Blodwyn Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 My husband died recently and I've started work on the necessary admin. I know I have to see a notaire but wonder if anyone who's been through this can tell me what documents and information I need to take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Hello Blodwyn.It would probably be best to phone and/or email the Notaire or their secretary and ask them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 As this was your husband the notaire will seek to be assured of the identity of your husband by means of his death certificate, his livret de famille (which you might not have if, like us, you retired here, the marriage contract, his will and the type of agreement between you and him for the division of your home etc.For your part .. to prove your association to your husband .. your passport, your marriage certificate and the agreement as above ref house etc.But as nomoss said the best thing to do is to ask .. but be prepared to explain that you don't have some of the papers that are deemed necessary to prove a French succession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Hah! I got called away while writing this, and suein56 has popped up with this info already! Sorry for reiterating it.Blodwyn, I had to do this a long time ago - and admittedly as a second-home owner.I expect the notaire will need birth and marriage certificates (and divorce certificate, if relevant, even if long in the past). Do you get a death certificate in France? Not sure, but if so you would need that, too.Details of house-ownership - maybe the deeds - that show the marriage regime you purchased under, which can affect the way the inheritance is sorted.Names and addresses and dates of birth of any children, as they have their "reserved" parts of the estate.And if you did a "donation entre époux" during your husband's lifetime, that will come into play and protect your right to remain in the house for your own lifetime.Oh, and did your husband make a will? If a French one, then the notaire should be able to access that somehow.But, as said in an earlier post above, best to ask before attending the appointment so you can be sure to take everything relevant.Bon courage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blodwyn Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 No will. The house was bought en tontine so should now be mine. Joint bank accounts so no problem there. We had a Communaute Universelle which states we jointly owned everything. Would I still need to list possessions? Nothing of great value. After 46 years, there was very little that belonged to my husband specifically. Two children, no stepchildren.A friend of a friend (French) was apparently shocked at the notaire's bill which apparently included a lot of things that are not compulsory and inflated the cost. No idea what they could be! Maybe informing banks etc. which I've already started on. I have copies of the death certificate (free from the Mairie). I checked online and it is not compulsory to register the death in England and Wales but if I do, it costs £200 plus £50 for a certificate.If anyone can think of anything to add I'd be grateful. Haven't made an appointment yet. Apparently the process takes at least 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Yes, Blodwyn, I seem to remember it did take quite a long time to get to the end. And probably the notaire's bill was quite high - but I think that might be the official charges for registering this and that rather than his/her fat fee. You could ask for an estimate at the outset, I should think.The children had to be paid their shares, but luckily we were in the throes of selling one of the two cottages we owned at the time so I had some cash to pay them with. Not sure if it is possible to delay paying them their inheritance until your own death, but it's another thing you could ask. Maybe your having bought en tontine means that the children don't have a claim at this stage, though.I didn't need to list possessions; maybe have an idea of an overall figure in your head, in case you are asked, but not item by item unless you have something very valuable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 My memory is that buying in tontine is like joint ownership in the UK, ie the children don' get a look in until no 2 dies ... but check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 O Judith, you are absolutely right!https://droit-finances.commentcamarche.com/faq/589-succession-les-avantages-de-la-tontineIt seems it is as if the deceased never owned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereford Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 When my mother died we went to see a notaire (as you do!). My parents had a communité universelle contract (incorrectly spelled..,) and we were told that nothing needed to be done at all. The notaire's office charged us less than 10 euros for checking that she did not have a Will registered.(For reasons that are not connected to the original question): the house they lived in was not their own but I assume that if a house is involved there will be costs to change name. The (presumably) later marriage contract trumps the tontine as far as I am aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Not sure that the marriage regime trumps the tontine. But one thing I forgot, is that with a tontine, any children of the first to die are thus disenfranchised ... hence why some notaires don't approve. If there are no children of previous marriages) and I think OP said not, then the tontine would be fine in their case. Kids get it after second one to die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blodwyn Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 We bought the house before we thought of doing the CU. (The notaire made a right mess of that, it took months to correct my date of birth but then they changed my husband's instead so both were wrong!) Both should mean the house is not an issue but you never know in France.As I posted in Driving, I was trying to get the car put into my name but sadly was too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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