Must I upgrade my UK will for France?
I am updating my will (held in the UK) and am advised that to cover my wishes for my French property (my main and only home), I must take out a French will through a French notaire. Do you agree?
Barbara Heslop, of Heslop and Platt, solicitors and French law specialists, replies: We recommend that all French residents or owners of French property make a French will as this generally simplifies the formalities for your next of kin at the time of your death.
As you are resident in France and do not own a house in any other country, your worldwide assets would currently be dealt with according to French inheritance law.
The portion of your estate which you are free to leave to whoever you wish depends on whether you are single, married, divorced or widowed, and on whether or not you have any children and, if so, how many.
The simplest type of French will is the testament olographe and a UK-based French law specialist could assist you with this and explain to what extent French law will dictate who is entitled to inherit from you.
Once prepared, this should be registered by your local French notaire at the French wills registry, so that it is certain to be found at the time of your death.
The 2015 EU regulation, however, means that your French will could be prepared with provisions that you want UK law to apply should you wish to bypass forced heirship provisions of French inheritance law. Bilingual notaires can be found at notaires.fr
