Widow in france facing financial struggle as step-child she never met stakes inheritance claim

MANY COUPLES IN FRANCE ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE AS FRENCH 2021 LAW HAS PUT WILLS IN DOUBT A British widow in France is facing losing a quarter of the value of her home and bank accounts

to a step-daughter in the UK she has never met, due to the controversial 2021 French inheritance law. The retiree, who asked not to be named, has been considering selling up to move back to

the UK to be nearer family after her husband’s death but may not, in any case, have a choice according to one expert we consulted. English-speaking notaire François Trémosa, an international

family law specialist from Trémosa Pouzenc in Toulouse, said the woman could be obliged to sell her property to pay in full the one quarter value to which her step-daughter is entitled

(representing half of her deceased father’s estate). This is despite the fact that in French law there is usually a principle that a spouse may claim the right to continue living in the

family home for life, if he or she wishes to. The couple, who moved to France in retirement many years ago and have integrated into local life, had owned everything in common. The retiree

told The Connexion her notaire contacted her step-daughter, who had been estranged from her father for over 40 years, to tell her of her right to a claim – and the step-daughter has

indicated her wish to do so. The widow is now awaiting further news of the process, as the share-out of the estate has yet to take place. Read more: French inheritance law – ‘we need more

people to sign petition’ The woman’s deceased husband had made a will in which he chose English law, with its flexible rules on choice of how property is left, to govern his whole estate.

This is allowed for by a 2012 EU regulation on inheritance, and this system had worked smoothly in France until 2021, when a law was passed seeking to enforce traditional French ‘reserved

heir’ rules. The 2021 law says that, if a foreign law is chosen that lacks such rules, the notaire dealing with the estate must contact any bloodline children of the deceased to offer

compensation out of any French-situated part of the estate up to the level of the French reserve (eg. one half of the estate to a single child). In this case the couple’s possessions,

notably their house and bank accounts, were all located in France. The 2021 law is applicable in cases where the deceased was resident in France or the EU or had a French or EU nationality,

or where they had one or more children to whom any of these apply. Read more: Why French inheritance law is causing us stress - our stories  “The notaire said she couldn’t continue with

settling my husband’s affairs without contacting his estranged daughter,” she said. “His intention in writing his will had been to leave everything to me, and vice versa in mine if I had

died first. “This is going to leave me struggling. I want to move to the UK to be closer to my grandchildren but house prices are completely different there.  “I’ll be moving from a large

house to a one-bedroomed one. I am not complaining about that, just upset that my husband’s daughter may have to have some of the money, but it seems there is not much I can do about that.”

Mr Trémosa said: “The situation is dramatic, although it is not surprising that the step-daughter is demanding compensation. “In principle, the widow is the sole heir but is obliged to pay

compensation to her step-daughter, corresponding to half of her husband’s estate, and so the question arises as to how she could pay such a sum. “She could be forced to sell the house to

assume her responsibilities.”