France · Planning ahead
Planning ahead for succession in France
Four fixed-fee written opinions for people living in France — or holding French assets — who want to understand their position before anything happens. Each one reviewed and signed personally by Colin Carroll.
1 · Who inherits if I die in France?
The planning-ahead version of our Inheritance Entitlement opinion — the same analysis we produce after a death, applied to your situation while you can still act. You receive: which law governs your estate (Brussels IV), forced-heirship exposure under the réserve héréditaire, heir mapping with fractions, matrimonial-regime confirmation, a habitual-residence assessment, and recommendations. One French particular we always address: a 2021 rule can let children claim compensation where a foreign law leaves them nothing — its reach is debated, and your opinion deals with it on your facts rather than leaving it as a worry.
Pricing: Standard €950 · Cross-Border €1,400 · Complex €2,050. Change-event reassessment €495.
2 · Should I make a French will?
We draft French wills coordinated with your existing planning, not in competition with it. France accepts the testament olographe — entirely handwritten, dated and signed — and the testament authentique before a notaire; either can be lodged so it appears in France’s central wills register, which is how a French will is found the day it matters. Included: advice on which law governs, a correctly worded Brussels IV Article 22 choice-of-law election, coordination with your existing will so neither revokes the other, and a bilingual draft ready for execution. For unmarried couples one fact does the persuading on its own: a partner — even a PACS partner — inherits nothing under French intestacy; only a will changes that.
The Four-Step Will Test: (1) who inherits right now; (2) your preferences mapped against the legal constraints; (3) the will draft, every clause explained; (4) the analysis re-run with your new will — before and after, side by side.
Combined fee: from €1,500 + VAT. (Notaire fees, where the authentic form or registration is chosen, are paid directly to the notaire.)
3 · What does my marriage mean for inheritance?
Your matrimonial property regime decides what is already your spouse’s before inheritance even begins. France’s default is communauté réduite aux acquêts (community of what you acquired during the marriage), and couples who married abroad often carry a different regime without knowing it. A written opinion identifies the regime, classifies your assets, and sets out what happens on death. Essential for mixed-nationality couples, second marriages, and anyone who married abroad.
Pricing: Standard €950 · Cross-Border €1,400.
4 · Your UK trust in Europe — does it still work?
European countries treat UK trusts very differently — Italy recognises them; Portugal tolerates them (no trust law, but distributions are taxed); France taxes them heavily; Spain looks through them. This Cross-Border Structure Advisory covers whether your structure works where you live, what it costs you, and the local alternatives. We don’t set up trusts, act as trustees, or advise on how your structure is taxed.
Pricing (ex-VAT): Add-on €800 (PT/ES) / €1,000 (FR/IT) · Standalone €1,200 (PT/ES) / €1,500 (FR/IT) · Multi-jurisdiction €2,000 (PT/ES) / €2,500 (FR/IT).
Who prepares your work
Your work is signed personally by Colin Carroll — a dual-qualified solicitor, admitted in both England and Ireland, who has lived and worked on the European continent for twenty-five years. Today he is the registered, insured lawyer with the Ordem dos Advogados (the Portuguese Bar) and the bars of Spain, Italy and France, under EU Directive 98/5/EC, with professional-indemnity insurance in each country of practice.
Related guides
Is there inheritance tax in France? The actual numbers
France fully exempts the surviving spouse — and taxes children on a sliding scale of 5%–45% after a €100,000 allowance each. Distant relatives and friends pay steeply. The actual numbers, worked through. General information, not tax advice.
Read the guide →
We live together but aren’t married — what happens when one of us dies?
Why an unmarried partner is often not a legal heir across PT/ES/IT/FR — and what a will can do about it.
Read the guide →
Can I choose English law for my Portuguese or Spanish estate? (Brussels IV)
Under the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV) a British or Irish national can elect the law of their nationality in their will instead of the forced-heirship rules of Portugal, Spain, Italy or France — English law gives full freedom; Irish law protects a spouse’s share. It decides who inherits — not the tax.
Read the guide →