Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. French inheritance law is complex and subject to change. Always consult a qualified notaire and cross-border tax specialist before making decisions about your estate.
You’ve found the perfect stone farmhouse in the Dordogne, navigated the compromis de vente, survived the notaire’s fees, and maybe even set up an SCI to hold the whole thing. Congratulations — you’re now the proud owner of French property.
But have you thought about what happens to it when you die?
If you’re British and you own property in France, French inheritance law — the droit des successions — applies to that property by default. And it works nothing like English law. There’s no “I leave everything to my spouse” simplicity here. France has forced heirship rules, mandatory shares for children, a completely different tax regime, and a set of planning tools (démembrement, tontine, SCI gifting) that most UK solicitors have never heard of.
Get this wrong, and your family could face a six-figure tax bill, a forced sale of the property, or years of legal disputes with French authorities. Get it right, and you can pass on your French assets efficiently, legally, and with minimal drama.
This guide covers everything British investors need to know — from the réserve héréditaire to the EU Succession Regulation, from SCI succession planning to the UK-France double tax treaty. Let’s get into it.
Forced Heirship: The Réserve Héréditaire
Here’s the single biggest difference between French and English inheritance law: in France, you cannot disinherit your children.
Under the réserve héréditaire (forced heirship), a fixed portion of your estate is legally reserved for your descendants. You can only freely dispose of the remainder — the quotité disponible (freely disposable portion). These rules are set out in Article 913 of the Code Civil, as amended by the law of 24 August 2021.
The split depends on how many children you have:
One child: 50% reserved for the child, 50% freely disposable.
Two children: 66.67% reserved (split equally between them), 33.33% freely disposable.
Three or more children: 75% reserved (split equally), 25% freely disposable.
No children: If you have no descendants, your surviving spouse is entitled to at least 25% of the estate under Article 914-1 of the Code Civil.
So if you own a French property worth €500,000 and you have two children, at least €333,333 must go to those children — regardless of what your will says. You can only direct the remaining €166,667 however you wish.
Direct Ownership vs. SCI: A Critical Distinction
Here’s something many guides gloss over. Whether forced heirship applies to your French property depends on how you own it.
Direct ownership (en nom propre). French forced heirship rules apply to all French-situated immovable property (immeubles), regardless of the owner’s nationality or residence. If you own a house in your own name in France, the réserve héréditaire governs who inherits it — unless you make a Brussels IV election (more on this below).
SCI ownership. Shares in an SCI (parts sociales) are legally classified as movable property (meubles) under Article 529 of the Code Civil, not immovable property — even when the company’s sole asset is a building. Under traditional French conflict-of-laws principles, the succession of movable property is governed by the law of the deceased’s last habitual residence, not the law of the country where the underlying asset sits. In practice, this distinction is widely relied upon by cross-border estate planners and notaires advising international clients: because SCI shares are meubles, a non-resident owner’s succession should in principle be governed by the law of their home country — not French forced heirship rules. This is one of the key reasons international buyers use SCIs, and it’s an established planning approach, though the interaction between Article 529, Brussels IV, and the 2021 clawback provision (discussed below) means the position is more nuanced than it once was. If you’re relying on this for your own estate plan, it’s essential to get a formal opinion from a notaire experienced with international successions.
Important caveat: if you are resident in France, French succession law applies to all your worldwide movable property, including SCI shares — the non-resident advantage disappears. And regardless of residence, French inheritance tax still applies to SCI shares holding French property, because the SCI is fiscally transparent for tax purposes.
What About Stepchildren?
Stepchildren (enfants du conjoint) have no automatic inheritance rights under French law. Only biological and legally adopted children qualify as héritiers réservataires (protected heirs). This creates a particularly tricky situation for blended families — a common scenario among British expats and investors.
If you want stepchildren to inherit, you need to use the quotité disponible or consider adoption under French law (which is a significant legal step).
Brussels IV: How British Investors Can Opt Out of Forced Heirship
The EU Succession Regulation (No 650/2012) — commonly called Brussels IV — is the single most important piece of legislation for British property owners in France.
Here’s how it works: by default, the law of your habitual residence at the time of death governs your entire succession. But Article 22 of Brussels IV allows you to opt for the law of your nationality instead.
For a British citizen, this means you can choose English law (or Scots law, as applicable) to govern the succession of your French property — effectively opting out of France’s forced heirship rules.
The Brexit Complication
The UK was never a signatory to Brussels IV (it opted out even as an EU member). But here’s the key point: France still applies Brussels IV from its side. French courts will recognise your choice of English law even though the UK isn’t part of the regulation. This is confirmed by the Notaires de France and is standard practice in cross-border estate planning.
