| Notaires de France

No. Marriage has no effect on your legal surname. However, either spouse may “use the other spouse’s surname as a customary name, by substituting it for or adding it to his or her own surname, in the order of his or her choice” (Article 225-1 of the French Civil Code).

Yes. The law provides that, where the community assets are insufficient, “the deductions made by each spouse shall be proportional to the amount of the reimbursement claims (récompenses) due to him or her” (Article 1472, paragraph 1, of the French Civil Code).

No. Within a marriage, “each spouse has the power to enter alone into contracts for the maintenance of the household or the education of the children: any debt thus incurred by one spouse binds the other jointly and severally” (Article 220 of the French Civil Code).

No. The law expressly provides that: “in the event of a transfer of the dwelling, whether for consideration or free of charge, the new landlord must notify the tenant of his or her name or corporate name and address or registered office and, where applicable, those of his or her…

Yes. The funeral home may obtain payment of the sums required to cover funeral expenses, subject to the dual limit of the available credit balance in the deceased’s accounts and the amount of €5,965, as set by ministerial order and adjusted annually (Article L. 312-1-4 of the French Monetary and…

No. The most recent will, even if it does not expressly revoke previous wills, revokes earlier provisions that are incompatible with or contrary to the new provisions (Article 1036 of the French Civil Code).

Yes. Movable items entrusted to a professional for repair, maintenance, safekeeping or storage and not collected within a period ranging from three months to one year may be sold (Article 1 of the Law of 31 December 1903 concerning the sale of certain abandoned items).

No, except in specific circumstances. “The notary is required to provide his or her professional services in compliance with Articles 5 and 22 of the Code of Notarial Ethics” (Order of 29 January 2024 approving the professional rules applicable to notaries and the professional regulations of the notarial profession). By…

Yes. Under the community property regime, property acquired during the marriage is, in principle, community property. The notary must include in the purchase deed a declaration of investment or reinvestment of separate funds (déclaration d’emploi ou de remploi de fonds propres) for you to have full ownership of the property…

Can I claim reimbursement from her? Yes. Condominium charges that are not related to the private and personal occupation of the property by the occupying co-owner constitute preservation expenses. They must be recorded as liabilities in the indivision account and borne by the co-owners in proportion to their respective ownership…

I am planning to get married. Am I required to change my surname?

I am getting divorced. As part of the liquidation of our matrimonial property regime, the notary has informed me that the community assets are insufficient for me to recover the full amount of money I inherited. Is this possible?

I am married and wish to sign a quotation for the renovation of the kitchen in our home, which is in very poor condition. Do I need my wife’s consent to sign it?

I rent an apartment. The landlord sold the property, and despite several letters, I have been unable to obtain the new owner’s contact details in order to pay the rent. Is this lawful?

My father has died. Can the funeral home obtain payment directly from his bank account for the funds required to cover his funeral expenses?

My aunt has died. She made several wills. In a will dated 2018, she left me her house and the furniture in it. In a second will dated 2019, she left her furniture to her sister. Will I inherit the furniture in the house?

I left furniture in a storage facility and have been unable to pay the storage fees for the past three months. Can the storage provider take my furniture?

Can a notary refuse to draw up a deed?

I am married under the community property regime. I wish to sell a property that I owned before the marriage and use the entire sale proceeds to purchase a house. Is there a formality I need to comply with to ensure that the house belongs entirely to me?

I am the sole occupant of a property that I co-own with my wife under an indivision arrangement. As part of our divorce, she refuses to contribute to the condominium charges on the grounds that I alone occupy the property.