Laws of Succession
French law includes direct succession rules, this means any inheritance for, children, grandchildren, or the parent of a deceased person is protected by forced heirship restrictions. This was introduced into law in order to protect a family, such as to prevent an unscrupulous outsider from forcing an elderly individual to disinherit family members.
This means that regardless of any will, a portion of the assets will pass to the deceased’s children or spouse. The remainder can then be freely dispersed according to a French will. If completed in the presence of two notaries, children can give up their right to a French inheritance, this is in fact more common that one would think but this would need to be done whilst the parent was still living.
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French Inheritance law dictates that:
If there is just one child, they will inherit half of the estate.
They share 66.6 percent of the estate between the two children.
When there are three or more chilren, they receive 75% of the estate divided equally between them.
If there are no children, the spouse is entitled to a quarter of the estate.
To lawfully inherit some of the inheritance, a couple must be married at the time of death.
If you think you are entitled to a deceased person’s estate please get in touch. We work with English speaking French Notaries who will be pleased to assist.