More and more people in Belgium are granting a power of attorney to one or more persons who will be able to take decisions on their finances when they are no longer able to do so themselves. Drawing up a will remains popular too.
During the first six months of 2022 the number of people drawing up a power of attorney rose by over 21%. Figures from the Belgian federation of notaries show. These powers of attorney awarded to people to take decisions when you are no longer able to do so yourself are particularly popular in Flanders: 37,000 of the 41,000 powers of attorney were signed in Flanders.
This form of power of attorney called the “care power of attorney” was created in 2014 to anticipate situations in which people are no longer able to take their own decisions (e.g. due to age, illness or an accident). You can decide who gets to take the decisions and which decisions they can take. Drawing up a care power of attorney at a notary’s will set you back up to 600 euros. It’s above all popular among over 65s.
During the first six months of the year 35,092 wills were drawn up in Belgium. The figure is up 1.3% on the year. It seems more and more and more people want to decide within the bounds allowed by the law what happens to their inheritance.
Gifts, often involving real estate, too remain popular. A record number of gifts with the involvement of a notary, 21,495, were made in the first six months of last year.