This means a British national can include a clause in their French will stating: “I elect that the law of England and Wales shall govern the entirety of my succession pursuant to Article 22 of EU Regulation 650/2012.”
French notaires are well accustomed to this. It’s been standard practice for British property owners in France since 2015 when Brussels IV came into force — and it survived Brexit without issue.
The Caveats
Brussels IV is powerful, but it’s not a magic wand:
It doesn’t override French tax law. Even if English law governs the distribution of your assets, France still taxes the transfer of French-situated property according to French inheritance tax rules (droits de succession). You escape forced heirship, not French tax.
The Cour de cassation has ruled — but with limits. In two landmark decisions on 27 September 2017 (No. 16-17.198 and No. 16-13.151), the Cour de cassation — France’s highest civil court — held that a foreign law which ignores the réserve héréditaire is not, in itself, contrary to French international public policy (ordre public international). Both cases involved French nationals living in California who had created trusts disinheriting children from previous marriages. The court ruled that the application of Californian law was permissible because it did not leave the children in a state of economic precarity or need. This is an important nuance: the réserve héréditaire can be set aside by a foreign law, but only so long as the result is not manifestly incompatible with French principles of essential fairness — particularly the protection of vulnerable heirs. For most British investors with a standard family situation, a Brussels IV election should hold up. But if you’re disinheriting children entirely, a challenge is not impossible.
The 2021 clawback law. France added a new provision to Article 913 of the Code Civil (via the law of 24 August 2021) allowing children of an EU national — or children habitually resident in the EU — to claim a compensatory payment (prélèvement compensatoire) from French-situated assets if the applicable foreign law provides no reserved share at all. This is aimed squarely at Brussels IV elections choosing English law. In practice, it means disinherited children could claim their réserve from whatever assets exist in France at the date of death. The European Commission has opened an investigation into whether this law is compatible with the EU Succession Regulation, and legal challenges are ongoing. For now, the safest approach is to respect the spirit of the réserve even when electing English law — don’t leave your children with nothing.
You must make it explicit. The election must be clearly stated in your will. Don’t assume it applies automatically.
The SCI: Succession Planning Through Corporate Structure
If you’ve read our guide to the French SCI, you know that the Société Civile Immobilière is primarily a property holding vehicle. But it’s also one of the most powerful succession planning tools available to foreign investors in France.
When property is held through an SCI, you don’t own the property directly — you own shares (parts sociales) in a company that owns the property. And shares can be gifted, transferred, and structured in ways that bricks and mortar cannot.
Progressive Gifting: The €100,000 Abattement
Here’s where the SCI really shines for inheritance planning. Under Article 779 of the Code Général des Impôts, each parent can gift up to €100,000 worth of assets to each child every 15 years, completely free of gift and inheritance tax. The allowance is per donor, per donee — meaning each parent has their own €100,000 allowance for each child.
With an SCI, you can gradually transfer shares to your children over time, using this allowance repeatedly:
Example: You and your spouse own an SCI holding a €600,000 property. You have two children. Each parent can gift €100,000 to each child every 15 years — that’s €100,000 × 2 parents × 2 children = €400,000 worth of SCI shares every 15 years, entirely tax-free. Over two cycles (30 years), the entire property value has been transferred without a centime in gift tax.
And because you control the SCI’s statuts (articles of association), you can gift the shares while retaining management control through the role of gérant (manager). Your children own the shares but you still run the show.
Applying a Discount: Décote pour Illiquidité
SCI shares are not publicly traded. They’re illiquid, minority stakes in a private company. French tax authorities generally accept a discount of 10–20% on the value of SCI shares compared to the underlying property value, on the basis that the shares are harder to sell than the property itself. This practice is recognised in the BOFiP administrative guidance on the valuation of non-traded securities for gift and inheritance tax purposes.
This means a property worth €500,000 held through an SCI could see its shares valued at €400,000–€450,000 for gift and inheritance tax purposes. That’s an immediate tax saving.
The Anti-Abuse Warning
The French tax authorities (Direction Générale des Finances Publiques) are alert to SCIs used purely as inheritance avoidance vehicles. If your SCI has no real operational purpose — no rental activity, no actual management, no proper accounting — it could be requalified as an abus de droit (abuse of rights) under Article L64 of the Livre des Procédures Fiscales, and the tax benefits reversed.
The SCI needs to function as a genuine property management structure: hold annual assemblées générales, file accounts, maintain a compte courant d’associé if applicable, and have a legitimate business purpose beyond tax planning.
The Tontine Clause: Survivorship with a Twist
The clause de tontine (also called a pacte tontinier) is a distinctly French ownership arrangement that can bypass succession rules entirely.
