France's 2021 inheritance law: what to show notaire if they are unaware of latest clarifications

Some readers report that their notaires do not yet feel confident applying recent clarifications from the French government that state that a choice of English or similar inheritance laws exempts an estate from France's controversial 2021 compensatory levy rules.

Here we recap key points and documents that you can draw to your notaire's attention if they remain in doubt.

Reports remain mixed across France, and even interpretations by the CRIDONs – five organisations that advise notaires on complex legal matters – differ. Meanwhile, the Conseil supérieur du notariat (CSN), the notaires' professional body, says it is still considering its position.

However, the European Commission considered France's clarifications sufficient to close a pending case over a possible breach of EU law following multiple complaints from foreign people in France. It considered that France's explanations had eased the legal uncertainty created by the 2021 law. 

Several experts consulted by The Connexion, including Louis Perreau-Saussine, a law professor and private international law expert at Université Paris-Dauphine who works in liaison with the notarial profession, and David Boulanger, director of CRIDON Nord-Est, also consider the position clear as regards estates governed by English and comparable laws.

What does the 2021 inheritance law say?

The 2021 law, added to article 913, paragraph 3 of the French Civil Code, introduced a prélèvement compensatoire (compensatory levy), from French-situated assets where a foreign law governs an estate and does not provide a "reserve mechanism protective of children".

It comes into play where the deceased or at least one of their children is an EU citizen or resident.

The measure was widely seen by lawyers as potentially clashing with the EU Succession Regulation of 2012, which states that, as a general rule, the inheritance law of someone's last habitual residence governs their whole estate, although people can instead expressly choose the law of their nationality in their will.

The French measure was originally presented during parliamentary debates as a way of tackling discriminatory inheritance practices, notably those affecting daughters under certain interpretations of Islamic law.

However, concerns were raised even during the passage of the legislation that the wording risked catching estates governed by Anglo-Saxon laws instead.

This was particularly controversial because many Britons in France had expressly chosen English law in their wills, often because they wanted to leave everything to a surviving spouse rather than immediately giving children the reserved portions provided for under French law.

It was widely thought that the fairly broad testamentary freedom in English law would trigger the ‘compensatory levy’ rule.

What has France now said?

France subsequently clarified to the European Commission that the 2021 law should be read much more narrowly.

The key document is the Commission's pre-closure letter, available in English and French, which quotes information supplied by the French authorities.

Among the most important passages, France told the Commission that the French hereditary reserve should apply only where the foreign law governing the succession "does not allow any reserve mechanism protective of children".

It explained that the legislature deliberately referred not specifically to a French-style réserve héréditaire, but more broadly to a "reserve mechanism protective of children".

“Thus, the French legislature intended precisely to target mechanisms different from the French hereditary reserve such as the Family Provisions of Anglo-Saxon law, and to limit the right to compensation to cases where the foreign law does not allow any mechanism for the protection of children.”

Crucially, France told the Commission that the Family Provision rules constitute a "functional equivalent" of the French hereditary reserve.

It said that the existence of such equivalents “excludes the right to compensation”.

Where English law applies to an estate, a court should not apply the French compensatory levy because English law already contains such a mechanism protecting children, the document says.

The French authorities concluded that article 913 therefore does not impose the French hereditary reserve where the foreign law contains an alternative protective mechanism.

The Commission considered these explanations sufficient to close its infringement procedure.

While only English law was referred to explicitly, a number of other legal systems in English-speaking countries have comparable rules. 

Note that the French authorities were not seeking to change the law in their comments - which they cannot do - but to clarify how it should be interpreted.

Does this affect a notaire's duty to inform children?

The Commission letter also refers to article 921 of the Civil Code, concerning a notaire's obligation to inform heirs of certain rights.

Article 921 states that where a notaire finds, during the settlement of an estate, that an heir's reserved rights may have been affected by gifts or legacies made by the deceased, the notaire must inform the affected heir of their right to seek a reduction of dispositions exceeding the disposable portion.

However, where English or a comparable law containing an equivalent child-protection mechanism governs the estate, the compensatory levy under article 913 should not arise. There should therefore be no associated requirement for the notaire to inform children of a right to claim this compensatory levy.

