Succession: “Can a donation of money over 20 years ago be claimed by another heir?”

In the “Great Savings Rendez-vous” (Capital / Radio Patrimoine), Nathalie Couzigou-Suhas, notary in Paris, responds to an auditor whose brother disputes a donation of old money received from their mother.

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Each month, the “big savings meeting” (capital / radio heritage) answers your questions in the “your questions, our answers” sequence. Our experts – notaries, taxpiens, heritage advisers – accompany you on all your money questions. Today, Sylvia explains that her mother gave her an undeclared donation over 20 years ago to buy a house. Could this gift be claimed at the time of the succession, as his brother claims?

For Nathalie Couzigou-Suhas, notary in Paris, the answer is clear: “Sylvia’s brother is completely right. A person can make as many donations as she wishes, but on death, if reserved heirs exist, everything that has been given is reinstated in the mass to be shared. “ In this case, Sylvia will have to account for what she has received: “If the house was bought thanks to the donation, the notary will have to assess his value at the time of the estate. Sylvia will have to restore the equivalent of this percentage to the hereditary mass. If the succession does not cover this sum, it will have to compensate. ”

Even an old gift can be reintegrated into the succession

This type of situation often generates conflicts: “When donations are made unevenly, this creates distortions between heirs. On the death of the parent, children can oppose, in particular on the valuation of the property ”, recalls the notary. Also, our guest advises to anticipate with an appropriate legal tool: “”The donation-party Allows you to freeze things between all children. We agree on the current value, we reincorporate past donations, and we formalize this. This avoids future conflicts, but involves a 2.5% tax tax on reinstated donations. ”

In summary, even an old gift can be taken into account during a succession. Anticipating by a donation-party is often the best solution to avoid family conflicts.

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