Succession: “Is it possible for parents to recover a donation made to a child?”

A capital reader wants to know if parents can recover a given property for their child, when the latter died without descendants.

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Daniel, reader of Capitaladdresses the following question: “Hello, is it possible for parents to recover a donation made to his child, the latter having died and married, but himself without child. Thank you for your answer. “

Hello Daniel, and thank you for your question, which allows us to return to an often overlooked mechanism in terms of inheritance: The right to return legal. Indeed, thanks to the latter, the parents can well recover a good that they had given during their lifetime to their child, when the latter dies without leaving descendants.

The right of legal return protects parents

As Mathilde Carrier explains, investment advisor and heritage in Nîmes, “The right of legal return precisely concerns the donations made to a child without descendants. It is public, that is to say that it cannot be dismissed by a will or a clause in a donation. ” Concretely, if your child dies without having had any children himself, the goods he had received in donation from his parents can return to the heritage of the latter. This is the case even if the child was married.

“Be careful however: the legal right of return applies within the limits of parents’ rights in the succession”, specifies our expert. Two scenarios may arise: either the value of the donation is lower than what amounts to parents, or it is superior. Take an example to illustrate the first case. Suppose that a father gave an apartment worth 200,000 euros to his daughter, married without children. On the death of the latter, its heritage is estimated at 1 million euros. According to the succession rules, the surviving spouse inherits half (500,000 euros), and the parents share the other half, i.e. 250,000 euros each. The father will therefore see the given apartment returned to his heritage, worth 200,000 euros, therefore, and will have the right to Additional 50,000 euros on the inheritance mass.

The right to legal return may imply the payment of a soul to the surviving spouse

Another scenario: if the estate asset is less important, say 300,000 euros, and the property given is still worth 200,000 euros. The surviving spouse must inherit 150,000 euros and the parents 75,000 euros each. The donor parent will see the apartment reinstate his heritage, but he will have to pay financial compensation to the surviving spouse of 125,000 euros (200,000 euros – 75,000 euros = 125,000 euros). This is called a soul: a sum that the one who receives a property of greater value must be paid for in the inheritance, in order to rebalance the sharing between the heirs.

In summary, Daniel, yes, parents can recover a given property for a deceased child without children, thanks to the right to legal return. But beware, this mechanism applies within the limits of parents’ rights in the succession, and may require the payment of a soul to the surviving spouse when the value of the property exceeds their share of inheritance.