Lasting Power of Attorney possible in France?
My wife and I own our house in France jointly and there is no mortgage on it. The only other person with a claim on the property is my daughter, who now lives in Vietnam. I have no capital but two adequate pensions and my wife has a small pension but some capital. On the question of Lasting Power of Attorney, would this be possible in France and will it avoid the need for probate on my wife’s death, as some of her capital is invested in England? My wife has dual French/British nationality and I am British but plan to seek French nationality in the near future. W.M
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is an English legal document which allows person A to authorise person B to look after A’s affairs during their lifetime.
The LPA only takes effect during the lifetime of the person who granted it.
Once person A has died, the LPA has no effect.
The only way an LPA could be used to avoid probate would be if all assets were transferred out of A’s name in her lifetime.
It is sensible to have an LPA if you have UK assets that may need looking after.
You can get an LPA for financial aspects, and/or an LPA for social and welfare aspects.
For assets in France it is prudent to have the French equivalent of a financial LPA known as a Mandat de Protection Future, which a local notaire can assist with.
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Where a person dies and their usual permanent residence is in France, the notaire administers and records their worldwide estate as a French succession.
In order to obtain certain assets in the UK, a grant of probate is often needed, which can be taken out by personal representatives.
The UK estate would be assessed for UK inheritance tax, payable in the UK.
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The notaire would liaise with the personal representatives or beneficiaries.
France would record the worldwide probate values (including UK) for inheritance tax assessment, taking into account the effect of the double taxation treaty in relation to any UK inheritance tax already paid.
Question answered by Barbara Heslop of Heslop & Platt answers a reader query
Tel: +44 (0)113 393 1930 -www.heslop-platt.co.uk contact@heslop-platt.co.uk
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