An overview of French inheritance law and EU rules to consider

For full, detailed information on French inheritance law and inheritance tax, see The Connexion’s dedicated helpguide. 

For people moving to France, or buying a second home here, inheritance planning should be carefully considered.

France's inheritance laws are significantly different from those of 'Anglo-Saxon' countries. 

There are strict rules to protect children as opposed to the greater freedom to leave money and property to whoever you want as, for example, you can legally do in many US states.

There are mechanisms though that can be put in place which guide how your estate is divided.

French and EU rules

People who live in France can choose to have the inheritance law of any of their nationalities apply to the whole of their estate following an EU regulation that came into force in 2015, often referred to by lawyers as 'Brussels IV'.

If you choose this, this may help you to avoid restrictive French inheritance rules, which oblige parents to leave part of their estate to their children, and instead opt for more relaxed laws.

Note, however, the effects of a new 2021 French law (see below).

This EU regulation allows for cases where the law of nationality is not that of an EU state so it can benefit Americans who own property in France. 

Importantly, this regulation does NOT affect inheritance tax – it relates to your ability to leave your estate to whom you wish, contrary to standard French law.

The French inheritance tax that results from your choice is unchanged.

Possible benefits of using the regulation have to be weighed up against the fact that for many people French law does not pose a problem to their wishes (with the exception of more complex family situations, such as wanting to help a second spouse to the disadvantage of children from a previous marriage who would have rights under French law).

It should also be borne in mind that for French residents, and whenever inheritance concerns French real estate, a French notaire will be involved and he or she will be more familiar with the French rules than with other countries’ laws and retaining French law may simplify and speed matters up.

All of the other traditional French mechanisms for inheritance planning such as those explained here remain in place and in some cases may even be preferable, depending on what you are seeking to achieve.

If in doubt about the best option, you may wish to consult a notaire with experience in working with expatriates living in France.

Default rule

Aimed at simplifying cross-border inheritance matters, Brussels IV also included a new default rule: Where no choice of law has been expressed then the law of the country of last residence of the deceased applies to their whole estate. 

This means that, for example, the French will automatically assume that American law applies to the estate of a person who dies resident in America, even if they did not make this choice of law in their will.

Note however, that the right for people to choose in a will the law of their nationality will also be respected by French lawyers with regard to French property belonging to foreign nationals who live outside France.

There is one proviso to the 'default' rule stated above, to the effect that if it is obvious from the circumstances that the deceased had much closer links to a different state from the one where he or she was living, that other country's law will apply. This might be the case, for example, where someone had only very recently moved.

Note that which countries' courts have ‘jurisdiction’ over the succession does not necessarily match the country of the law that will apply. While the regulation allows for exceptions, the general principle is that the courts of the country where the deceased lived have jurisdiction to deal with the whole estate (eg. in the case of disputes over the share-out).

As stated, it is important to note that inheritance tax does not change. 

For example, an American person living in France can opt under the regulation for US law to govern their estate and thus leave their French home to a friend rather than their child (which may not be possible under French-law forced heirship rules, unless you also own other properties) – but that friend would still be subject to 60% French inheritance tax.

Residents in France can make a will – including a clause stating that they want US inheritance law to apply to their whole estate.

It will often be practical for it be a French format will and to be in French, thus avoiding the need for translation and making sure it is easily recognizable as a valid will to French lawyers.

2021 law

In 2021 a new law was voted through the French parliament, intended to better protect heirs in some situations where a foreign inheritance law is set to govern someone's estate. Its rules were transcribed into article 913 of France's Code Civil.

This states that:

• If the deceased – or at least one of his or her children – was an EU citizen or was living in the EU at the time of death,

• And a foreign legal system is to apply to their estate (notably, due to the EU regulation),

• And this foreign system does not include any forced heirship rules in favor of children.

Then each child – or their heirs if they have died – is able to claim compensation out of the French-situated estate, up to the level of the French réserve héréditaire rules (see here).

The new law also modified article 921 of the Code Civil, which now says that where a notaire, while dealing with inheritance proceedings, notices that a potential heir is likely to lose out they must inform them of their right to compensation.

This law has been subject to many complaints to the European Commission as lawyers widely believe it contradicts the freedoms allowed for by Brussels IV, however for the time being it must be taken into account.