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Is making a French will the right choice for multiple property owners?
John Kitching, a director of French Law Consultancy Limited, answers a reader query
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French inheritance law challenge: EU issues response
The Commission has said it is working on the case brought forward by Connexion readers over controversial 2021 law change
Will my French estate go to my civil partner when I die?
Only married couples in France automatically benefit from the inheritance rights of a spouse, but there are other ways to ensure your partner inherits your estate
Reader Question: We are British civil partners living in France and would like to know the legal protection for the other person if one of us should die. Is it necessary to make a will? We own our house jointly and would like everything to go to the survivor. We do not have children but have family in the UK, including siblings, nephews and nieces.
As a French resident, French inheritance laws and inheritance tax treatment apply to your estate.
The entitlement to inherit on intestacy as a conjoint (spouse) only applies to married couples, not couples with a Pacs (French civil partnership).
UK civil partners only qualify for equal inheritance rights to a spouse where their civil partnership has been converted into marriage under section 9 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
As such, under French law, a UK-registered civil partner (not converted into marriage) or Pacs partner does not automatically benefit from the inheritance rights of a spouse.
In order to protect your partner, you need to leave a valid will (or other inheritance provision, such as a tontine clause in your title deed) to leave them a share of your estate.
If there is no will, French intestacy rules apply and leave your estate to the next closest blood relation.
However, if you do leave a will in favour of your partner, then the inheritance is exempt from French inheritance tax, as it would be for a spouse.
As you do not have children, French law does not restrict you from leaving your estate under a will to your partner or to whomever you like.
Please note that siblings, nieces and nephews are heavily taxed, with minimal tax-free allowances.
As usual, expert professional advice is strongly encouraged to look more closely at your circumstances and to prepare a carefully-worded will.
Author: John Kitching, French Law Consultancy. French Law Consultancy provides French legal advice
Related links
UK wills appointing trustees: Watch out for tax effects in France
Must I pay French inheritance tax on a UK legacy
Families face stress over new French inheritance law and foreign wills