Mr Boulanger has also told The Connexion that, in his view, English law does not impose an equivalent obligation on the notaire to contact children to tell them about the possibility of making a Family Provision claim.

In England and Wales, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain people, including children, to ask a court for financial provision from an estate where the disposition of the estate does not make reasonable financial provision for them. This may be found, notably, if a person’s children are left financially struggling.

This is not an automatic reserved share equivalent to the French system. An eligible person has to take the initiative to make a claim, and the court considers the circumstances and the statutory criteria.

Does France accept the interpretation given to the Commission?

Yes. France acknowledged the Commission's pre-closure letter by linking to it in the Ressources section of the June newsletter of the Direction des affaires civiles et du sceau (DACS), the justice ministry department responsible for civil law. The newsletter is aimed at legal professionals.

The government information website Service-Public also describes the Commission document as setting out how the compensatory levy is "interpreted and applied by the French authorities".

The Commission subsequently considered the French authorities' explanations sufficient to close the infringement procedure. These are strong indications of how the French government considers article 913 should be applied.

The government's interpretation is not the same thing as a definitive ruling from the Cour de cassation or the Court of Justice of the European Union, which may explain why some notaires and CRIDONs remain cautious, particularly when dealing with foreign legal systems whose mechanisms for protecting children are less obviously comparable with those described by France.

In the specific case of English law, however, the French authorities' statement is unusually explicit: they specifically identified Anglo-Saxon Family Provision rules as a "functional equivalent" and stated that the compensatory levy should not be applied where English law governs the estate.

Several experts are therefore clear that notaires may for all practical purposes feel free to disapply the ‘compensatory levy’ when an estate is governed by English law.

What can I show my notaire?

The European Commission's pre-closure letter is the most important starting point, particularly the bullet pointed passages quoting the French authorities' explanation of how article 913 paragraph 3 should be interpreted.

You can also point to the June newsletter of the Direction des affaires civiles et du sceau, which links to the Commission document, and the government's Service-Public website, which acknowledges that it reflects the interpretation and application of the levy by the French authorities.

Several professional publications aimed specifically at notaires may also be useful.

David Boulanger of CRIDON Nord-Est has published an online article entitled Adieu au prélèvement compensatoire (article 913). 

The July 2026 edition of La Semaine juridique – Notariale et immobilière (JCP N, no. 28) also contains two analyses of the issue:

• No. 893, Le droit de prélèvement : suite et fin de l'histoire ? Regards d'une universitaire et de la pratique notariale

• No. 894, Le prélèvement compensatoire de l'article 913, alinéa 3, du Code civil : un mécanisme devenu subsidiaire ? Le regard du CRIDON Nord-Est

CRIDON Sud-Ouest has also published analysis of the recent clarification. 

Taken together, these documents mean a notaire who remains unsure does not have to rely simply on a client's interpretation of the law. 

There is now a substantial body of government, European Commission, academic, CRIDON and specialist notarial material that they can consult.

For estates governed by English law in particular, the French government's explanation to the commission could hardly have been more specific: English Family Provision rules constitute a protective mechanism for children and therefore the compensatory levy under article 913 paragraph 3 should not apply.

What if my notaire still does not agree?

If you have lodged your will with a specific notaire, we suggest asking them about their interpretation of these rules and how they would administer your affairs should you die.

If, after explaining the situation to them, you are unhappy with the interpretation given by your notaire, there is nothing preventing you from seeking advice from a different notaire.

You could lodge a new will with them (which could repeat the same provisions), or the existing one can remain where it is.

English-speaking notaires can be found in the directory at notaires.fr by searching according to languages spoken.

It is worth asking as a first question if the notaire is familiar with private international law (droit international privé), which is the area of law relating to wills where there is an international element.

When you lodge a will with a notaire, he or she will have it registered with the Fichier central des dispositions de dernières volontés (FCDDV), a centralised register that notes its existence and which notarial office holds it.

While it is in theory possible to handwrite a valid French will and simply keep it in a drawer, lodging it with a notaire helps ensure it will be found after your death.

Importantly, when a person dies, their surviving spouse has the first choice of which notaire deals with the succession. So, even at this stage it is possible for the spouse to designate a different notaire.

In this case, the new notaire will consult the FCDDV and liaise with the office holding the original to obtain the necessary copy and information.