Legal succession in France

Legal regulation

Legal succession is governed by the French Civil Code (codice civile) – CC for short.

The applicable law for inheritance cases from 17.08.2015 is primarily determined by the European Succession Regulation.

Entry into statutory succession

Statutory succession takes effect if

• the testator dies without a will or the will is null and void or subsequently becomes ineffective,
• the will does not contain an inheritance clause in whole or in part,
• not all of the testator’s assets have been disposed of,
• the condition does not occur in the case of conditional inheritance,
• the testamentary heir has predeceased the testator or
• the heir has disclaimed the inheritance.

Caution: If the testamentary heir predeceases the testator, the rules on substitute inheritance and accrual take precedence.

Principles of intestate succession

The first legal heirs are the children and their descendants and the spouse. In second place come the deceased’s ancestors and siblings. The remaining relatives inherit last. The order is determined as follows:

• Children and descendants/spouse
• Ancestors/ collateral relatives
• Other relatives
• The state

For the sake of clarity, a distinction is made below between the relatives and the spouse.

Legal inheritance rights of relatives

The children of the deceased and their descendants come first; in principle, the entire estate is available to them, divided equally among the number of descendants. The children initially exclude their descendants.

This is followed by the deceased’s ancestors and collateral relatives.

If both parents are alive, each inherits half of the estate. If there are also siblings of the deceased, each living parent receives 1/4 of the estate and the siblings receive the remaining estate divided among them. If a living parent joins the grandparents, they receive 1/4 of the estate and the surviving parent receives half.

Within a line, unless the rules of representation dictate otherwise, the relatives closest in degree exclude relatives further away in degree from inheritance. One degree is one generation. The child is one degree removed from the father, two degrees removed from the grandfather and three degrees removed from the great-grandfather. The testator is two degrees removed from his brother, three degrees from his uncle and four degrees from his cousin.

Legal inheritance rights of the surviving spouse

In principle, the surviving spouse is entitled to an inheritance share of 1/4 of the estate. This entitlement remains in force until the divorce is final. If there are joint children living alongside the spouse, the spouse has the right to choose. They can choose between the inheritance share to which they are entitled or a usufruct of the entire estate. This right of choice cannot be exercised if there are only children alive who were not conceived jointly with the deceased.

If the surviving spouse lives with both of the deceased’s surviving parents, they are each entitled to 1/4 of the estate and the surviving spouse is entitled to half of the estate. If, on the other hand, only one parent is still alive, the surviving spouse’s inheritance increases by 1/4.

If neither children nor parents of the deceased are alive, the surviving spouse is the legal sole heir.

Problems with the applicability of German matrimonial property law

If German matrimonial property law is applicable instead of French matrimonial property law, problems may arise in the application of the law. This applies in particular if the German statutory matrimonial property regime is applicable, i.e. there is a community of accrued gains between the spouses.

Settlement of the estate in the case of intestate succession

In the case of intestate succession, a certificate of succession must first be obtained from the competent court or notary. If French courts have jurisdiction, in the case of intestate succession either

• a notarial deed establishing the legal heirs or
• a European Certificate of Succession must be obtained from a notary

Att. Prof. (GTU / Georgien) Dr. phil. Stephan J. Lang