Tax and estate planning
We support foreign clients in optimizing and securing their real estate assets in France through tailored estate planning. Whether you already own property or are planning to buy, it is essential to choose the right legal and tax structure from the beginning.
Contact us to start building your future with confidence.
We assess your personal situation (age, marital status, children, asset value, etc.) to provide strategic advice aligned with your long-term goals.
Many clients realize too late that restructuring their assets is costly and complex. Our role is to help you avoid these pitfalls by making the right choices early on. With deep experience in international contexts, we ensure your estate planning is legally sound, tax-efficient, and adapted to your needs.
“With deep experience in international contexts, we ensure your estate planning is legally sound, tax-efficient, and adapted to your needs.”
Why a notaire is essential for asset management
Working with a notaire is essential for any foreigner looking to create, structure, or optimise their estate in France. Notaires are public officers under the authority of the French State, and their role goes far beyond simple paperwork. They are legal and tax experts, providing impartial, tailored advice to ensure your real estate investments are fully compliant and strategically structured.
Whether you’re buying property, preparing a gift, drafting a will, or planning your succession, a notaire will help you:
- Choose the most suitable legal structure (e.g. personal ownership, SCI, joint ownership, etc.),
- Anticipate and reduce inheritance, gift, and capital gain taxes,
- Avoid costly mistakes that may arise from cross-border legal and tax conflicts (especially post-Brexit),
- Ensure your estate planning aligns with both French and international law.
In short, the notaire is your trusted advisor to protect, manage and restructure your assets, simplify your procedures, and secure your family’s future in France.
Making the right choice at the right time
It is important to choose the relevant structure to purchase your property from the very beginning of the purchasing process.
Many clients realize few years after signing the title deed (acte de vente) that they have not made the right decision and feel the need to restructure their French assets.
Careful real estate and tax planning will help avoid mistakes and choose the best options for your situation from the start.
However, this change is often expensive and complicated (legal costs, capital gain tax, eventual reimbursement of VAT, stamp duty….), we will of course assist you in this, but it is obvious that the decision must be carefully considered at the time of the purchase.
If you have any property at all in France or if you are planning to buy it, then it is well worth thinking about the question of estate planning.
Firstly, we will consider all the different factors : your age, marital status, number of children, number of properties and their respective values. By providing you with first class advice, we can help you to define and achieve your personal objectives today and tomorrow.
What is an "estate planning" and why is it important?
Estate planning involves legally organizing your assets to ensure they are managed and transferred according to your wishes after your death.
It helps reduce inheritance taxes, avoid family conflicts, and simplify cross-border legal formalities — especially important if you have assets or heirs in different countries.
How can a notaire help with estate planning ?
A notaire can assist with the drafting of wills, gifts and inheritances. He ensures that the documents are legally binding and comply with your objectives.
What is the difference between French succession law and a will made abroad?
Under French law, children are “reserved heirs” and automatically entitled to a share of the estate, regardless of any foreign will.
However, since 2015, EU Regulation No. 650/2012 allows foreign nationals living in France or owning property there to choose the law of their nationality for succession matters.
A notaire can help ensure your will complies with both French and international rules to avoid conflicts between jurisdictions.
How can I reduce inheritance tax in France?
Several strategies can minimize inheritance tax:
- lifetime gifts (“donations”),
- creating a family company (such as an SCI),
- or transferring assets gradually.
Exemptions and tax allowances depend on the relationship between the deceased and heirs. A notaire can simulate different options and advise on the most tax-efficient structure while maintaining family harmony.
Can I leave my French property to my partner if we are not married?
Yes, but unmarried partners or those not bound by a PACS have no automatic inheritance rights under French law.
Without proper planning, your partner may receive nothing and face high inheritance taxes (up to 60%).
Creating a will or entering into a PACS agreement under notarial supervision can significantly improve your partner’s protection.
How does French inheritance work for foreign residents or non-residents?
France taxes assets located in France, even if the deceased or heirs live abroad.
Double taxation may arise if your home country also claims inheritance tax. A notaire ensures the correct application of international tax treaties and advises on structuring your estate to minimize or avoid double taxation.
What is the benefit of making a French will if I already have one in my home country?
Having a separate French will simplifies the management of your French assets and avoids delays linked to translation, recognition, and application of foreign law.
The French will can be limited to your French property, ensuring clarity and faster settlement while remaining consistent with your main will abroad.
What is a “donation entre époux” (gift between spouses)?
A “donation entre époux”, also known as a “gift to the surviving spouse,” is a legal act allowing one spouse to increase the rights of the other in the event of death.
It can provide additional protection beyond the standard inheritance rights. It’s flexible, revocable, and a powerful estate planning tool for married couples, especially in blended families.
How does life insurance (“assurance-vie”) fit into estate planning in France?
Life insurance is a key estate planning instrument in France. It allows you to pass on capital to chosen beneficiaries outside of the estate, often with favorable tax treatment.
However, the tax advantages depend on the age at which premiums were paid and the total amount invested.
A notaire can help you integrate life insurance into your global estate plan.
When should I review my estate plan?
Your estate plan should be reviewed every few years or whenever a major life event occurs — marriage, divorce, birth of a child, acquisition of property, or relocation abroad.
Laws and tax regulations change frequently, and a notaire ensures that your arrangements remain valid, tax-efficient, and aligned with your family situation.