Successions are very regulated by law in France, in particular with the aim of ensuring that the legal heirs are not harmed. This is why part of the inheritance called "hereditary reserve" cannot be distributed according to the sole wishes of the person who transmits his inheritance. On the other hand, the remaining part of the inheritance, which is called the disposable portion, can be distributed freely and therefore allow one of his heirs to benefit. Taking out a life insurance policy also allows an heir to benefit from a larger share of his estate.
If you have not prepared your succession during your lifetime by means of a gift or by writing a will which mentions your wishes in matters of inheritance, called testament-partition, the law, and more precisely the Civil Code, governs strictly what belongs to your heirs, designating them precisely, in order of priority. This is called legal devolution.
Thus, without specific provisions on your part indicated during your lifetime, according to the law, your heirs are in order of priority:
If, for example, you have children, they are the ones who will inherit your property, the next heirs, in order of priority, will receive nothing.
The place of your husband or wife legally holds a special place in matters of inheritance if you have not organized your estate during your lifetime. Indeed, he or she is necessarily part of your heirs even if you are separated (but not divorced). The share of inheritance allocated to your husband or wife may vary depending on whether you have children or not, and depending on your matrimonial regime (community reduced to acquests or marriage contract).
To know:if you had not made a will or a donation during your lifetime, the law does not consider your cohabitant or your PACS partner as your legal heirs.
Also in the event that a succession has not been prepared, the share that the heirs must receive by law is called the "hereditary reserve". The latter designates the minimum share that his heirs, often his children and his husband or wife, must receive and whose proportion depends in particular on the number of children. This reserve is shared equally between the heirs.
If your basic succession, that is to say provided for by law if you do not provide for it during your lifetime, is not suitable for you, in particular because you wish to favor one of your legal heirs over another , you have several solutions at your disposal so that your wishes in this matter are respected.
The simplest and most common solution is to prepare the terms of your estate by writing a will during your lifetime. This document must be written, produced before a notary or not depending on the case, can actually mention the way in which you wish to distribute your property after your death between beneficiaries that you choose freely or if you want to benefit one rather than the other. We then speak of a will-sharing thanks to which it is thus possible to plan to benefit one heir over others.
Be careful, however, you cannot do anything in this area, such as disinheriting children. Indeed, the law provides that the wishes in terms of inheritance, mentioned in a will, can in no way exclude the reserved heirs, that is to say those of your heirs to whom a share of the hereditary reserve belongs. .
On the other hand, next to the hereditary reserve which designates the minimum share of inheritance that your direct heirs must receive, there is what is called the "disposable quota". The latter represents the share of inheritance remaining once the hereditary reserve has been withdrawn.
However, this available portion can be distributed freely by the person who writes a will. It can thus make it possible to distribute more of its heritage to one or other of its heirs, and even to a third party who is not an heir. A simple solution therefore which is given to those who wish to benefit an heir.
For example, if you draw up a will, and if you have not had any children, the law provides that your compulsory heir receives ¼ of your estate, but you have the possibility of attributing to whoever you wish ¾ of your remaining estate, to an heir or a third party of your choice.
The advantage of the will-partition is that after your death, your provisions regarding the division of your patrimony are binding on your heirs. The latter can accept them or renounce their share of the inheritance. In the latter case, your heirs have no recourse to request a new partition of your estate.
If you want to benefit one or more of your heirs, you have the option of using the donation-partage. As its name suggests, it is both a donation and a sharing, that is to say that, during your lifetime, you can transmit in advance all or part of your patrimony and distribute it as you wish among your heirs and decide to benefit one of them.
However, a donation during your lifetime does not derogate you from the hereditary reserve, which implies that you cannot exclude your reserve heirs. You can only freely distribute the portion of your assets that corresponds to the available portion.
It is possible to cancel this type of donation before a notary or in a will. You also have the option of going back on it by taking legal action if, for example, the person you have designated to receive part of your inheritance commits serious acts against you after your donation.
Another form of donation also makes it possible to benefit one of his heirs:this is the donation excluding the inheritance. This term designates the possibility of choosing to give one of his heirs a share of his heritage (excluding hereditary reserve) which is added to the share of inheritance that is legally devolved to him at the base. A donation excluding inheritance, like all types of donation except manual gifts and customary gifts, must be established before a notary.
In order to benefit an heir, you also have the possibility of going through a life insurance contract. The latter provides, upon your death, for the payment of a lump sum or an annuity to one or more beneficiaries that you yourself have freely designated beforehand.
In this way, one of your heirs can be this beneficiary and thus benefit by receiving this additional part of your inheritance. In addition, in this case, the compulsory heirs have no means of contesting your choice as to the designation of the beneficiary of your life insurance.
