Selling and passing on

Inheritance of a French property for a non-resident: applicable law, gifts, duties, deadlines

A property in France is passed on under two laws at once: the one governing the succession, in principle that of your last residence unless you choose your national law, and the law of the place of the property for the deeds. This guide says what happens on death, how to transfer during your lifetime, what it costs, and what Home Select organises with the notaire.

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The church of Notre-Dame-des-Anges and the bay of Collioure — Collioure, Occitanie

By Jean Mascla, founder of Home Select Updated 24 October 2026 · 8 min read

Key takeaways

The estate of property located in France answers to two laws: the one governing the estate (in principle the deceased’s national law, save the express choice allowed under European Union law for citizens of a member state) and that of the property’s location for certain acts in rem.
French inheritance duties are due on immovables located in France, whatever the heirs’ domicile, at rates by kinship, with a 100,000-euro allowance per child per fifteen-year period for parent-to-child gifts.
The heirs have six months to file the estate return, and acceptance of an estate may be deferred four months before being deemed accepted.
The transfer is prepared on the day of the purchase: the matrimonial regime stated in the deed, the law applicable to the succession and sometimes a civil company decide who inherits and at what cost.

What happens to French property when a non-resident dies?

Two laws overlap, and confusing them is costly. The law of the estate (who inherits, in what shares): in principle that of the deceased’s nationality, and a citizen of a European Union state may expressly choose the law of their nationality in a will, which European regulation 650/2012 organises. The law of the property last: for certain acts on the property itself, French law applies because the property is in France. French duties strike French immovables, wherever the heirs live: that is the territoriality rule, tempered by tax treaties against double taxation.

The two laws of a cross-border property estate
Question	Law that answers	Reference
Who inherits, and in what shares?	Law of the estate: deceased’s nationality, or chosen law	Regulation (EU) 650/2012
Which duties on French property?	French duties, by kinship, on French immovables	French Tax Code
Is double taxation possible?	Per the treaty between France and the heirs’ country	Tax treaties

How does a property estate unfold from abroad?

The sequence follows an order the notary keeps. With the death certificate obtained, the heirs identify themselves (civil-status records, possibly a notoriety act drawn by the French notary); they opt, in the proper form, among pure acceptance, acceptance up to the assets, or renunciation, the option being deferrable four months. The estate return goes out within six months. Then ownership materialises: a property attestation is published in the land registry, the deceased’s accounts are settled, and the family chooses: keep jointly, sell, or divide. All the while, the property keeps demanding its upkeep.

Death certificate, identification of the heirs, possible notoriety act by the notary.
Heirs’ option: accept, accept up to the assets, or renounce (a four-month deferral possible).
Estate return within six months, duties settled at the rate by kinship.
Property attestation published; the asset leaves the deceased’s estate.
Family decision: joint ownership, sale or division; meanwhile the property stays kept and insured.

Under what conditions can you pass on property in your lifetime?

Passing on property in one’s lifetime happens by gift, in full ownership or split (usufruct on one side, bare ownership on the other), each form following its own substantive and formal rules, a notarial deed being mandatory for an immovable. Gift duties follow the same scales as inheritance, with the same 100,000-euro allowance per child per rolling fifteen-year period: giving early means giving twice under two allowances. Holding through a company last shifts the transfer (shares are passed on), without waiving duties or formalities.

How much does a property estate or gift cost?

Three flows stack up, and none resembles the others. The transfer duties for no consideration (estate or gift), computed on the share received at the rate by kinship, after allowances: 100,000 euros per child, specific amounts for the surviving spouse and for siblings in the provided cases. The deed costs: the notary’s decree-set emoluments, disbursements and formalities. And the property’s possible liabilities: running charges that continue while the estate unfolds.

Legal markers of a family transfer
Marker	2026 rule
Parent-child allowance	EUR 100,000 per child per fifteen-year period (gifts and estates)
Duty scale	Progressive by bracket, by kinship
Deed form	Gift of an immovable: notary mandatory; estate: notary for the return and the deeds

What deadlines to declare, opt, sell?

Three clocks pace the estate. The heirs’ option: enforceable after four months, an heir who has not decided is deemed to accept. The return: six months from the death to file, the duties payable at the same time, with deferral or instalment options for immovables. Selling during joint ownership is possible, unanimously save with authorisation; it is a family negotiation the notary frames.

How do heirs abroad actually proceed?

From abroad, every gesture of the estate happens remotely or nearly: civil-status records requested from the competent authorities, a mandate given to a French notary or to one of the heirs to sign, the return filed online, the duties paid by wire. The tax treaty between France and the heirs’ country of residence decides the double taxation: a tax credit in France or abroad, as it provides. Our country guides cover these treaties for the main profiles; our bilingual notary page offers the deed in your language. And while the papers move, someone must open the mail, pay the managing agent and visit the property: that is caretaking’s post.

Collioure, Occitanie

What should you check when preparing your estate plan?

