Inheritance Law
Our Inheritance Law department provides personalised support throughout the various stages of each estate settlement. Before any estate should be accepted, the notary first needs to draw up a comprehensive inventory of the deceased person’s estate.
Support from Inheritance Law professionals
The settlement of an estate generally involves :
- An initial meeting to gather information (death certificate, family record books, wills, title deeds, bank details, previous gifts made by the deceased person, etc.),
- Completing the preliminary formalities, which involve drafting and sending various letters, as well as checking for the existence of a will by consulting the register of last wills and testaments,
- Identifying the estate assets and liabilities using the information thus obtained,
- Drafting the documents required for the estate settlement (heir identification affidavits (acte de notoriété or affirmation sous la foi du serment), inheritance tax declarations, certificates of property ownership, liquidation deeds, distribution deeds, etc.),
- Arranging a meeting to sign these aforementioned documents, following which the heirs will be issued with a certificate of inheritance. This certificate enables the heirs to prove their status as beneficiaries to all relevant authorities and to have bank accounts and/or life insurance policies unblocked.
The support process
The time needed to settle an estate depends on the complexity and the specific circumstances of each file. In any event, heirs have six months (if the deceased person was a French resident) to file the inheritance tax declaration and pay inheritance taxes.
Currently, our team comprises eight staff members specialising in Inheritance Law.
They carry out a detailed analysis of each file to specifically ensure that the estate is not in deficit and to advise the heirs on their options, including whether to accept or waive the inheritance.
