How is personal data recovered if my French financial adviser dies?

Reader question: What happens to personal paperwork and data if a financial adviser in France who worked alone dies? What should his/her clients do to continue to obtain advice?

First, you should check any paperwork provided by the adviser, or their website, to see if there is information about who to contact in such a scenario.

If this is not clear, you could obtain information on the adviser from the database at orias.fr, a French body that has official listings of those with the main financial advice accreditations, such as Conseil en Investissements Financiers (CIF).

The financial watchdog Autorité des Marchés Financiers also has details of registered advisers and has a helpline on 01 53 45 62 00.

The adviser’s Orias listing, or their website or the contract you signed with them, might also include details of which regulatory association they belong to – all financial advisors should belong to one (the largest being Anacofi).

This association should also be able to advise.

A legal expert from Anacofi said it asks its members to have a continuity plan in place in which they designate a person to take over their clients in the event of their sudden incapacity or death.

They can check if such a plan is lodged with them if you email them at adhesion@anacofi.asso.fr, he added.

If this was not the case, he said you would have to look for a new adviser to take over your affairs.

If there is no one who can help regarding any data or paperwork, such as a secretary, the last resort would be an application to a local court citing your rights under the RGPD, règlement général sur la protection des données, for the return of your data.

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