The checklist of a prepared transfer
To check	Why
Title deed and matrimonial regime	Knowing what actually enters the estate
Existence of a will or choice of law	Having the wish respected, not supposed
Beneficiary clauses and mandates	Life insurance, accounts, powers: current and consistent
Property condition, insurance, managing agent	The property must outlive the estate, not suffer it

What are the risks of an unprepared estate?

The first risk is joint ownership that bogs down: cousins across three continents, a property nobody keeps and everybody pays for, until the rushed sale. The second is the bill: duties settled on poorly proven liabilities, allowances lost for want of early gifts. The third is the property itself: insurance lapsing, water damage discovered at the division, a co-ownership voting works nobody tracks. Preparing the estate means preparing the property: clear title, written wish, kept-up upkeep.

What are an heir abroad’s first steps?

The very first steps come to five gestures, before the notary even: obtain the records (death, heirs’ civil status), secure the property (check the insurance, have it visited, read the meters), notify third parties (managing agent, insurer, banks, authorities), gather the file’s documents (title, tax notices, receipts, accounts) and, as a family, agree on a single contact.

What mistakes should you avoid on passing property on?

The classic mistakes, and their answer
Mistake	Answer
Supposing the applicable law instead of checking	Will and choice of law reread with the notary
Leaving the property unattended during joint ownership	Caretaking from the death onwards, on quotation
Discovering the duties when paying them	A simulation with the notary BEFORE the gift or sale
Each heir acting alone	A single contact appointed by the family

What Home Select organises around the transfer

The transfer is prepared on the day of the purchase: the matrimonial regime stated in the deed, the law applicable to the succession, sometimes a civil company, decide who will inherit and at what cost. Home Select asks these questions with you before the signing, and brings them to the notaire.

For an open succession, we introduce you to a notaire used to heirs who live abroad, who handles the file remotely and, if the decision is to sell, we handle the sale. The settlement of the succession, the declarations and the duties are the notaire’s responsibility.

Frequently asked questions

Which law applies to the estate of my French property?

In principle, the law of the estate is that of the deceased’s nationality; a citizen of a European Union state may expressly choose that law in a will, under European regulation 650/2012. For certain acts on the property itself, French law applies because the property is in France. French tax duties strike French immovables wherever the heirs live, save a treaty’s play. Our country guides set the scene, treaty by treaty; the deed belongs to the notary.

Do heirs living abroad pay duties in France?

Yes for immovables located in France: French inheritance duties are due on them, whatever the heirs’ domicile, at the rate by kinship and after allowances (100,000 euros per child, for instance). The treaty between France and the heirs’ country of residence may provide a tax credit against double taxation.

Should we sell before or after the division to pay less duty?

That is an estate arbitration question, and it has no general answer: selling in joint ownership, selling after division, giving then selling, each path has its effects on duties, the capital gain and the price’s sharing. What is certain: the answer is computed BEFORE the first deed, with the notary, on real figures.

What happens to the property during joint ownership?

It keeps existing, and keeps demanding: insurance maintained, managing agent paid, charges settled, upkeep followed. Disposal acts require the co-owners’ unanimity, save judicial authorisation; conservation acts bind each of them. A living property divides better than a decayed one.

Can everything be settled remotely, without coming to France?

Almost: civil-status records requested from the competent authorities, a notarial mandate to sign, the return filed online, duties paid by wire. What cannot be teleported is the property itself: someone must open it, visit it, answer the managing agent and the insurer. The winning pair: the notary for the law, caretaking for the real thing.

How do I give my property away in my lifetime from abroad?

By notarial deed, mandatory for an immovable: the gift is received before a notary, the donor able to be represented by a special power of attorney drawn in the residence country’s forms (apostille or legalisation as the case may be). Duties are paid at the gift scale, with the 100,000-euro allowance per child per fifteen-year period. Giving early can double the allowance’s use; again an arbitration to examine with the notary.

Does splitting ownership reduce the duties?

Giving bare ownership while keeping the usufruct values the duties on the bare ownership alone, at the legal scale by the usufruct holder’s age: it is a mechanism of law, neither trick nor secret. It has trade-offs (income kept on the usufruct side, full ownership rebuilt later) and tax effects specific to each treaty.

What is an SCI worth against inheritance?

Holding through a company transforms the transfer: shares are given or bequeathed, easier to split than a building, with articles organising the powers. But the SCI waives no duty: shares of a French property-heavy company are taxed in France like the building, and the company has duties of its own.

Who keeps up the property while the estate runs its course?

Conservation binds the co-owners, each able to act to safeguard the property; in practice nobody is on site, and that is where the property decays. The proof of upkeep will serve through to the division, even the sale.

What should an owner prepare to ease the estate?

Four files, not one more: a clear title (ownership, matrimonial regime), a written wish (will, choice of law where relevant), an up-to-date property file (insurance, managing agent, providers, accounts) and a designated caretaking for the transition.

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