French administration of estates

We offer specialist, bilingual legal expertise to help with the management and administration of a deceased person's estate in France, bringing technical excellence and practical solutions.

We can help with:

• administration of French estates
• payment of French Inheritance Tax and issues of domicile/tax
• residency
• interaction of the two countries' laws relating to Inheritance Tax
• the impact of French succession law
• the disposal of the French assets
• preparation of the tax declaration and other documents required
• affidavits of French law for use in UK probate applications
• affidavits of English law required by the French notaire
• advising beneficiaries of a Will or intestacy where deceased died resident in France 

Everyone in our team is bilingual from our lawyers to our administrative assistants and support staff. Our lawyers have first-hand knowledge of the interaction of the French and English legal systems and we have huge experience in French property and succession. Much of our work comes through referrals from other lawyers and professional firms.

We belong to the relevant professional associations including the Franco-British Lawyers Society, the French Chamber of Commerce and STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). 

We work on hourly rates which reflect the skills and experience of our French qualified lawyers (who are also English solicitors), and other bilingual members of the team. At the start, we’ll let you have an estimate or budget of the likely costs and will update these if your requirements or the circumstances of the case change.

We will work with you and your other professional advisers to find a solution which is effective across boundaries and takes into account not only your appetite for risk but also the relative financial importance of the matter to you.