French Wills

If you own a French property, it is usually advisable to have a Will specifically disposing of the property, taking into account the relevant inheritance laws. Failure to address this can cause distress, complications, costs and delays when the owner of the property dies, and the intended beneficiaries might miss out.

Even if you have an English Will, French law may over-ride this, or create serious complications, even if the Will is treated as an election of English law under the EU Succession Regulation, and French inheritance will still apply which may result in up to 60% inheritance tax, unless you have had specialist, accurate advice.

Basic French Wills or Codicils can be relatively inexpensive, quick and effective, subject to the restrictions of French law.

French Law Consultancy are happy to work in conjunction with your existing Solicitors in order to achieve the right result for you.

French inheritance law is very different from English inheritance law. French inheritance law does not allow an individual to freely dispose of French property on death if the deceased is survived by children. Unless careful planning is undertaken before buying French property, children will automatically inherit in priority to anyone else, even in priority to a spouse. Where children survive, only a small proportion of the estate can be freely given away under a will.

If you are considering leaving anything to a charity or a non related person, step child, civil registered partner or non-married partner, please contact us for specialist advice, as this is not straightforward.

Appropriate specialist advice can make things much easier to deal with and less costly when the person dies. You also avoid distress for the loved ones that you hoped would inherit your estate...as they might not.