What happens to my french estate if i do not make any plans?

READER QUESTION: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY ESTATE IF I DO NOT MAKE A WILL IN FRANCE? If you do not make a will, your estate will be dealt with in different ways depending on your family

situation. If you have a spouse and children, everything will be divided among them. Of your family does not look quite like this, your estate will be left to different relatives. However,

there are several issues to consider. Firstly, if you are married, then the question of your marriage regime comes into play so as to determine what your estate will actually consist of

after your death and whether some property automatically becomes the property of your spouse and is therefore outside your estate. A home may also go automatically to another person if you

bought it together inserting a _tontine_ clause to that effect. Secondly, there are set ‘intestacy’ rules as to who inherits a person’s estate in the absence of a will. Finally, a surviving

spouse or civil partner has certain rights to stay in the family home. MATRIMONIAL REGIMES Whether you are aware of if or not, all married couples in France have a ‘matrimonial regime’,

which determines how assets are owned within the marriage. In the case of people married in France the default is the _RÉGIME DE LA COMMUNAUTÉ LÉGALE RÉDUITE AUX ACQUÊTS_ (literally:

community regime reduced to acquisitions). In this case each spouse ‘takes back’ the possessions that they owned before their wedding, and any that they have been gifted or have inherited

during the marriage. However, possessions and funds acquired during the marriage are owned in common, even if they were bought or earned only by one spouse. In this case, the deceased

spouse’s estate will include all of their own possessions from before their wedding and half of the estate shared during their marriage. If you married under the _RÉGIME DE LA SÉPARATION DE

BIENS_, (which will be the case for many people who were married in the UK, for example, though there are exceptions) there are no possessions that are automatically shared, so the deceased

person’s estate will include everything that they earned or bought themselves. Finally if the couple have a _COMMUNAUTÉ UNIVERSELLE_ regime, which has to be opted for with help from a

notaire, all possessions acquired during the marriage are owned in common, and items owned before may be ‘brought into’ the regime if this is agreed when setting up the regime. WHAT HAPPENS

TO THE ESTATE IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN AND A SURVIVING SPOUSE? If you share all of your children with your spouse, the amount that they will inherit will depend on what your husband or wife

decides to do. They can decide to keep the whole estate en _usufruit_ (a lifetime interest) or keep a quarter of it _en pleine propriété _(in full ownership). If the spouse opts to hold the

estate _en usufruit_, the children will inherit the property, money etc. in equal parts _en nue-propriété_, meaning that the spouse can have lifetime benefit from it (live in a house or rent

it out, take interest from investments…) but cannot sell anything. It will then go to the children after the surviving spouse’s death. The children therefore cannot do anything with the

estate in the immediate future, although they will owe inheritance tax if the total value of their inheritance exceeds €100,000 (note that _nue-propriété_ ownership is discounted in value

compared to full ownership). If the surviving parent chooses to keep a quarter of the _estate__en pleine propriété_, the children will share the remaining three quarters between them

equally. If, on the other hand, you have children born from different relationships, your current spouse has the right to a quarter of your succession _en pleine propriété_, without the

_usufruit_ option, and the children will share the remaining three quarters between them. Step-children are not legally entitled to anything, but if your spouse keeps a quarter of your

estate this property may go to them on the spouse’s death. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN AND HAVE A SURVIVING SPOUSE If you have no children and no surviving parents, your spouse will inherit

everything. If, however, you do have both parents still living, your spouse will get half of your estate, and your parents will have a quarter each. If you have one parent still alive, your

spouse will get three quarters of your estate and your parent will inherit the remaining quarter. Parents also have a right to take back property they gave you before you died. IF YOU ARE

NOT MARRIED If you have a partner but are not married, they are not entitled to anything, even if you are pacsed. If you are unmarried and have children, your whole estate will go to them,

being divided equally among them. And if you have no children, your estate will be divided equally between your parents and siblings. If you have no surviving parents, your siblings will

inherit everything between them. WHO ELSE COULD INHERIT IN THE CASE OF NO WILL? Bearing in mind the above points, there is a legal order of succession where someone has no surviving spouse,

with each category inheriting everything if they are present. The estate is divided equally between the father and mother’s side of the family. * Uncles and aunts * Cousins * …and if none

then the property goes to the state. IF YOU HAVE GRANDCHILDREN Normally, it would be your spouse and children who inherit everything, and your grandchildren would not be allocated anything.

However, if your child is deceased and their children are living, they will inherit in their parent’s place. This rule is also applied to great-grandchildren, who can only inherit if their

parent and grandparent – your child – are dead. Note that children and grandchildren of siblings can also inherit in their place. RELATED ARTICLES HOW CAN I LEAVE MY FRENCH PROPERTY TO MY

SECOND WIFE? IF I FOLLOW UK INHERITANCE RULES, WILL MY FRIEND STILL PAY FRENCH TAX? DOES A UK WILL SUFFICE FOR A FRENCH/ENGLISH COUPLE LIVING IN FRANCE?