Here’s how it works: two or more people buy a property together under a tontine clause. When one owner dies, the survivor is deemed to have been the sole owner from the very beginning. The property doesn’t pass through the deceased’s estate at all — it’s as if the deceased never owned it.
This sounds like a dream for couples who want to ensure the surviving partner keeps the family home. And for married couples, it can work well: under Article 754 A of the CGI, the transfer is treated as a sale (mutation à titre onéreux) rather than an inheritance, and taxed at standard transfer tax rates.
When Tontine Gets Expensive
For unmarried couples and unrelated co-owners, the tontine is a trap. Article 754 A provides an exception only for properties that serve as the principal residence of two joint acquirers and are worth less than €76,000. If the property exceeds that threshold (which is virtually every property worth buying), the transfer on death is reclassified as a gratuitous transfer and taxed at 60% — the rate applicable to unrelated persons.
Even for married couples, the tontine has significant drawbacks:
- It’s irrevocable. Once you sign a tontine clause, you can’t undo it without both parties’ agreement and a new notarial deed.
- It bypasses your estate entirely, meaning your children receive nothing from that property — which can create forced heirship complications if you haven’t planned around it.
- If you later divorce, unwinding a tontine is far more complex and costly than dividing jointly owned property.
The tontine was more popular before the 2007 reform that exempted surviving spouses from inheritance tax. Today, most notaires recommend it only in specific circumstances — typically for unmarried partners in PACS arrangements where the property value is under the €76,000 threshold (rare) or where other planning has been done to address the children’s réserve.
Démembrement: Splitting the Bundle of Rights
Démembrement de propriété is perhaps the most elegant succession planning tool in French law. It splits property ownership into two distinct rights:
Usufruit (usufruct): The right to use the property and receive income from it (e.g., rent). Think of it as the economic enjoyment of the property.
Nue-propriété (bare ownership): The ownership of the property itself, stripped of the right to use it or profit from it.
The classic inheritance planning move: you keep the usufruit and gift the nue-propriété to your children. You continue living in (or renting out) the property as before. When you die, the usufruit automatically extinguishes, and your children become full owners — with no additional inheritance tax to pay. This principle is established by Article 669 of the CGI, which also sets out the fiscal valuation table below.
How the Values Are Split
The tax value of each right depends on the age of the usufructuary at the time of the gift or transfer, according to the barème fiscal of Article 669:
| Age of Usufructuary | Usufruit Value | Nue-Propriété Value |
|---|---|---|
| Under 21 | 90% | 10% |
| 21–30 | 80% | 20% |
| 31–40 | 70% | 30% |
| 41–50 | 60% | 40% |
| 51–60 | 50% | 50% |
| 61–70 | 40% | 60% |
| 71–80 | 30% | 70% |
| 81–90 | 20% | 80% |
| 91+ | 10% | 90% |
Example: You’re 55 years old and own a property worth €400,000. You gift the nue-propriété to your two children. The nue-propriété is worth 50% = €200,000, split €100,000 each. Each child’s share falls exactly within the €100,000 abattement — so the gift is entirely tax-free. When you die, they receive full ownership with zero additional tax.
Combining Démembrement with an SCI
The real power move is combining both tools. You own SCI shares. You gift the nue-propriété of the shares to your children while retaining the usufruit. As usufructuary, you still receive dividends (rental income) from the SCI and can retain management control as gérant. Your children hold the bare ownership of the shares, which appreciates over time. When you die, they receive full ownership with no succession tax on the usufruit portion.
Add in the illiquidity discount on the SCI shares, and you’ve potentially transferred a €500,000+ property to the next generation with minimal or zero tax.
French Inheritance Tax: The Rates
Even with all the planning tools above, at some point French inheritance tax (droits de succession) applies. Here’s what you’re dealing with.
Surviving Spouse or PACS Partner
Completely exempt. Since Article 8 of the TEPA law (Law No. 2007-1223 of 21 August 2007), surviving spouses pay no inheritance tax at all, regardless of the amount inherited. This exemption is codified in Article 796-0 bis of the CGI. Partners bound by a PACS (pacte civil de solidarité) benefit from the same full exemption.
This is a major advantage. A surviving spouse or pacsé partner can inherit the entire French estate tax-free. Note, however, that unmarried cohabiting partners (concubins) do not get this exemption — they are taxed at the 60% rate applicable to unrelated persons.
