French inheritance law works quite differently from the UK. Instead of complete freedom to leave your assets to anyone you choose, France uses a strict rule called “forced heirship” (réserve héréditaire). This guarantees that a fixed portion of your estate must pass to your biological or legally adopted children.
The Reserved Share and Free Share
An estate in France is automatically split into two parts:
The Reserved Share (Réserve Héréditaire)
The fixed percentage set aside exclusively for your children. It cannot be given away or cut out by a will.
The Disposable Share (Quotité Disponible)
The remaining slice of your estate that you can freely leave to a spouse, friend, or charity.
The exact division depends on how many children you have:
- One child – 1/2 reserved for the child, 1/2 disposable share.
- Two children – 2/3 reserved equally between them, 1/3 disposable share.
- Three or more children – 3/4 reserved equally among them, 1/4 disposable share.
- If you have no children, a surviving spouse is entitled to a guaranteed 1/4 share of the estate.
Rights of the Surviving Spouse
When you leave children behind, your surviving spouse generally gets to choose between two options:
- Taking 1/4 full ownership of the entire estate.
- Taking a life interest (usufruit) over the whole estate. This lets them stay in the family home and collect any rental income for the rest of their life, while ownership passes to the children.
- If you have children from a previous relationship, the surviving spouse automatically gets the 1/4 ownership option, keeping things clean for the stepchildren.
French inheritance tax is then worked out separately for each person receiving a share. While spouses pay zero tax, children get a generous tax-free allowance before paying sliding-scale rates.
Read more information on probate, wills and retirement.
If you need help with French Probate, contact French Probate Matters on 020 8150 2010 or info@frenchprobatematters.com.
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