Var resident leaves €9m fortune to commune - but family contest the validity of the will

The family of a man who bequeathed his €9 million estate to a small town in the Var is challenging the decision, arguing he was not of sound mind when creating the new will.

Robert Debeausse died aged 93 in August 2023, but in September 2021 had drawn up an updated will declaring his estate to be left to Le Pradet (Var), a town with around 11,000 residents where he lived.

This will was a sudden shift in position. 

Several previous notarised documents written between 2019 and February 2021 left first his house, then life insurance policy assets, and eventually all his assets to his child Jean-Marie, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

All of the previously mentioned inheritors were disinherited under the final new will, with the commune being made the 'légataire universel' of the funds.

French inheritance law states children of the deceased are 'reserved inheritors' and must inherit at least a portion of the estate - a matter that can often cause legal disputes if they are written entirely out of a will.

Article 1004 of France's Civil Code states the 'légataire universel' of a will must hand over the assets legally belonging to reserved heirs, which in Jean-Marie's case is 50% of the estate. 

This is far less than the full sum included in the previous wills, however, leading to Jean-Marie's request for the last will to be annulled and the previous one (seeing the commune inherit nothing) be reinstated.

The family reportedly offered €2 million of the estate to the municipality to settle the deal, but did not receive a response, therefore taking the matter to court.

A decision on the validity of the updated will is expected at the end of April. 

 Did unknown notaire take advantage? 

Jean-Marie and his lawyers argue the most recent updated will was made when Robert Debeausse was suffering from several health problems including vision and hearing issues, and that he was not of sound mind when signing it – a prerequisite for such documents. 

A doctor’s note from the month before Mr Debeausse’s death noted a deterioration in his health. 

For its part, the commune states there is no medical record pointing to Mr Debeausse’s health declining or being mentally unsound at the time the updated will was written and registered.

The son lived in Brittany, more than 1,000km away from Le Pradet and was unable to manage all of his father's affairs.

Mr Debeausse used a notaire known to the family to register his previous wills, however Jean-Marie says neither he nor his father knew the the notaire who registered the final will bequeathing the estate to the commune.

The notaire's relationship to the mairie and the caretakers of Mr Debeausse has also come under srcutiny.

In addition to the will, five months before Mr Debeausse’s death the assurance vie he held was changed to pay out to his caretakers and not his son on his death, again without the family being informed of the change.

The notaire responsible for the final, controversial will was also behind the change in life insurance policy.

The two caretakers have already lost one court case for squatting in Mr Debeausse’s property after his death, being forced to leave after they refused to vacate after for two years after his death.

The life insurance payment, around €300,000, has been paused due to a separate court case on the matter.

The carers in question had previously inherited €310,000 from another former patient they looked after.

The notaire responsible for the controversial documents is said to work closely with Le Pradet’s municipality in handling real estate transactions, further fuelling suspicions. 

A misconduct complaint over the notaire’s behaviour was rejected by the Chamber of Notaires however.