About us

Civil-law notary Kenneth F. Arends, LL.M.

We believe that a civil-law notary should be more than just an extension of a client’s wishes.

The firm was founded in 2012 by Kenneth F. Arends, LL.M. Before Kenneth F. Arends, LL.M. was appointed as civil-law notary in Bonaire, he worked for about 16 years as a candidate civil-law notary in the Netherlands and Aruba, 10 of which years as an authorized deputy civil-law notary.

His expertise in Dutch notarial practice, combined with his Caribbean background, guarantee high quality notarial services within the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

— Our mission

Areas of Expertises

Expertise

KENNETH F.ARENDS & PARTNERS has all notarial specialties on hand. Our mission is to translate complex legal issues for you into comprehensible results. We speak your language, literally and figuratively. After all, all meetings can be held in Dutch, Papiamentu, English or Spanish. If necessary, we also execute the instrument in English or Spanish.

— Our Strengths

Civil-law notaries and candidate civil-law notaries

Civil-Law Notaries

A civil-law notary is authorized to execute authentic instruments in which legal proceedings and legal acts between parties are lawfully recorded. As an impartial and independent expert, the civil-law notary must safeguard the interests of all parties in question.

For the purposes of legal certainty, a notarial instrument is legally required for a number of legal acts. Civil-law notaries are authorized to execute such notarial deeds, to the exclusion of anyone else.

In addition, a civil-law notary often acts as a legal advisor and assists the parties involved in recording the agreements properly. Prior to the execution of an instrument, the civil-law notary holds discussions with the parties involved, in order to give them advice on that basis.

Appointment

On the BES Islands, a civil-law notary is appointed for life by a Royal Decree. In the Decree appointing the civil-law notary, the Public Body is indicated as the practice location within which the civil-law notary performs his/her official duties.

The legal maximum number of practice locations for Bonaire is two. The civil-law notary must take the oath before the Court of First Instance of the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba in his/her practice location within two months from the day on which his/her appointment commences.

Based on the oath taken, the civil-law notary must perform his/her duties with impartiality, and observe the legally prescribed confidentiality.

Candidate civil-law notaries

A candidate civil-law notary is employed at the firm of a civil-law notary, and, just like the notary, has obtained the title Master of Laws (LL.M.), or mr. in Dutch, after completing the study program in Notarial Law at a Dutch university.

A candidate civil-law notary performs the same legal work as the civil-law notary, and during his/her period as a deputy, he or she is authorized to sign notarial instruments as a deputy.

Instruments

Notarial instruments are documents drawn up and signed by a civil-law notary, in which legal acts are recorded. By signing the instrument, the civil-law notary assures its date and time.

The civil-law notary saves the instruments carefully and in a regular sequence. The civil-law notary is authorized to issue copies, first authenticated enforceable copies of, and extracts from notarial instruments to all parties.