What could you do to ease effects of france’s 2021 inheritance law?

A FRENCH LAW ON CHILDREN'S FORCED HEIRSHIP RIGHTS IS CAUSING CONCERN FOR SOME RESIDENTS OF FRANCE, INCLUDING BRITONS AND AMERICANS; WE LOOK AT OPTIONS TO HELP PROTECT AGAINST IT A law

in force since November 2021 aims partly to annul the effects of a choice of a foreign inheritance law by residents in France – but there are possible solutions to deal with this. The 2021

law is proving especially inconvenient to some English or American residents in France, among others. This is because it seeks to enforce French 'forced heirship' rules in favour

of children, even where the French resident had made use of an EU regulation to say the law of their nationality should govern their worldwide estate. Where a national law is chosen that has

no forced heirship rules in favour of children, and the children are disadvantaged by the will, the 2021 law says the notaire dealing with the estate should advise them of their right to

ask for a compensatory levy against French assets in the estate. Many notaires believe this will eventually be overturned by a court, as it appears to contradict the intention of the EU

regulation, but this is likely to take many years. Read more: EU to review legality of recent French law on children's inheritance In the meantime, several French legal mechanisms

already exist to help protect against the effects of the 2021 law. These need to be discussed with a notaire – those who speak English can be found here – but we summarise here: * A change

of marriage regime to ‘universal community’, so a couple’s assets become the property of the other on the death of one member. This can, however, still pose issues in the case of

stepchildren as they have a right to object; * A _tontine_ clause, whereby a couple buy a property stating that the survivor becomes sole owner after the first death. This clause has to be

inserted at the time of buying the property. There may be limited rights for disinherited children to argue that the clause should be disregarded but it is generally accepted this would not

be simple; * A well-worded will or _donation au dernier vivant_. It is possible for a person to leave their estate to their spouse in _usufruit_ (for lifetime use) or three-quarters in

_usufruit_ and one quarter in outright ownership. _Usufruit_ includes the right to live in a home, or rent it out, or to benefit from income from investments, although the beneficiary may

not sell anything without the permission of those entitled to the remainder after they die. Note that French law gives a surviving spouse the right to stay in the family home for life if the

spouse notifies the notaire handling the estate of this wish. This has a monetary value: if it is less than they are due under the will, they may inherit all. If it is worth more, there is

no requirement to compensate other heirs. RELATED ARTICLES FAMILIES FACE STRESS OVER NEW FRENCH INHERITANCE LAW AND FOREIGN WILLS WILL STEPCHILDREN BE ENTITLED TO MY HUSBAND’S ASSETS IN

FRANCE? FRENCH FORCED INHERITANCE RULE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT ENGLISH LAW