Can you disinherit a child by will?
In French law, the answer is clear: no. A child cannot be disinherited by a testamentary disposition..
Children are indeed reserved heirs. This means that the law grants them a hereditary reserve, that is to say a share of the heritage which is obligatorily allocated to them, even if the deceased expresses the contrary in his will.
How does the hereditary reserve work? ?
- The reserved portion depends on the number of children :
- 1 child → reserve = 1/2 of the assets
- 2 children → reserve = 2/3
- 3 or more children → reserve = 3/4
- The rest constitutes the available quotawhich parents can freely assign to any person of their choice (spouse, third party, association, etc.).
Good to know : A will which attempts to completely deprive a child of his share will be reduced by the notary when settling the estate.
Can you disinherit a grandchild?
In French inheritance law, grandchildren are not naturally reserved heirs.
They only become so when they represent their deceased parent (legal mechanism of representation).
So to summarize the two cases :
- If the parent (the child of the deceased) is alive → the grandchild has no reserved rights, we can therefore leave him nothing.
- If the parent is deceased → the grandchild takes the place of the person whom French law designates as “their pre-deceased author” in the order of succession and then benefits from the hereditary reserve.
Example :
A deceased has two children, one of whom is deceased. The grandchild will represent his deceased parent and will receive half of the reserve allocated to this branch of the family, in the same way as his still living uncle or aunt.
How to minimize a child’s inheritance?
Remember that in matters of inheritance, the assets of the deceased (= his estate) consists of two parts :
- There reserved share (which varies depending on the number of children of the deceased but which cannot be touched);
- There available quota (difference between the entire estate and the reserved share).
Even if you cannot disinherit a child, there are several legal solutions to limit their share while respecting French law.
Use the available quota
This is the most common method: assigning the free share to another child, to the spouse, to a grandchild, or even to a third party.
Perform donations during his lifetime
Donations are taken into account in the inheritance, but make it possible to organize the distribution.
A donation excluding inheritance share can favor another heir, within the limit of the available portion.
Take out a contractlife insurance
Life insurance does not enter into the inheritance, except for clearly exaggerated premiums.
It makes it possible to favor a particular beneficiary without violating the hereditary reserve.
Anticipate with a notary
A notary can offer:
- a sharing donation;
- optimized distribution;
- or even adapted solutions in the event of family conflict.
Take action in the event of serious behavior
Unlike other countries, the total deprivation of inheritance does not exist in France, except in extremely rare exceptional cases (inheritance unworthiness of an heir: perpetrator of murder or serious violence against the deceased).
Can we disinherit a child when his residence is abroad?
The child’s residence has no impact on his or her status as reserved heir.
Even if the child has lived abroad for many years, he retains his rights guaranteed by French law.
Good to know :
In the case of international succession, certain foreign laws do not recognize the hereditary reserve.
Since 2015, the European regulation allows the deceased to choose, by will, the law of his country of habitual residence to govern his estate.
Consequence:
If the deceased lived for a long time in a country without hereditary reservation (e.g.: United Kingdom), he could significantly reduce the inheritance of a child… but only if this choice of law is clearly expressed in a will.
If in doubt, it is better to consult a notary specializing in private international law.
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