Did Alain Delon have all his faculties when writing his second will? This is what his youngest son, Alain-Fabien, also challenges, who also challenges a donation made in favor of his sister Anouchka, on February 22, 2023, while the actor was hospitalized in Switzerland. Before the question of the actor of the actor can be decided, can a preliminary question arise: can a parent promote only one of his children during his lifetime by a donation?
The answer is yes. “Of course, during his lifetime, we can do what we want”recalls Nathalie Couzigou-Suhas, notary in Paris. However, on the death, French law restores balance: children are considered to be reservation heirs, that is to say that they are entitled to a minimum share of the estate. How to make sure? “We will fictitiously reconstruct the heritage at the time of death, we add what was given, and we verify that everyone has had their share of reserve”explains the notary.
Concretely, if a child has received a donation which makes him go beyond what he is entitled to in the inheritance, he will have to compensate his brothers and sisters. “We can of course give a child alone, except that we do the accounts on the death, and this is derived from what we have the right in the estate”summarizes Nathalie Couzigou-Suhas.
The advantages of the donation-party to promote a child during his lifetime
To prevent these possible tensions, notaries often advise another device than simple donation, donation-sharing. This tool makes it possible to anticipate the transmission and to distribute the goods between children in the lifetime of the parents. And unlike a received idea, it does not necessarily imply strict equality: “Some children may receive more than others, provided that none is deprived of its hereditary reserve, that is to say from the minimum that the law guarantees them”explains Thomas Prud’homoz, associate notary at KL Conseil.
Another peculiarity, the goods given in this framework are not “reportable” to the succession. Their value remains frozen on the day of the donation: if a property assigned to a child is strongly taken in the value thereafter, the others will not be able to claim a rebalancing. In this way, the donation-party secures the transmission and limits disputes, where an isolated donation can reopen the debate at the time of the estate.
