Opening a succession in France
The Office receives families who have just lost a loved one and conducts the settlement of their succession, from the certificate of inheritance to the final partition. Our practice covers civil, fiscal, international and patrimonial dimensions.
A journey, more than a technical file
A French succession without particular difficulty takes six to twelve months. The fiscal calendar is binding: the succession tax return must be filed within six months of death (one year if death occurred abroad). The real duration depends less on the law than on the family and patrimonial reality.
International successions. Since 17 August 2015, the European Regulation 650/2012 designates the law of the deceased’s habitual residence as applicable. We can however make the choice for French law, in writing, through professio juris. For French citizens residing abroad, this choice often deserves to be made.
Milestones of the settlement
- Opening the file. Certificate of inheritance, request to the central registry of wills (FCDDV), FICOBA request, patrimony assessment.
- Succession tax return. Asset valuation, calculation of duties, successoral options, filing within six months of death.
- Inheritance certificate and current operations. Real estate attestation, unblocking of accounts, provisional patrimony management.
- Partition. Liquidation and partition, exit from indivision, possible family mediation.
