Definition of movable and real-estate inheritance in France

Updated on Thursday 9 March 2023

In everyday language, inheritance is the common heritage of a group or community, which is passed onto future generations. It can be very diverse in nature: culture, history, language, value system, monuments, artistic works…

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What is movable and real-estate inheritance?

From the legal viewpoint, inheritance means all the rights and obligations of a legal person (physical or legal). This notion is restricted to an essentially economic dimension.

One therefore differentiates:

  • Heritage assets: assets which are part of the holder’s inheritance such as real, personal and intellectual rights.
     
  • Non-patrimonial assets: assets which relate to the holder himself of the inheritance, for example life, bodily integrity of a person, health, honor, dignity, private life, image. These assets going beyond the inheritance, cannot be transferred and therefore cannot be valued in money.

Inheritance taxation

In France, the taxation applicable to inheritance differs according to its origin:

  • For inheritance related to property income or made up through savings on labor income, concerns (property tax, land registration ...) or (income tax, wealth tax, capital gains tax…).
  • For inheritance received through donation or inheritance, one speaks about tax, in respect to transfer and inheritance tax.

Nowadays, it is obvious that everyone is looking for solutions to organize their wealth, in such a manner that it is in keeping with the goals they’ve set for themselves. However, the sources and means of information are varied (newspapers, television, internet ...), which leads to the necessity for personalized advice. Moreover, one leans on getting advise from a competent professional.

The role of the notary in wealth management

In order for the notary to respond to this new request, the latter has established a “Notary heritage council charter”, which gives the opportunity to demonstrate, through its training, its culture, its experience, its ethics and its skills, the qualities pertaining to independence and objectivity, which belong to the latter. It also guarantees reliability and security to the customer.

For a long time indeed, the notary has been the best positioned to help you organize, manage, pass on and optimize your assets. The latter is a privileged interlocutor, because it remains by your side throughout your life: Civil union, marriage, divorce, acquisition, sale, exchange, donation, inheritance... The latter is the most suitable, when it comes to giving you advise, because its vision (both in terms of wealth, tax and family) is comprehensive and fair.

Therefore, the notary is able to establish a balance sheet, taking into account the personal features, economic and professional situation, history and most of all the inheritance goals with each willing client and is able to optimize these criteria, according to the desired goals: couple profitability/ risk, financial levers, financial flows, inheritance transmission according to taxation and family risks…