Usufruit, is this the only way

[KevinH]

I am buying a house in Normandy. Although I am married, my husband and I have decided to buy our house in my name only. This is to ensure that succession laws apply to our two children only and not to his children from his previous marriage as they have already been provided for in the UK.

We believe that if the house is in my name only, I can will the whole of the property to our two children on my death. Is the usufruit the correct procedure to use to ensure that my husband can remain in the house until his death when our children can acutally get their hands on it!

Would appreciate any advice as we cannot afford a big solicitors bill and the value of my house will only be approx 60,000 euros.

Thanks all

Lees

[Iceni]

You HAVE to use a notaire to buy your property, go and talk to them. We are all amateurs here and if we get it wrong it will cost you far more than the cost of your house if you see later in life that you made a silly decision which costs you in money or grief.

We recently went back to our Notaire to ask questions regarding en-Tontine. She answered them and there was no charge.  For goodness sake, if you really want to do something like this get correct advice.

[Pucette<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Pucette<FONT><P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">"Qui ne connaît pas la campagne lhiver, ne connaît pas la campagne et ne connaît pas]

I would like to agree with Iceni but my now husband was convinced by a notaire and UK IFA that he was buying independently of his estranged wife, to the extent that he was supplied with a false copy of the deeds showing his name only. You can't be too careful or get too much independent advice; there are lots of up-to-date books and magazines on the subject and it would be as well to look at as many as you can get your hands on, imo.

It is my understanding that even if only one name appears on the deeds the property may be considered as joint depending on your circumstances.

The procedure suggested would be open to challenge by your husband's children from his first marriage on his death if they did not get an equal share in his worldwide estate (the proportion depending on how many children there are, for example if there are two from each marriage, totalling 4, they would be entitled to a fifth of his estate each).

There is a phrase for use in French wills enabling the surviving spouse to inherit the maximum in the form of his choosing - usufruit or otherwise.

[KevinH]

Thanks to both of you for the above.

We are at present still living in the UK and so are unable to communicate with the Notaire very easily. Also our French is at the present limited and although we have asked our immobilier if our Notaire can speak any English or if we need a translator, he hasn't got back to us yet.

Why can't life be simple!

Lees

[I1]

There are specialist solicitors in the UK who advertise in Living France Magazine. They can almost certainly advise you (and communicate with your notaire) and are probably not excessively expensive (as they specialist dealing in French Property purchase).

My case was very simple so I learnt nothing about it when I made my purchase, but you will probably need to have sorted out how the property is going to be purchased before visiting the notaire for completion. I had the impression that there are a very wide range of options available, some of which require quite a bit of paperwork (e.g. setting up a company) and I also had the impression that it is difficult/expensive to change things after the property is purchased.

You might find a UK based specialist solicitor easier to deal with than a translator as they may be able to deal with both the language and advice. As far as I’m aware the Notaire does not represent you (nor the vendor) and it is not their job to advise you on inheritance issues.

Remember that the estate agent basically wants the purchase to proceed and how much "work" they will do for you will be very variable (depending on the particular agent), but if you subsequently find out they didn't do something that affects inheritance rights, etc. you will probably have little "come-back" to/on the agent.

I’m in no position to provide advice, so please treat the above as a suggestion for investigation only.

[Tourangelle]

equally not an expert, but I would ask about having a marriage contract done at the same time as the purchase and see if you can do "séparations des biens".  This would mean that you own nothing in common as a couple, and you might beable to restrict it to France.  But I don't know how you would stand for usufruit.....