THE KNOWLEDGE DO WE NEED NEW WILLS? I
live in the UK but own a property in the south of France, near Toulon, with my husband of 30 years.
Unfortunately, we have come to the decision that our marriage is no longer working and we are getting divorced. We both have English-style wills leaving our assets to one another that we wrote four years ago, covering our assets in France and the UK. We are still good friends and intend to co-own the
Toulon property going forward. On our deaths we would like to continue to leave the Toulon property to one another. Do we need to write new wills?
CHARLOTTE
MACDONALD of Stone King responds (
stoneking.co.uk):
the ownership structure by considering the client’s estate both in France and in the UK. Notaires rarely discuss such matters with clients unless specifi cally asked to do so. Furthrmore, notaires are
not in the habit of keeping their clients informed of progress of their case. They tend to communicate with clients when something goes
wrong or when they need to send documents. With their own independent advisor, clients will be kept advised throughout the transaction. There are more cultural
diff erences between our two countries than we sometimes think and this is one of the reasons why the roles of a notaire and a UK-based lawyer are so diff erent.
You mention that you have English-style wills – this means that you may have elected to use English (British) law in your wills under the EU Succession Regulation. If you have elected English law, English will validity rules will apply Under English law if you
divorce, your will is not automatically invalidated, however, your husband will be treated as having died before you (even if he is alive and well). This means that he will not inherit anything under the terms of your will. If you want your share of
This raises other important considerations, such as potentially paying French tax. While the current visa
situation is particularly hard post-Brexit, one French senator has been fi ghting hard to reverse the rules. Corrine Imbert has become a bit of hero; she believes that British people who owned property in France before Brexit should not be treated in the same way as other non-EU citizens. Before Brexit, British owners
of a French property were allowed to live freely in it for six months without any visa. Since Brexit, the 90/180 rule
has been applied regardless of prior property ownership. Senator Imbert’s suggestion dates back to 2020, when it was rejected on the grounds that Brexit was the decision of the British people and placed them immediately in the same boat as all other non-EU citizens, with no EU privileges at all. The reversal might not happen quickly, but it’s the best we can hope for at the moment.
the French property to pass to your soon-to-be ex-husband on your death, you should write a new will to refl ect this. If you simply keep your existing will, following your divorce, the gift of your French property to your husband will fail. You should both, however,
be aware of what your divorce will mean for inheritance tax. While you are married, any assets passing to your husband on your death will pass free of any inheritance tax. However, once you are divorced this will no longer be the case (both in
Get in touch!
Ask your questions about French property or life in France... Email:
karen.tait@francemedia.com Alternatively, you can post your question on our Facebook page
FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: July/August 2023 91
Charlotte Macdonald
the UK and in France). If you are domiciled in the UK at the time of your death, HMRC will assess your worldwide assets for inheritance tax, and the French revenue will assess just your French assets for French inheritance tax. The UK/French inheritance
tax systems work quite diff erently. In France, inheritance tax is calculated on the benefi ciary’s relationship to the deceased. If you and your husband are no longer married, he will be treated as a non-related benefi ciary on your death. Non-related benefi ciaries have a very small tax-free allowance and pay very high tax rates in France (60%). Under the UK system,
broadly speaking, each person’s estate on death has a tax-free allowance of £325,000 and is taxed at the rate of 40% on assets in excess of this amount. There is a double taxation agreement between France and the UK to try to minimise any double taxation. Due to the tax consequences
of leaving your French home to one another following your divorce, you may want to speak to your husband about other options. If you have children together, and they get on well with your husband, you may wish to leave your half of your Toulon home to the children, which would be more tax effi cient from a French point of view.
© SHUTTERSTIOCK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
