Forced heirship law creates uncertainty

A 2021 French law has caused worry and uncertainty for non-French people – and those with dual French and another nationality – who chose the law of their nationality to govern their estate as allowed under an EU regulation.

Notaires believe the 2021 law may eventually be ruled invalid by a French or EU court as a result of a challenge but until then they are expected to apply it. The European Commission is examining the law's validity, having received many complaints and has given indications of considering that it may break EU law. However, even if it opens a formal 'infringement' case against France, the effects of the law will not be cancelled automatically.

The EU regulation has benefited people such as Britons or Americans living in France or who own property here as they have been able to choose the more flexible inheritance laws of their non-French nationality and thus bypass France's ‘forced heirship’ rules. See more here.

Despite the fact that this EU regulation, known as ‘Brussels IV’, is in force, France passed this new law in 2021, which clashes with it. It obliges notaires dealing with a will where a foreign law that does not include children's 'reserved portions' is set to apply to the estate, to contact any children after the testator's death and offer them compensation out of the French-situated estate.

Lawmakers originally sought to help daughters who might obtain less in wills governed by Coranic laws, however, as predicted by the French Senate at the time, it is often families of 'Anglo-Saxon' nationalities that are most affected.

The law is least likely to pose problems if a person's family situation is simple, eg. they have no children or only children from their current marriage and, in the second case, where have a good relationship with their children and plan to leave a substantial inheritance to them all. It is most commonly a problem in the case of children from previous marriages. 

The law concerns foreign people who have French property such as a house, bank account etc. Notaires helping them with wills must now warn that even if they use the EU regulation, it cannot be guaranteed to work as intended because of this French law. It is therefore advisable to discuss with your notaire what other French mechanisms may be available to help.