French Law Consultancy

Wills For French Property Owners

If you are about to inherit or acquire assets in France you should consider how they will be dealt with after you die to ensure administering your estate is as pain-free for your loved ones as possible. A carefully drafted Will can carry out your wishes and make your estate as easy to manage and as low cost as possible for your executors at a difficult time.

A poorly drafted or out-of-date Will can create stress, additional tax, and massive costs for your loved ones, who may not even inherit, or wish that they hadn’t inherited due to the peculiarities of French inheritance law that are very different to English law.

First step - we listen to you.

Just tell us what you want to do with your estate. Who do you want to leave your estate to? How much is the estate worth?

We then walk you through the legal and tax consequences, and see if there are any creative ways to minimise tax liabilities for your loved ones and your estate, and we will then help you find a solution that will meet your wishes. We will also help you avoid pitfalls when it comes to issues such as choosing a witness for your French will, that can lead to accidentally disinheriting a beneficiary.

We then see if you actually need a Will or not. You might not need one, or your old one may be OK but we’d need to examine it to check - ask about our Free French Estate Will Review.

If you need a Will for your French Estate, we carefully craft your Will to reflect your wishes, and so that you are aware of the effect, validity, and tax consequences of your Will. We can add a very carefully worded choice of law clause if appropriate, so you can choose the law of your nationality to apply to your French estate. We will also talk you through whether you need separate Wills for different countries or not. With Brexit looming we can also guide you through how your French Will might be affected by Brexit. Get in touch with us for a free initial consultation.