Foreign residents of France frustrated by slow progress of inheritance petition

Readers campaigning against France’s 2021 inheritance law have been disappointed by the limited response so far to their recent petition to the European Parliament. We have been receiving more testimonies from people affected by the law.

Ronnie Bennett, a retired managing director from Pays-de-la-Loire, said people do not need to be directly affected by the 2021 law to support the petition. 

The campaign relates to inheritance rights of foreigners in France, and an alleged breach by France of an EU succession regulation, known as ‘Brussels IV’, allowing for a choice in one’s will of the inheritance law of the testator’s nationality.

The law has caused disruption to many people's inheritance plans, especially with regard to protection of the survivor of a couple. 

A decision is awaited from the European Commission about whether France’s "possible breach" is confirmed and whether, if so, this will give rise to an infringement process to ask France to rectify this. 

Many people, including Mr Bennett and other supporters of his campaign, made complaints to the commission in 2022-24 via its complaints page. The petition to the EU parliament aims to further draw attention to the issue. 

The petition is available to sign on this website by putting 1122/2024 in the field for keywords. 

To support it, click on the name of the petition, then register your details to create an account on the petitions website by providing your email and choosing a user name and password, and clicking on the link that will be sent to you in an email. Take a note of your log-in details (you can reset your password later, if necessary, and the email after doing so will include your user name). 

On the page of information about Mr Bennett's petition, scroll down to find the blue 'support this petition' button under the 'petition summary' if you wish to add your support.

The 2021 law comes into play when the maker of a will dies and has chosen a foreign inheritance law that does not have obligatory portions for bloodline children, as French law does. 

Why French inheritance law is causing stress: our stories

It states that the notaire dealing with their estate should contact their children and offer them the chance to claim compensation out of French-situated elements of the estate, which can be calculated by reference to French reserved portions, eg. half of a person’s whole estate to one child. 

The French government's justification for the law is that it is said to help avoid people using foreign legal systems to discriminate against some of their children. 

However, many French lawyers have told The Connexion they consider that it is contrary to the EU inheritance regulation and it has caused significant complications where clients had made use of it for their wills. 

Such a situation was originally predicted by the French Senate, which opposed the law saying that it would mostly affect those of 'Anglo-Saxon' nationality, whose national legal systems offer flexibility to people making wills. 

Read more: French inheritance law - couples anxiously await EU's decision

'We are considering return to UK'

The Connexion continues to hear from people affected by the French law.

Olwynne Metcalfe, 71, a retired accountant from Sarthe, told us that she and her husband Brett, 77, had made simple wills under English law.

“He has two children from his first marriage and I have none. 

“We have a UK property and bank accounts, and two properties here, one with a tontine clause [full ownership to the survivor] and one not, which is rented to people on a long-term lease. 

"Our idea was that the first to die would leave everything to the other, then on the second death we would leave 50% to his family, 50% to mine – I have sisters, nieces and nephews."

If her husband’s children made a claim for two-thirds of his estate’s value, as allowed under French law, she said she “would suffer financially, as the rented house, and the monthly income, is a joint affair, plus we have substantial savings in his UK account.” 

She added: “We are thinking of moving back to the UK. We talk about it endlessly.” 

Can French forced heirship rules be bypassed?

Another reader, from the south-west, who asked not to be named, said: “Since the law passed, my wife has lived under a cloud. 

“She has lost her protection and feels betrayed by this law and by France. Unfortunately, the cost of moving back to the UK either now or in the future would be harmful at our age due to the drop in property values here and increase in the UK, together with the fees involved.

“If I were to die first, my wife would not be able to afford a suit-able home either here or in the UK.” 

The Connexion was also told of a situation in which a child from a previous marriage made a claim under the 2021 law, meaning that a bereaved foreign resident in France has been obliged to remortgage her home, leaving her struggling financially to meet expenses such as her heating bills.