Inheritance law in France

The general rules of French inheritance and their technical terms: who is an heir, the heir’s options, reserved heirs, the tax that applies…

There are two ways to inherit: without a will, according to the rules set by law, or under a will.

Receiving an inheritance: who is an heir

An intestate succession is one settled without a will. Without a will, the law sets an order of preference in favour of relatives, using four rules:

• The order: it defines how closely related the heir is to the deceased. There are four orders:

• The degree: within each order, the heir of the closest degree inherits
• Representation
• The split: the law’s way of treating the deceased’s paternal and maternal lines equally.

The heirs may be:

• The children:

• The parents, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces: this order includes two kinds of heirs. As a rule, the estate is split in two: one half for the parents, the other for the brothers and sisters.
• The grandparents and other ascendants
• The uncles, aunts and cousins
• The spouse: they receive, as they choose, the whole estate in usufruct or a quarter in full ownership if all the children are from both spouses. The law also gives special protection for the home they lived in as their main residence: the surviving spouse has a temporary right to the home for one year and possibly a right for life.
• A civil partner (PACS)

The heir’s options

When someone dies, their heirs immediately become owners of their property. But before taking possession of the assets of the estate, the heirs must choose between:

• Accepting outright (expressly or tacitly)
• Refusing outright
• Accepting up to the net assets (this is never presumed and must be express)

Changing the rules

Reserved heirs, who cannot be disinherited, are the deceased’s children and, failing them, the surviving spouse. Only when there are neither can a person freely decide what happens to all their property.

The tax that applies

Inheritance tax is calculated on the net assets passed on, less deductible debts. The taxable value depends on how the estate is shared under the Civil Code, on the allowances applied to each share and on the scale, which depend on the family relationship, as well as on any reductions. Do not hesitate to ask your notaire for a simulation of the inheritance tax.

Note: in France, children cannot be disinherited. Part of the estate, the reserve, is set aside for them; the rest, the available portion, can be left freely. The available portion depends on the number of children (for example, with one child it is half the estate).