History, from agricultural town to a modern city
Georges Huygens
The commune of Auderghem was still an agricultural village with just 8,000 inhabitants, when the first notary practice was established there in 1913. Georges Huygens set up his office in the Residence “The Swallows” on the Boulevard du Souverain, opposite the Chateau de Val Duchesse.
Besides his notarial career, Georges Huygens was also involved in politics and became the President of the Public Assistance Commission (now CPAS) Auderghem, municipal councillor and alderman.
In recognition of his work, a street in Auderghem now bears his name.
Residence “The Swallows” & Georges Huygens
Pierre Garde
Notary Huygens passed on his practice to his grandson, Pierre Guard in 1948. Notary Guard oversaw his first act, less than a month before the death of his grandfather on Feb. 8, 1949.
Notary Guard was heavily involved in the increasing urbanization of Auderghem, and it was he, in the 1960s, who commissioned the building that currently houses the practice. He exercised the notary profession until his death on 13 December 1983.
Pierre Garde
Olivier Verstraete
Six months later, the practice found a new owner in the person of Olivier Verstraete. Thus, the practice passed from one family to another, offering great continuity of service.
Olivier Verstraete was notary for over thirty years, and has greatly expanded the practice to meet the needs of modern Belgium: additional skilled staff, advanced IT, office expansion, ...
In 2010, he was proud to go into partnership with his son Renaud Verstraete, and he withdrew then from the association in November 2016.
Olivier Verstraete
The current practice
Notary Renaud Verstraete tried to consolidate the modernization of the practice by an office renovation and the essential digital transition of the infrastructure.
To support the evolution of the practice, he goes into partnership with Alexis Cruysmans in May 2018, after a close six-year cooperation.
The practice in 1971 and 2018