A total of 11,456 marriage contracts were registered in Belgium last year, a 10% increase compared to 2020, the Belgian Federation of Notaries Public said on Friday.
However, the number was still 1,500 (20%) lower than in 2019, the last year before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, Belga news agency reported.
The pandemic has affected couples’ marriage plans in varying degrees in the regions. In Wallonia, the number of marriage contracts in 2021 (3,500) was just under the 2019 figure (3,831). in Brussels, the number was the same in both years, 1,275, while in Flanders there was a significant decrease: 6,675 in 2021 as against 7,919 two years ago.
The fact that there were fewer marriage contracts does not automatically mean there were fewer marriages, according to the federation.
Those who decide to get married without such a contract fall within the scope of the law, and only a marriage contract enables the persons concerned to deviate from it.
The notaries public recalled that postponing a marriage has consequences for the protection of the partners. Living together provides no protection, they stressed, noting that when one partner dies, the other inherits nothing, unless a will had been written.
Legal cohabitation provides limited protection: the partner obtains the home and household property through usufruct, but even in such cases there are differences compared to marriage.