Children (Direct Line)
Each child receives a €100,000 tax-free allowance per parent. After that, the rates are progressive, as set out in Article 777 of the CGI:
| Taxable Amount (After Allowance) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €8,072 | 5% |
| €8,072 – €12,109 | 10% |
| €12,109 – €15,932 | 15% |
| €15,932 – €552,324 | 20% |
| €552,324 – €902,838 | 30% |
| €902,838 – €1,805,677 | 40% |
| Over €1,805,677 | 45% |
These brackets have been frozen by the 2026 Finance Law and will not be adjusted for inflation until at least the end of 2028. In practice, for most British investors with a single French property, the effective rate lands in the 20% bracket after the €100,000 allowance.
Siblings
€15,932 allowance, then 35% on the first €24,430 above the allowance, and 45% on everything above that.
Nieces, Nephews
€7,967 allowance, then a flat 55%.
Unrelated Persons
€1,594 allowance, then a flat 60%. This is the rate that catches unmarried partners and distant relatives.
The UK-France Double Tax Treaty
British investors face a unique problem: both France and the UK may want to tax the same inheritance.
France taxes the transfer of French-situated property (immeubles situés en France) regardless of the nationality or residence of the deceased or the heirs.
The UK taxes worldwide assets of UK-domiciled individuals under Inheritance Tax (IHT), with a nil-rate band of £325,000 (or £500,000 with the residence nil-rate band for a family home passed to direct descendants).
The 1963 UK-France Double Taxation Convention on Estates prevents you from being taxed twice. HMRC publishes guidance on this treaty in its IHT413 manual on Double Taxation Relief.
The key principles:
France has primary taxing rights on French immovable property (real estate). This is non-negotiable — the property is in France, so France taxes first.
The UK grants a credit for French inheritance tax paid against any UK IHT liability on the same assets. So if France charges €50,000 in droits de succession on a French property, and the UK would have charged £60,000 in IHT on the same property, you’d only pay the difference (roughly £10,000) to HMRC.
The treaty doesn’t eliminate tax. It prevents double taxation, but you’ll always pay the higher of the two rates. Given that France’s top rate is 45% for children and the UK’s flat rate is 40%, the French tax often exceeds the UK tax, meaning no additional UK IHT is due.
Domicile vs. Residence
A critical distinction: UK IHT is based on domicile, not residence. If you’ve moved to France permanently, you may still be UK-domiciled for IHT purposes (domicile of origin sticks until you acquire a new domicile of choice with clear intention). Even long-term French residents can remain UK-domiciled.
This matters because a UK-domiciled person is subject to IHT on worldwide assets, while a non-UK-domiciled person is only subject to IHT on UK-situated assets. Getting your domicile status right — and documented — is essential for cross-border estate planning.
Practical Steps: What You Should Actually Do
Enough theory. Here’s the action plan for any British investor who owns (or is about to buy) property in France:
1. Make a French Will (Testament)
Have a separate French will drafted by a notaire covering your French assets only. This avoids conflicts with your English will (which should explicitly exclude French assets). The French will should include a Brussels IV election clause if you want English law to apply to succession.
2. Coordinate with Your UK Will
Your English will should expressly exclude French property, and vice versa. Two wills, two jurisdictions, zero overlap. Have both solicitors review the other’s document. A surprising number of cross-border estate messes come from two wills that accidentally revoke each other.
3. Review Your Ownership Structure
Consider whether direct ownership, an SCI, or démembrement best suits your situation. For a single holiday home, direct ownership with a Brussels IV election may be sufficient. For a portfolio of rental properties or a high-value asset, an SCI with progressive share gifting is likely more tax-efficient. If you’re non-resident, remember that holding through an SCI gives you an additional layer of protection against forced heirship — the shares are classified as movable property and fall outside French succession law.
4. Start Gifting Early
The €100,000 abattement renews every 15 years. If you’re in your 50s with adult children, the clock is ticking. Starting gifts of SCI shares or nue-propriété now gives you one or two cycles before the typical estate planning “deadline.”
5. Get Specialist Advice
You need — at minimum — a French notaire experienced with international clients, a UK solicitor familiar with cross-border estates, and ideally a tax adviser who understands both systems. This is not a DIY project. The fees for proper advice (typically €2,000–€5,000 for a comprehensive cross-border estate plan) are trivial compared to the tax savings.
6. Review Every Five Years
Tax laws change. Family circumstances change. Property values change. A plan that worked in 2020 may need updating by 2025. Set a calendar reminder.
Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Not making a French will. If you die without a French will (or any will), French intestacy rules apply to your French property. Your surviving spouse gets a choice between a quarter of the estate in full ownership or all of it in usufruit. Your children get the rest. This is rarely the outcome people want.
Assuming English law applies automatically. It doesn’t. Without a Brussels IV election, French law governs French property. And even with Brussels IV, French tax law still applies.
