Top Three French Law Disasters Part 1: Accidental Disinheritance
The following series of three blogs looks at the top Three French Law Disasters we have seen. These are real cases, with changed names. It goes to show that paying for the right legal advice from an expert can save your thousands of pounds and lots of stress.
Helpful Partner trying to save money
Jim and Mary had lived in France together for twenty years, but never got round to being married. Mary had children from her previous partner but no children with Jim. Jim had gifted Mary the money to buy the house, which was in Mary’s name. Mary became ill, and was concerned about paying for a Will. She asked Jim to help her with her Will. She told Jim that she wanted him to be the executor, and that he should be left the house, and the children would each have an item of jewellery. The intention was that Jim could decide how to deal with the rest. Jim typed up a Will on his computer, printed it out, and arranged for Mary to sign it. Jim and a neighbour witnessed the Will.
The Will was validly signed as a UK Will, but unfortunately, as Jim was a witness, he was not able to inherit anything (he would have been taxed at 60% even if he had inherited, which he didn’t realise). As the Will did not say who inherited the residue of the estate, apart from some items of jewellery, most of the estate was intestate. The rules of intestacy divide the estate between the spouse and children. Jim was not the spouse, so did not inherit. However, Mary had never formally divorced her estranged partner. The estranged partner therefore inherited 25% of the estate, and the children inherited 75%. Jim got nothing, apart from the duty to administer the estate as executor. A witness can be an executor, but can’t inherit.
We managed to amicably resolve things in the end, largely due to the estranged partner and children being very understanding, but it cost a lot more in legal fees and time and stress than a simple Will would have.
Specialist inexpensive legal advice at the outset, and a properly drafted Will could have resolved these problems, and the intended beneficiaries could have inherited without stress or unnecessary tax.
Please contact us if you would like to talk about any aspects of writing a Will or French estate planning.