Can an old French will override a later handwritten will

My aunt died as a French resident in 2022. She made a recent handwritten will in French to leave her estate to me, her nearest relative, and listed her bank accounts and house specifically. However, the notaire has an old French will which left everything to her then husband (long since divorced). 

The notaire says the new will does not revoke the old one, and it is clear her intention was to leave me only those listed assets, the rest to him. She did not intend that. What can I do?

John Kitching of French Law Consultancy states that unfortunately this uncertainty arises as the new will does not have an express declaration to say it revokes all former wills. This is standard phrase for an English will, but not always included in wills prepared in France, especially homemade wills.

It sounds that your aunt left specific items to you but maybe forgot to refer to the rest of the estate as going to you too. As such, that part must pass via intestacy rules, or under another co-existing compatible will that has not been revoked. Under article 1036 of the Code civil, unless the terms of an old will are incompatible with the new will, they remain valid unless expressly revoked.

Under English law, any inheritance left to a divorced partner under a will is disregarded as void, but the rest of the will remains intact. There is no such presumption in French law. A person going through divorce needs to make a new will and expressly revoke the old one (or sign a change of wishes declaration in front of a notaire), or their ex-partner may still have a claim to the estate.

You may be able to amicably discuss things with the ex-partner, or perhaps ask a specialist avocat in France if there is any merit in asking a judge to interpret the wishes of the deceased, if you can find supporting evidence and testimony.