Forgetting about the surviving spouse’s position. Under French forced heirship, children come first. Without planning, a surviving spouse can find themselves with usufruit only — the right to live in the property but not to sell it without the children’s consent. This is especially problematic in second marriages.
Ignoring the 15-year gift cycle. The €100,000 abattement per parent per child resets every 15 years. Waiting until you’re 75 to start gifting means you’ll likely only get one cycle. Starting at 55 gives you two.
Using UK-style joint ownership concepts. English “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” doesn’t exist in France. French co-ownership (indivision) works differently and doesn’t bypass succession rules. Don’t assume your UK property arrangements translate.
Relying solely on life insurance (assurance-vie). French life insurance contracts sit outside the estate for tax purposes up to €152,500 per beneficiary for premiums paid before age 70, as set out in Article 990 I of the CGI. They’re a useful tool but not a substitute for proper succession planning, especially for property assets.
Not considering capital gains tax on death. Unlike the UK (where CGT is wiped out on death), France may apply plus-value immobilière if property is sold by the heirs. The full exemption kicks in after 22 years of ownership for CGT and 30 years for social charges. Check our guide to French capital gains tax for the full breakdown.
What’s Changed Recently (2025–2026)
French inheritance law hasn’t seen a major overhaul since the 2007 TEPA reform, but there are a few developments British investors should be aware of:
The €100,000 abattement freeze. The per-child allowance has been €100,000 since 2012. Despite inflation eroding its real value, successive governments have declined to increase it. There have been parliamentary discussions about raising it to €150,000 or indexing it to inflation, but nothing has been enacted as of early 2026. The 2026 Finance Law has frozen the brackets until at least the end of 2028.
The 2021 clawback provision. As discussed above, France introduced a compensatory mechanism allowing children to reclaim their réserve héréditaire from French-situated assets when the applicable foreign law provides no reserved share. This directly targets Brussels IV elections and is the subject of ongoing legal challenges and an EU Commission investigation.
Enhanced donation allowances. Since 2020, an additional €100,000 gift allowance applies for gifts used to construct or renovate a principal residence, or to create/develop a small business — but this is temporary and subject to conditions, as set out in Article 790 A bis of the CGI.
Discussions around forced heirship reform. The Macron government has periodically floated reforms to soften the réserve héréditaire, particularly for international families. As of 2026, no legislation has passed, but it remains on the political radar.
The 15-year reconstitution period. The period after which gift tax allowances “reset” was increased from 10 to 15 years in 2012. There’s no indication of a further increase, but it’s worth monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave my French property entirely to my spouse?
If you make a Brussels IV election choosing English law, yes. Without the election, French forced heirship requires that your children receive their réserve. Even with Brussels IV, remember that French inheritance tax still applies — though surviving spouses are fully exempt from droits de succession since 2007.
Do I need both a French and an English will?
Strongly recommended. Having separate wills for each jurisdiction avoids conflicts and speeds up probate on both sides. Make sure each will explicitly states it covers only assets in that jurisdiction, and that one doesn’t accidentally revoke the other.
Is it too late to set up an SCI if I already own the property directly?
You can transfer existing property into an SCI, but this triggers transfer taxes (droits de mutation) of approximately 5% of the property value, plus notaire fees. It’s a significant upfront cost that needs to be weighed against the long-term succession tax savings. For high-value properties or those with multiple heirs, it often pays for itself.
What happens if I have children from different relationships?
Each child — regardless of which relationship they’re from — has equal réserve héréditaire rights. This can make planning complex for blended families, particularly around the surviving spouse’s rights versus the first set of children’s claims. A notaire experienced with recomposed families (familles recomposées) is essential here.
How long does French probate take?
Typically 6–12 months, but it can take longer with international elements. The notaire handles the succession process (déclaration de succession). Under Article 641 of the CGI, inheritance tax must be paid within 6 months of death for French residents and 12 months for non-residents. Late payment incurs a 0.40% monthly penalty.
Can British investors use assurance-vie to avoid inheritance tax on property?
Not directly — assurance-vie is a financial product, not a property structure. However, you could sell the property and invest the proceeds in an assurance-vie contract to benefit from the €152,500 tax-free allowance per beneficiary. This only makes sense in very specific situations and has its own tax implications.
Inheritance planning isn’t the most exciting part of owning property in France. But it might be the most important. A few hours with a good notaire now could save your family hundreds of thousands of euros — and a lot of heartache — later.
If you found this guide useful, you might also want to read our articles on the French SCI, capital gains tax on French property, and the LMNP furnished rental regime.
