French Property Succession: Forced Heirship, Wills and Inheritance Tax for Foreign Owners

Forced Heirship and Matrimonial Property Regimes

French succession law, codified under the *Code civil*, limits full freedom of testation through the principle of forced heirship (*réserve héréditaire*). Under this rule, a fixed proportion of the deceased’s estate is legally reserved for direct biological or adopted children. The reserved share is set at one-half of the estate for one child, two-thirds for two children, and three-quarters for three or more children. The remaining portion, known as the *quotité disponible*, may be distributed freely to third parties or a surviving spouse via a will. Stepchildren are not protected heirs under French law.

For married owners, the choice of matrimonial property regime (*régime matrimonial*) heavily influences how title devolves. Property held under the standard French community regime (*communauté réduite aux acquêts*) or an express joint-ownership regime with an attribution clause (*communauté universelle avec clause d'attribution intégrale*) passes directly to the surviving spouse on the first death without entering the succession estate. Where property is held under the separation of property regime (*séparation de biens*), the deceased’s share forms part of the estate. If no valid will is in place, the surviving spouse receives either full ownership of 25% of the estate or a life interest (*usufruit*) over 100% of the property, provided all surviving children belong to both spouses.

Recognition and Validity of Foreign Wills

France recognises wills executed abroad under the Hague Convention on the Form of Testamentary Dispositions, provided the document is formalised according to the legal standards of the jurisdiction where it was executed, the testator's nationality, or their domicile. For a foreign will to be processed locally by a French notary (*notaire*), it must be officially translated into French by a sworn translator (*traducteur assermenté*) and undergo apostille or legalisation procedures depending on the country of origin.

Under the EU Succession Regulation No. 650/2012 (commonly referred to as Brussels IV), testators may explicitly elect the law of their nationality to govern the overall succession of their estate, overriding default French forced heirship rules on real property situated in France. However, under Article 913 of the French *Code civil* (amended in 2021), if the deceased or at least one child is a national or resident of an EU member state, French-resident children may claim financial compensation (*droit de prélèvement*) against French assets if foreign law deprives them of their reserved share under French rules.

Inheritance Tax Rates and Allowances

French inheritance tax (*droits de succession*) applies to all real estate located in France, regardless of the tax residence of the deceased or the beneficiaries, under Article 750 *ter* of the *Code général des impôts*. Tax liability is calculated individually for each beneficiary based on their relationship to the deceased, after applying applicable tax-free allowances.

Surviving spouses and registered civil partners (under a *Pacte civil de solidarité* or PACS) are entirely exempt from French inheritance tax. For biological or adopted children, a tax-free allowance of €100,000 applies per parent in 2026. The taxable net share above this threshold is taxed on a progressive scale:

• Up to €8,072: 5%
• €8,072 to €12,109: 10%
• €12,109 to €15,932: 15%
• €15,932 to €552,324: 20%
• €552,324 to €902,838: 30%
• €902,838 to €1,805,677: 40%
• Over €1,805,677: 45%

Siblings receive an allowance of €15,932 and are taxed at 35% on amounts up to €24,430, and 45% above that threshold. Unmarried cohabiting partners, stepchildren, and third-party beneficiaries receive a tax-free allowance of only €1,594 and are taxed at a flat rate of 60% on the remainder.

The Title Transfer Process and Timeframes

In France, property succession must be formally handled by a licensed *notaire*. The transfer process involves three main legal instruments:

1. Acte de notoriété: Establishes the identity and legal rights of the heirs and beneficiaries. 2. Attestation immobilière (or *Attestation notariée*): Formally registers the transfer of real estate title from the deceased to the beneficiaries in the land registry (*Service de la Publicité Foncière*). 3. Déclaration de succession: The formal tax declaration setting out the global value of the estate, deductible liabilities, and individual tax calculations.

Where the death occurs outside France, the statutory deadline for submitting the *déclaration de succession* and settling all due inheritance tax with the public treasury (*Direction Générale des Finances Publiques*) is 12 months from the date of death (compared to 6 months for deaths occurring within France). Interest and late payment penalties apply to filings made past the deadline. The standard administration period to complete the legal title transfer is between six and nine months.

Properties Held Through a Company (SCI)

Many foreign owners hold French residential property through a specialised real estate management company, a *Société Civile Immobilière* (SCI). On the death of a shareholder, the property itself remains registered to the corporate entity; the assets entering the succession estate are the company shares (*parts sociales*).

Under international private law, company shares are classified as movable assets (*meubles*). Consequently, the civil devolution of the shares is governed by the law of the deceased’s last habitual residence rather than French land law, allowing non-resident owners to bypass automatic forced heirship rules unless choice-of-law provisions dictate otherwise.

However, holding property through an SCI does not exempt the estate from French inheritance tax. Under Article 750 *ter* of the *Code général des impôts*, shares in a company holding French real estate are treated as French-situs assets and remain subject to French inheritance tax rates based on the net underlying asset value. A minority interest or restrictions in the company's articles of association (*statuts*) may allow a valuation discount (*décote*) of 10% to 20% on the share value for tax assessment purposes.

Taxation and succession rules remain subject to double taxation treaties between France and individual foreign jurisdictions.