making will before buying house

[Beryl]

On numerous English financial websites, people are often advised to have a French will made before they buy in France. Does it somehow affect the legality of the will if it is made later at a later date? When for example, should a will be made if one is building or renovating a  house?

[Will]

As far as I am aware, a will can be made at any time. In France sucession follows Napoleonic law rather than the wishes of the deceased. What is important is to consider the inheritance position, particularly with regard to the surviving spouse, so that those who are left are protected under the law, and the appropriate wording inserted in the Acte de Vente, which obviously has to be done before the sale is completed. If the marriage regime needs to be changed, for example, it is not impossible to do this after the sale, but is a lot easier (and consequently cheaper) to sort it our before completion.

[Beryl]

So if you have the appropriate wording put into the Acte de Vente, this covers the inheritance position for the house, is that right?

So  if this has been  done could some people get by without having a will ? Eg in our case it is the only the house that we have to worry about as we have not got any other assets [:(]

I know the will issue is raised so often that people must be sick to death of it , so thanks for replying.

[Will]

French succession law says, basically, that when you die, your property passes to your children. There are various ways of delaying that, and delaying some liability for inheritance tax, which effectively allow the surviving spouse to stay in the family home, and these affect the wording of the Acte de Vente. You can leave a portion of your estate to somebody else, or specify who gets which bit of your estate, and this is where a French will is necessary. If you want the house to pass entirely to children (or other surviving blood relations if you have no children) then a will is not essential.

[Teamedup]

I don't understand half the things I see on this board about this or about the legal advice given either, especially from the UK.

 

My understanding which is from a french notaire is that the intention of moving to France counts too. And that if the intention is to move to France then the french authorities take that to mean that one is accepting french law and the way things are handled under french law. So making a will with the intention of coming to France in theory should not wash with the french authorities.

 

Get plenty of legal advice in France.

[Clarkkent]

I thought that the Hague Convention on Legalisation of Foreign Documents covered this. Signatory countries recognise documents drawn up in other signatory countries, and France has ratified this convention.

[Teamedup]

When was this Hague convention signed?

[Clarkkent]

There have been nearly 40 conventions signed between 1954 and the present day. They are concerned with many things legal including (for example) the international recognition of marriages and the prevention of abduction of children.

There are also conventions dating back to 1905.

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Teamedup"]When was this Hague convention signed?[/quote]

1970 (before the UK joined, but they agreed to the terms when they joined).

However, as I understand it, even if wills are covered by the Hague Convention, I am not sure that EU law has precendent over French law in this case. ie. If you make a will (and, of course you can only have one valid one) then the execution of the will is going to be covered by the law that applies to the deceased - if they were resident in France at their time of death, then French law will apply.

IANAL!!