Nearly 50,000 wills were drawn up in Belgium in the first six months of 2026, up 18.8% from the same period in 2025, the Federation of Notaries said on Friday.
A total of 48,542 wills were registered during the period, with people over 65 accounting for the largest share, making up 51.9% of all wills recorded in the first half of the year.
Those aged 51 to 65 represented 24.7% of the total, and at the other end of the age range, 18- to 30-year-olds accounted for only 6.3% of registrations.
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“A will remains the main instrument for keeping, within the limits set by law, control over what happens to your estate,” said Sylvain Bavier, spokesperson for the official French-language platform Notaire.be.
He noted that a spouse and children are always entitled to part of an estate, while the remainder can be left to other people.
Regionally, Flanders made up the clear majority with 35,266 wills, a rise of 25%.
Wallonia recorded 10,688 wills, up 3.9%, while the Brussels-Capital Region registered 2,588, an increase of 13.4%.
Together, Wallonia and Brussels accounted for just over a quarter of declarations entered in the central register of wills.
The Federation of Notaries (Fednot) said unmarried couples often choose to make a will to protect one another, as under the law they inherit little, if anything, from each other.
A will is also recommended for partners without children and for single people without children, the federation said.
“If it is expected that some heirs will not be satisfied with the will, it is better to opt for a notarised will,” Fednot added.
The federation warned that a will written entirely by hand carries risks, as it may contain mistakes or ambiguities, and disputes can arise over its authenticity or whether the person who wrote it had the legal capacity to do so.
