Understanding different types of French wills and related EU regulations
It is often better to deal with French assets in a French will
Different types of will
It is possible to make a French will that is limited to assets in France – and then, for example, a US will to cover assets elsewhere.
The preparation of this kind of will is best done by a professional with international expertise since it may also require amendments to an existing US will.
A French will will normally deal with the allocation of the quotité disponible and allocate specific assets to specific beneficiaries. It may also, where there is a surviving spouse, give him or her the option to inherit the entire freely disposable share of the estate, or, instead, to forego taking any assets in full ownership but to take a usufruit over the whole estate.
A US will can deal with French assets but an official translation will be required and, as these wills do not usually respect the style and content of French wills, they may give rise to complications.
It is often better to deal with French assets in a French will.
Le fichier des testaments
Le fichier central des dispositions de dernières volontés (FCDDV), commonly known as le fichier des testaments, centralizes information about wills for the whole of France.
It contains details of the testator and of the notaire with whom the will has been lodged. Whatever kind of will you make it can be lodged with the fichier and this is always consulted after a death.
Costs for lodging a will with a notaire and registering it with the FCDDV are around €100 and, while this is not obligatory, it is recommended so as to make sure that the will is found in time.
l. Holograph will (testament olographe)
This is the most common kind of will in France and it is obligatory that it is written entirely in the testator's own handwriting and that it is for the testator only and not made jointly as a couple.
It is signed and dated (day, date, year) and if there are several pages each page should be numbered and marked with your initials at the bottom.
This does not need to be done in front of a notaire and there is no need for witnesses.
It can be written in English but it is usually better for it to be written in French, using the correct French legal expressions, which will avoid the need for translations and the risk of errors.
You can either do it entirely alone, or with advice from a notaire. You can also ask a notaire to keep a copy in their office and to register it for you with the FCDDV.
2. Authentic will (testament authentique)
This is another common kind of French will, dictated to a notaire and written down by him or her in the presence of two independent, French-speaking witnesses or another notaire. It is considered to give greater legal security.
Usually the only requirement to be a witness is to be adult and to understand French. However a will of this kind can be made in front of an English-speaking notaire and be in English with English-speaking witnesses.
A married couple cannot be witnesses of the same will.
Invoking the 2015 EU inheritance regulation
If you want to make use of the EU inheritance regulation to choose the law of your nationality to apply to your whole estate instead of French inheritance law, this should be done in a will.
If you want to make use of the regulation, a testament olographe with suitable wording is one option for doing this.