HELPLINE: 
Brits in France relying on “professio juris” risk tax surprises – here’s how to plan better.
Many British people in France still believe they can use “professio juris” – the right to apply English law to their estate – to avoid France’s forced heirship rules. However, it is largely now ineffective as a 2021 French law allows EU-resident children to claim their share, even if a foreign will excludes them.
While Brussels IV, the EU Succession Regulation, once allowed foreign nationals to apply their own country’s law to their estate, France’s 2021 amendment reinstated forced heirship on French-based assets if an EU-resident child is disinherited, regardless of the will’s terms.
“In reality this means that Brussels IV governs succession law, not tax,” said Daniel Butcher, founder of DTB Wealth Management. “Even if English law governs the will, French inheritance tax still applies to French assets. This split creates confusion, unexpected liabilities and, in many cases, unpleasant tax surprises.”
Relying on “professio juris” is not enough, so DTB Wealth Management advises clients to stick to a French law-based strategy that will adhere to succession objectives while avoiding any future unexpected outcomes.
The legal tools that the firm uses include: “donation-partage”, which gives increasingly larger rights to the survivor, particularly when there are children from a previous union; “pacte successoral”, which prevents heirs from contesting your wishes, “clause de préciput”, through which your spouse inherits key assets, like the home; and “démembrement de propriété”, for granting lifetime use to your spouse with the children inheriting later.
“We also weave in ‘assurance vie’ where necessary to ensure efficient, tax-friendly transfers,” added Daniel.
Take the case of Mr Webb, a British national living in France with his wife, Charlotte, under the ‘séparation de biens’ regime. They don’t have children together, but Mr Webb does have a daughter from a previous relationship that he would like to disinherit who lives in New Zealand.
“In some cases, such as this, the client discovers that their original intentions aren’t compatible with French succession law,” said Daniel. “For example, following the 2021 reform of the “prestation compensatoire”, it’s no longer possible to apply foreign law if it weakens the rights of a surviving spouse. So, we applied French law, but strengthened the spouse’s position using a ‘donation au dernier vivant’, which effectively acted as a tailored will substitute.
“We then balanced the estate so that the spouse received the value of the family home, while fully respecting the child’s reserved share. Liquid assets were structured through an ‘assurance vie’, with a carefully drafted beneficiary clause, to meet the family’s goals within the legal framework.”