Estate resolution
If an individual dies and leaves property in France, their heirs must declare the estate to the French government within six or twelve months, depending on the place of death. Our team acts as an intermediary between the heirs and a French Notaire so that the heirs can claim the property they inherit and understand fully the obligations they have towards the French administration.
Avocat Grégoire assists clients with the following:
- Identifying your rights as an heir
- Acting as an intermediary between the heirs and the French notaire in order to settle the French estate
- Assessing the French tax liability for pending estates
- Contesting a “disinheriting” of children (contrary to French law)
- Advising clients as to all the required documents to settle the estate efficiently
- Resolution of contested estates
- Contesting the validity of an improperly drafted will.
Similar to a probate court in the U.S., most French estates must pass through a notaire’s office. A French notaire is not the same as an American notary public. Notaires have the authority to file deeds regarding property ownership transfer in the context of estates and certify heirship of legal family heirs and named beneficiaries. While individual estates must be managed and processed by notaires, Avocat Grégoire can assist you by managing communication with the notaire handling your estate matter. This facilitation allows for more efficient processing of your estate, including certification of heirs or beneficiaries and transfer of property or bank account ownership.
French estate laws may appear overwhelming and it is our job to facilitate the exchange of documents between any U.S. legal proceedings that have taken place in your matter and the French probate manager, the notaire.
Our team can help you retrieve the property and become the owner. We will prepare a full dossier or application for estate resolution to be presented to a French Notaire. The notaire will review that dossier and contact our office requesting supplemental documents if necessary. A new property deed and transfer of ownership deed will be drafted in the context of the estate, so that you, the legal heir or named beneficiary can establish your legal ownership rights to that property. We guide you through the process from beginning to end.
In specific circumstances, if you and / or your parent was a French citizen at the time of their death, you may have a right to inherit a part of their French estate. Our team, with further information on your situation, can help you establish your inheritance rights in France and obtain a part of their estate. Our expertise in French citizenship law has proven particularly useful within this context, where the establishment of French citizenship rights can allow an individual to establish a claim to their parent’s estate.
Are you a foreign resident heir to a French estate?
Work with a French-American lawyer in France today.
