Your Questions

I read that there are private, unmarked cars with onboard speed radars in use in France.  Where are they in use and are there warning signs? Will you  know if you are ‘flashed’? D.T.

I have lived in France for four years full-time and I am now about to sell my house. However, I have been told that I will be charged capital gains tax on the sale. Surely this is not correct? Can you advise? J.P.

When a childless person wants to leave money to a nephew or niece am I right in thinking that, although there is no special allowance on death, there is a special tax-free allowance of €31,865 for a lifetime gift – at least within France? However, I don’t know if any British gift tax would then apply if the donor lived in France and the nephew lived in Britain?  M.R.

I have received an email from the Direction des Finances about buying un timbre fiscal. What is this for? Why do I need it?  P.E.

We moved to France in 2011 and have had a B&B since 2012 as a micro-entreprise, paying cotisations to the RSI. We anticipate retiring next year and closing the business after eight years of cotisations. Can we expect a small pension from them? Also do you know if our healthcare would revert to Cpam but be funded by the UK?  A.T.

With the introduction of the new pay-as-you-go (PAYE) tax scheme in France from the beginning of 2019, how does the scheme intend to collect taxes from pension schemes based in the UK?  G.A.

We are both divorced and not remarried and live and pay tax in the UK. We bought a second home in France in 1997, ‘en indivision’. I have two children and my partner a son from the previous marriages. She wants to help her son buy UK property so I plan to buy her half share of the French house. Should I do this after 2019 to avoid CGT and the 22-year rule? As outright owner, should I add a codicil to my UK will to ensure only my children inherit? What French or UK taxes do I face and are there other drawbacks?  J.G.

Can you tell me the rules and does it need a safety cover?  G.S.

My Pacs (French civil partnership) partner died re­cently. We had lived together in the UK and now France. When I contacted the UK pensions office to notify them of my partner’s death they told me as we were not married, I would not be entitled to part of my partner’s pension. Is that correct?  J.M.

What will happen after Brexit to my EU right to move freely in the Schengen Zone?  A.L.

Can a notaire refuse work? I have been told of a case where a notaire would not deal with settling the estate of a family member who had died because he thought it was not worthwhile due to the low value involved.  Some­one else I know asked a notaire to draw up a will for her estate which includes a house in Romania but the notaire refused saying it would be complicated and not worth it for him. H.T.

Is free French language training paid for by the government still available to Britons who wish to live here permanently?  A.O.

My wife returned her Carte Vitale last summer to our Cpam health authority because it would not update but we are still waiting for a replacement and just keep getting vague promises. How can we complain? J.P.

As a result of a cataract operation I have lost the sight in one eye. My doctor says that, as I now have near perfect vision in the other eye, I am able to continue to drive. Do I have to inform anyone of this change?  K.F.

What will be required in the way of documentation for the sale of a maison secondaire that we had constructed in 2003 on a greenfield site. Obviously, there is no previous selling history of a house from an agent immobilier, just the land. C.L.

Last week my neighbour began what he envisages to be a three-month project converting his garage into an extra bedroom. He has been working late into the evening on it, and at weekends, and the noise is dreadful. Are there rules restricting the hours when he can do noisy work? G.S