Cardinal

The ONLY person who can give you a definitive legal answer is an Avocat. Not a Notaire - they are NOT lawyers and not the same as a Solicitor in the UK. A properly qualified financial adviser can point you in the right direction, but beware of taking advice from Forums such as this. Every case is different and requires specialist knowledge and advice that is peculiar to your circumstance. Its worth paying for! Also, be careful about the word "property". There is property as in house/land/etc and also property as in car/tv/furniture/pictures/jewellery etc and the rules can sometimes differ. The only thing that doesn't differ is that all property (both meanings) is taken into account for inheritance tax purposes. So before the notaire comes to value the property on the event of your spouse's demise, park the Beemer up the road out of sight!!  

No. A CdS or TdS are only residence documents and it says (on mine) that for formal identity it must be accompanied by a valid passport. Renewing a UK passport in France is easy. Arguments about Shengen aside, for travel to any country other than that of one's residence always needs a passport or national identity card - even though you rarely/never have to show it. But if you happen to be involved in an accident or criminal act you WILL almost certainly be asked for it. It amazes me how many Brits come here on holiday and don't carry their passport. Of course, if the UK had ID cards it would be that much more convenient . . . .  

A friend told me a few days ago that Tontine contracts are to be made illegal in France. . Does anyone have any info that will confirm or refute this? They have been illegal as a form of investment/insurance in the UK and US for decades because they avoid tax and encourage bumping-off of partners! C

Sorry Gail. Only just back on-line after a month off. For next year, there is always a big carnival parade in Saintes - preceded by a round-the-town road race and culminating in a massive fireworks display at midnight. C

The definitive source of information on land prices is your Mairie. But always seek a second opinion!

Miaow!

[quote]Is it possible to find out BEFORE purchasing a house if it needs a fosse septique? How much do they cost, do you have to pay a yearly charge? How does the financial bits & pieces work??? Help![/quote] If it hasn't got one it probably doesn't need one. Until you come to fit a new bathroom or shower. The alternatives are: Mains drains, a fosse (septique or etanche) or a puits-perdu (a kind of soakaway). Puits-perdus are now illegal for new-build and for additional santary load and, in theory should be replaced within the next five years. A 2000 litre fosse septique will cost about 2000 euros - installed. The bigger the more expensive. We had a puits-perdu, but had to have a fosse put in for our new bathroom. Took three days and cost 1900 euros. Check with your Mairie for plans and timetable.

[quote]We are hoping to buy a property in Chirac, Charente and have heard that properties in the area are to be conected to mains drainage starting 2006. Has anyone heard of this happening in the area??[/quote] By law, I forget the number (something of 1999?), all communes with population of 400+ (I think) have to have a plan for mains drainage by the end of 2006. That's having a plan - not the drainage. I was told recently that it has to be installed by end 2009 when it becomes illegal to discharge grey water to the street. The cost is recovered through the water charge, as in the UK. You pay approx 1.5 times the cost of water used - plus the cost of water used - that's 2.5 times.

[quote]we've just had an above ground pool constructed (don't get me started on the list of problems with this particular company), but we are far too far down a road. We checked with the perfecture at La Ro...[/quote] Carolski, I have been considering an above ground pool and I live in 17. Which company should I avoid? C

[quote]'Haven't seen a Gendarme for months round here' Me neither, but what I do see on a very regular basis is a very low flying helicopter hovering over certain properties, from which people, (don't know...[/quote] This helicopter myth is spreading far and wide. It started a couple of years ago in 17. Exactly how could a helicopter photograph a water level in a pool - especially if it has a cover on. Even a light weight summer cover would hide any water level visible from a helicopter. You are far more likely to be denounced by a neighbour - they go in for that in France. C

[quote]Dick - I got a little lost with your maths (it has always been a problem for me) but even on your reckonings more people (Tories + Lib Dem) did NOT want Blair & Co. in office than did want them. ...[/quote] If less than 50% of the electorate bothered to vote, one can assume that the rest were not bothered who won. That is, they didn't vote against Labour candidates so we can safely assume that they are happy enough with them. By this version of maths, Labour won a huge majority!

[quote]Dick - I got a little lost with your maths (it has always been a problem for me) but even on your reckonings more people (Tories + Lib Dem) did NOT want Blair & Co. in office than did want them. ...[/quote] If less than 50% of the electorate bothered to vote, one can assume that the rest were not bothered who won. That is, they didn't vote against Labour candidates so we can safely assume that they are happy enough with them. By this version of maths, Labour won a huge majority!

[quote]The carte europeene d assurance maladie forget it as you would not get on in time from cpam, will take about 8 days to come through -

[quote]We have some american guests staying in a couple of weeks. They want to visit Paris on their way back from Normandy to Bonn but don't want to take the car into Paris. Can anyone recommend a good pla...[/quote] If they are going to Bonn and want to miss out Paris, how about Amiens. That way they would avoid driving through/round Paris completely. C

[quote]My husband lives in France and I live in the UK during the week and commute at weekends. He is retired and has only a very small pension - I transfer money to the French bank account for living expe...[/quote] Highly respected and knowledgable as this Forum is, it is not the place to get a definitive answer to your question. You need to seek professional tax advice, unless you want lots of amateur opinion. Every case is different! C