My husband has passed away. We lived in a home that had been gifted to him by his parents. This gift included a right of reversion that his parents now wish to exercise. Do I still have a lifetime right of use and habitation over this property?

No. The surviving spouse may claim a lifetime right of use and habitation over the property that was their main residence at the time of the spouse’s death, provided it belonged to the couple or to the deceased (Article 764 of the French Civil Code).

However, case law (a body of judicial decisions) gives precedence to the parents’ statutory right of reversion over the surviving spouse’s right of use and habitation (see, for example: Court of cassation, 1st Civil Chamber, 23 September 2015, No. 14-18.131).