Donation Entre Epoux

[Mikejac]

My wife and I are in the process of buying a retirement house in 46.  We have one child in common and I have a son from a previous marriage (both over 18).  Our notaire has proposed that we use a Donation Entre Epoux, rather than the usual Tontine.  This was the first I had heard of this arrangement and so far have been unable to find any information on it other than what the notaire told us.  Does anyone have any knowledge of this and how it affects us on the death of either party?

[Mustang sally]

 For married couples this is a flexible form of will whereby the surviving spouse has a number of choices to be exercised after the first death.

We have an appointment with our notaire in a couple of weeks so we will know more but I think it means the surviving spouse has the right to remain in the property until they die with no tax implications.

I hope this helps

[Will]

Whatever happens you cannot avoid the fact that children will inherit. When there are children from a previous marriage this can complicate matters considerably. There are various options which allow a surviving spouse to retain their interest in the property until their own death, effectively postponing inheritance by children (and possibly also postponing payment of inheritance tax). Buying en tontine, selection of the appropriate marriage regime and donations entre epouses are all among these options. Which one may be the most suitable depends on many factors, so you would do well to follow the advice of the notaire, or better still get this advice confirmed by a second expert opinion.

[Val_2]

This was the scheme we took out which suits our needs.We have no large expensive property or assetts to worry about when the time comes and this means the one who is left can live in the property and then our children will inherit as normal. It cost about £90 some years back to do a will this way but at least we are covered,not like my poor friend who got a tax demand for nearly £20K equivalent from the french fisc when her husband died suddenly last year intestate here in France. All their worldly assetts and goods were taken into account as they have lots of money still in the UK so beware.