What is a donation-partage?

A donation-partage is a notarial deed by which the donor distributes assets among presumptive heirs during his or her lifetime. Unlike an ordinary gift, the values are frozen at the date of the deed for the purposes of the calculation of the reserved portion, which avoids future revaluation disputes (Articles 1075 and 1078 of the French Civil Code).

Which gift tax allowances apply in France?

A French resident parent may gift each child up to EUR 100,000 every fifteen years free of gift duty, with additional allowances for grandparents (EUR 31,865) and for spouses (EUR 80,724). Allowances and rates depend on residence and on the qualifying degree of kinship; international situations are governed by tax treaties.

Can a French lifetime gift be made to children abroad?

Yes. A French notarial gift may benefit non-resident donees. The taxation depends on the residence of the donor and donees and on any applicable tax treaty. Where French real estate is gifted, French gift duty applies in all cases.

What is the Dutreil pact?

Under Article 787 B of the French General Tax Code, the gift of shares in a qualifying operating company may benefit from a seventy-five percent base reduction for inheritance and gift duty purposes, subject to a collective and an individual holding commitment and to active management requirements.

What is a transgenerational donation-partage?

A transgenerational donation-partage allows the donor to distribute assets directly to grandchildren with the consent of the intermediate generation (Article 1078-4 of the French Civil Code). It is particularly suited to long-horizon family wealth planning.

Office de Maître Virginie LAIDET et Maître Flore de SAINT MAURICE

Preparing a lifetime gift or a family settlement

Anticipating the transfer of part of your estate is rarely a decision that is ready from the outset. More often, the project is built through dialogue, starting from a review of your situation, civil and tax simulations, and an exchange about what is at stake for you and your family. Our role is to support that reflection until the choice best suited to your intentions emerges.

Roadmap

Mechanisms for lifetime transfer

Several paths coexist and may be combined according to your family composition, the nature of your estate and your intentions.

Simple lifetime gift

Transfer of a specific asset or sum to one or more beneficiaries, without overall allocation.

Standard family settlement (donation-partage)

Distributes all or part of the donor’s estate among the children, freezes values at the date of the deed and excludes civil hotchpot (Article 1078 of the French Civil Code).

Transgenerational family settlement

Allows grandchildren to be included in the family settlement, with their parents’ consent, in order to transfer directly across two generations (Article 1078-4 of the French Civil Code).

Cumulative family settlement

Includes within the same distribution the assets from a previously opened estate (Article 1078-1 of the French Civil Code).

Gift with reservation of usufruct

Transfers the bare ownership of an asset while retaining the right to use and enjoy it; tax-efficient (Article 669 of the French General Tax Code).

Family Dutreil agreement

Reduction of transfer duties on a family business under a collective and then individual undertaking to retain the shares (Article 787 B of the French General Tax Code).

Gift before sale

Transfer of an asset to a close relative before its sale to a third party, governed by strict case law.

Allowances and tax. Allowance of 100,000 € per parent and per child (Article 779, I, of the French General Tax Code), renewable every fifteen years (Article 784 of the French General Tax Code). Specific allowance of 31,865 € for a family gift of money to an adult child, grandchild or great-grandchild, where the donor is under eighty (Article 790 G of the French General Tax Code), renewable every fifteen years. Allowance of 15,932 € between siblings and 7,967 € for nephews and nieces (Article 779, IV and V, of the French General Tax Code). The office calculates the duties, applies the available reliefs and issues the certificates to the tax authority.

Our strengths in lifetime gifts and transfer. Transgenerational family settlements, split usufruct and bare ownership, Dutreil agreements and family business transfer, gift-before-sale and tax arbitrage, cross-border configurations (donor resident outside France, donee abroad), articulation with a prior change of matrimonial regime.

Notre méthode

Une préparation pensée pour vous accompagner pas à pas

A lifetime gift is rarely a deed prepared alone. Our method favours a dialogue in several stages: an estate review to set the framework, simulations to clarify the trade-offs, then the drafting of the project that follows. The online questionnaire here serves to structure your first contact, without anticipating the choices to come.

Bilan de votre situation

You describe your family, your estate and your intentions, even tentative ones. The online questionnaire is the entry point to this review.

Simulations civiles et fiscales

We assess the consequences of the various options: full ownership or split usufruct, simple gift or family settlement, transgenerational structure, choice of allowances and reliefs.

Discussion des arbitrages

During a meeting, we discuss the civil and tax implications and choose together the form best suited to your intentions.

Rédaction et signature

A draft deed is sent to you, discussed and adjusted before signature. The office supports you through registration of the gift with the tax authority and, where the gift relates to real estate, through registration with the French land registry.

Le questionnaire en ligne

Ce que nous allons aborder ensemble

The lifetime-gift questionnaire covers all the questions relevant to our advice: family composition, matrimonial regime, assets contemplated, earlier gifts, perceived intentions. Your answers commit you to nothing: they simply allow us to prepare for our discussion and arrive at the meeting with a clear picture of your situation.

Les thèmes du questionnaire

Nature of the contemplated transfer
The donor(s) and their matrimonial regime
The donee(s) and their relationship with the donor
Assets transferred and any split of usufruct
Charges and clauses of the gift deed
Earlier gifts and tax reliefs

Ce que vous apporte la démarche

Un parcours adaptatif, qui ne vous interroge que sur ce qui vous concerne, et qui vous laisse, à chaque étape, la possibilité de cocher « je fournis plus tard » pour les pièces que vous n’avez pas sous la main.

À la fin du parcours, vous disposez d’un récapitulatif clair de tout ce que vous nous avez confié, et d’un envoi sécurisé à l’étude en un seul geste. Sur cette base, nous bâtissons avec vous le bilan et les simulations qui éclaireront vos arbitrages.

Découvrir le questionnaire ›

Start the lifetime-gift questionnaire

Quelques minutes suffisent pour démarrer. Vous pouvez revenir, compléter ou ajuster vos réponses à tout moment, et indiquer dans la zone d’observation finale les points sur lesquels vous souhaitez un éclairage particulier.

Démarrer mon questionnaire

En plusieurs sessions courtes, à votre rythme. Reprenez la saisie quand vous le souhaitez.

Nos engagements

Notre cadre de travail

Confidentialité absolue

Le secret professionnel notarial s’impose à l’ensemble de l’étude. Vos données ne sont consultées qu’aux fins de votre dossier et conservées avec le plus grand soin.

Accompagnement personnalisé

Chaque dossier est confié à un interlocuteur identifié, joignable et réactif, du premier contact à la signature, et au-delà.

Rigueur et clarté

Une explication intelligible de chaque étape, des chiffrages présentés sans détour et des pièces vérifiées une à une.

Bon à savoir

Vous n’avez pas le temps ou ne souhaitez pas compléter votre dossier en ligne ?

Pas d’inquiétude. Nous serons ravies d’ouvrir le dossier avec vous, à l’étude, en visioconférence ou par téléphone. Nous en profiterons pour vous poser les questions utiles et déterminer ensemble les documents à transmettre, à votre rythme et selon vos contraintes.

RDV avec Maître Virginie LAIDET RDV avec Maître Flore de SAINT MAURICE

Mémo imprimable

List of documents for preparing a lifetime gift

Téléchargez la liste pour la garder à portée de main.

Télécharger le PDF