Different situations can lead to contesting an inheritance. From the case of the forgetting, voluntary or not, of an heir, to an error noted on the evaluation of an inheritance, passing by a division which injures one of the heirs for example. Contesting an inheritance, on the part of heirs as well as third parties, is a procedure very regulated by law and cumbersome, the fundamental principle being not to go against the wishes of the deceased.
If the division of an estate does not pose particular problems for many people, certain situations make it possible for an heir not to agree with the share which is due to him and to feel aggrieved in relation to the other heirs, for example .
In this case, an heir has the possibility of contesting an inheritance, but he must justify legitimate and serious reasons for this. Indeed, legally, opposing an inheritance is authorized in very specific situations.
One of the following three grounds is, in fact, required by law to be able to contest an inheritance:
1 - If the aggrieved heir was unquestionably unable to give his consent at the time of the division of the estate between the heirs, either because of moral or physical pressure or fraudulent maneuvers on the part of the other heirs (also called fraud), for example;
2 - If an heir has been forgotten, voluntarily or not if the latter was not known to the other heirs in particular. The Civil Code indeed indicates in its article 887-1:“The partition can also be canceled if one of the co-heirs has been omitted. The omitted heir may however request to receive his share, either in kind or in value, without cancellation of the partition. To determine this share, the property and rights to which the partition already carried out is reassessed in the same way as if it were a new partition »;
3 - If the patrimony of the deceased has been incorrectly assessed or if the calculation of the distribution between the heirs is the subject of an error, what is called "lesionary distribution".
Heirs are not the only ones who can contest a succession. This possibility is also given to third parties under certain conditions.
The law very strictly regulates the possibility of contesting an inheritance to avoid as much as possible acting contrary to the wishes of the deceased concerning his succession. The possible actions must be brought before the judicial court of the place of the last domicile of the deceased.
There are mainly two legal means for heirs to contest a succession, the action for nullity and the action in addition to partition.
The action for nullity, which designates the cancellation of the distribution of a succession, concerns the co-dividing heirs and is provided for in certain situations as specified in article 887 of the Civil Code:for reasons of violence (exercise of physical or morality on the heir), fraud (fraudulent maneuvers which forced the aggrieved heir to accept the partition) or error in the distribution of the estate.
A forgotten heir in a succession also has the possibility of initiating an action for nullity. In any case, the deadline for initiating this procedure is 5 years from the distribution of the estate.
The nullity action is a cumbersome and expensive procedure that involves going through the courts and therefore having to hire a lawyer.
Nevertheless, in order to avoid, when possible, the pure and simple cancellation of the distribution of the estate already carried out, the Civil Code gives the possibility to the court seised of ordering a slightly more flexible procedure which takes the form of an additional distribution or corrigendum, instead of a cancellation.
The action in addition to sharing, which it is possible to implement within 2 years following the sharing of an inheritance, is a procedure which makes it possible to contest an inheritance when an inequality is found in the sharing of the inheritance. 'a succession, that is to say, to be injured by more than a quarter of one's inheritance.
This possibility of challenging an inheritance must also go through a judge. It is therefore preferable and strongly advised that the injured heir be accompanied by a lawyer. In addition, it is up to the heir who initiates this procedure to provide evidence that he has been disadvantaged, evidence that will allow the judge to assess the level of damage.
An inheritance, and more specifically the distribution of an ongoing succession, can be contested by persons other than the heirs. Indeed, the creditors of one of the heirs can oppose the partition out of presence in order to check that no inheritance fraud, which could harm them, is committed. This is referred to as the “objection to sharing” procedure.
At the end of this procedure, these third parties have two options for contesting the inheritance, via what is called the "oblique action", an action for nullity or in addition to the share on behalf of their debtor, or the "Paulian action".
