires sufficient initial patrimony; SA/NV requires minimum capital of EUR 61,500 unless reformed.

Share transfers in SRL/SBV require notarial deed unless the articles permit private writing; SA/NV transfers are typically private.

Company incorporation requires a notarial deed containing articles, capital contribution, and appointment of directors.

Directors' liability is joint and several for breaches of company law or articles; discharge is granted by general meeting.

Mergers, demergers, and contributions require notarial deeds and statutory publication; minority protection applies.

Shareholder agreements (pactes d'actionnaires) may restrict transfer but cannot eliminate statutory rights of exit or information.

Dissolution and liquidation require notarial deed and publication; liquidation distributes residual assets after creditor payment.

The notary is a public officer and ministerial officer; acts have authentic force unless challenged by inscription of forgery.

Impartiality duty: the notary must advise all parties equally and cannot act if a conflict of interest exists.

Secrecy (secret professionnel) covers all facts learned in the exercise of the office; disclosure requires legal exception.

Notarial liability is contractual toward clients and delictual toward third parties; insurance is mandatory.

The notary must verify identity, capacity, and legality of the act, and must refuse acts contrary to public order.

Duty to inform: the notary must explain the scope and consequences of the act and ensure informed consent.

Disciplinary sanctions range from warning to suspension or removal; the notarial chamber and the King's prosecutor may intervene.

Anti-money-laundering duties require identification, beneficial ownership verification, and reporting of suspicious transactions.

Registration duties on immovable sales are calculated on the price or market value, whichever is higher; rates vary by region.

Inheritance tax is levied per heir on the net estate; rates rise with the share and kinship degree and differ regionally.

Gift tax applies to notarial donations; rates depend on kinship and region; registration within a statutory period is required.

VAT applies to certain services (e.g., commercial leases, some company services); notarial fees themselves are VAT-exempt.

The notary collects registration duties and inheritance taxes as withholding agent and remits them to the treasury.

Reduced rates exist for family homes under conditions (e.g., principal residence, registration within 12 months).

Tax base may be adjusted for usufruct, bare ownership, or annuities using statutory valuation tables.

Failure to register within the prescribed period triggers interest and penalties borne by the parties.

An authentic deed must be drawn up in the language of the region, read to the parties, and signed by them and the notary.

The deed must contain the date, place, identity and capacity of parties, the notary's signature, and the object of the act.

Minutes (minuut) are retained by the notary; copies (grosses, expéditions) are issued with the notary's seal.

The notary must verify the identity of the parties, their legal capacity, and the absence of conflict of interest.

Formal requirements include registration of the deed and, where applicable, transcription in the land registry.

Powers of attorney must be authenticated or notarized if the principal is abroad, and must be attached to the deed.

Rectification of errors is possible by a corrective notarial deed; substantive changes require a new deed.

Electronic notarial deeds are permitted under conditions of secure signature and archival compliance.

Applicable law to succession is determined by the deceased's habitual residence or nationality under national conflict rules and EU Regulation 650/2012.

The European Certificate of Succession (ECS) facilitates cross-border estate administration; it is issued by the competent authority.

Matrimonial property regime is governed by the law chosen by the spouses or, absent choice, by the law of their first common habitual residence.

Recognition of foreign notarial acts requires verification of authenticity and compliance with public policy (ordre public).

Hague Apostille Convention replaces legalization for documents exchanged between contracting states.

Cross-border donations and trusts may require reporting under anti-money-laundering and tax rules.

Jurisdiction clauses and choice-of-law clauses must be expressly agreed and recorded in the notarial deed.

Foreign judgments and authentic instruments are enforced under the Brussels Ia Regulation or bilateral treaties.

Case analysis follows the IRAC framework: identify the issue, state the rule, apply it to facts, and conclude.

Sources of law hierarchy: Constitution, treaties, statutes, decrees, case law, and custom; case law is persuasive but not formally binding.

Statutory interpretation uses literal, systematic, teleological, and historical methods; preparatory works are persuasive.

Analogical reasoning and a contrario reasoning are valid only within the limits of the statute and public order.

Qualification of facts determines the applicable legal category (e.g., sale vs. lease vs. donation).

Proof rules: written evidence is required above a statutory threshold; notarial deeds have probative force.

Time limits (prescription) must be checked at the outset; extinctive prescription periods vary by claim type.

Case commentary requires identifying the parties, facts, legal question, holding, and ratio decidendi.

Placeholder bullet - domain not specified in the exam scope.

Placeholder bullet - domain not specified in the exam scope.

Placeholder bullet - domain not specified in the exam scope.

Placeholder bullet - domain not specified in the exam scope.

Placeholder bullet - domain not specified in the exam scope.

Placeholder bullet - domain not specified in the exam scope.