Forced heirship in France: what share your children can claim, gifts included

What is reserved, and where does a lifetime gift land?

The first four rows give the fractions; the next ones say where each gift or bequest is charged.

Does the gift go beyond what the deceased was free to give?

Pick the bands closest to the situation. The result is a category plus orders of magnitude built from the band values, never the amount of your own share.

Can a parent disinherit their children in France?

No. Every child is a protected heir: a share of the estate is theirs by law, even against a will or lifetime gifts. The réserve héréditaire (the children’s reserved share) is the part of the estate the law guarantees to protected heirs who accept the succession; the rest is the quotité disponible (the disposable portion), Civil Code article 912. A will leaving everything to someone else is not void: it is cut back to the disposable portion.

How much is reserved for one, two or three children?

Half of the calculation base with one child, two thirds with two, three quarters from three children on. What is left is the disposable portion. Article 913 of the Civil Code states the rule the other way round: gifts and bequests may not exceed half, a third or a quarter of the assets depending on whether one, two, or three children and more survive. The reserved share is then divided equally between the children. A child who renounces counts only if represented or bound to report a gift.

Gifts and bequests, whether by act inter vivos or by will, may not exceed half of the assets of the disposing party if he leaves only one child at his death; one third if he leaves two children; one quarter if he leaves three or more.Civil Code, article 913, first paragraph (translation; French text on Légifrance)

Does a gift made twenty years ago still count, and at what value?

Yes, with no time limit. It is added back at its value on the date of death, judged in the condition it was in when it was given. Reduction is worked out on a base made of everything existing at the death, less debts, to which lifetime gifts are notionally added (Civil Code, article 922). Reporting between heirs uses a different date: the value of the asset at the time of the partition, in the condition it was in when given (article 860). A flat given when it was worth 80,000 € and worth 250,000 € at the death enters at 250,000 €.

Are gifts older than fifteen years wiped out?

For tax only. Beyond fifteen years a gift is no longer added back for gift and inheritance tax; the civil calculation of the reserved share still counts it. Transfer tax is assessed by adding earlier gifts, except those made more than fifteen years ago (Tax Code, article 784), which is what makes the 100,000 € allowance per child and per parent available again (article 779). That tax rule does not remove the gift from the calculation base used for the reserved share.

Advance on the share or outside the share: what changes for me?

An advance is deducted from the share of the child who received it. A gift made hors part is charged to the disposable portion and genuinely favours that person. A gift made en avancement de part successorale (an advance on the share) to a protected heir who accepts the succession is charged against their reserved share, then against the disposable portion, and the excess can be cut back (Civil Code, article 919-1). A gift made hors part successorale is charged to the disposable portion alone (article 919-2). The exact wording in the deed decides the calculation.

The reserved share is breached: what actually happens?

The protected heirs ask for reduction. Bequests are cut first, then gifts starting with the most recent and working back, and the recipient pays in value. Gifts and bequests that encroach on the reserved share are reducible down to the disposable portion (Civil Code, article 920). Gifts are only cut once the bequests are exhausted, starting with the most recent gift (article 923). The recipient compensates the protected heirs up to the excessive part and keeps the asset, unless they choose reduction in kind (article 924).

Does a French life insurance policy count towards the reserved share?

In principle no. The capital paid to a named beneficiary escapes both reporting and reduction, unless the premiums were manifestly excessive. Capital or an annuity payable on the death of the policyholder to a named beneficiary is subject neither to the rules on reporting to the estate nor to those on reduction for breach of the reserved share, and neither are the premiums paid (Insurance Code, article L132-13). The exception targets premiums manifestly excessive given the policyholder’s means, assessed case by case on age, wealth and the usefulness of the policy.

How long do I have to bring a reduction claim?

Five years from the opening of the succession, or two years from the day you discover the breach, never more than ten years after the death. Civil Code, article 921: only protected heirs, their heirs or assignees may ask for reduction, not the recipients of the gifts, the legatees or the creditors of the deceased. The same article requires the notaire who spots a possible breach when settling the estate to tell each heir concerned individually, where relevant before any partition.

Can an heir waive the reserved share in advance?

Yes, through a renonciation anticipée à l’action en réduction, in favour of named people, signed before two notaires. It is not a renunciation of the inheritance itself. A presumptive protected heir may waive the reduction claim in a succession not yet opened, for all or part of the reserved share or for one identified asset; the waiver only binds once accepted by the future deceased (Civil Code, article 929). It is drawn up as a specific authenticated deed received by two notaires and signed separately by each person waiving, on pain of nullity (article 930).

Does the surviving spouse have a reserved share?

Only when there is no descendant, and then it is one quarter. Where there are children the spouse has no reserved share but may receive more by gift or will. Where there is no descendant, gifts and bequests may not exceed three quarters of the assets if the deceased leaves a surviving spouse who is not divorced (Civil Code, article 914-1). Where there are children, a spouse may receive the ordinary disposable portion, or one quarter outright plus three quarters in usufruct, or the whole estate in usufruct (article 1094-1).

The deceased lived abroad: does French forced heirship still apply?

Not automatically. The applicable law is that of the last habitual residence, unless the will chose the law of a nationality. Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, articles 21 and 22. A foreign law that ignores forced heirship is not set aside for that reason alone. Since 1 November 2021, article 913 of the Civil Code allows a compensatory levy on assets located in France when the deceased or one of the children is a national of an EU member state or habitually resides there and the foreign law provides no protective mechanism (law no. 2021-1109 of 24 August 2021, article 24).

A foreign law designated by the conflict rule which ignores forced heirship is not in itself contrary to French international public policy and may be set aside only where its concrete application in the case at hand leads to a situation incompatible with the principles of French law regarded as essential.Cour de cassation, first civil chamber, 27 September 2017, no. 16-13.151 (translation; French text on Légifrance)

Notaire or Julie: who does what in this calculation?

The notaire builds the base, settles and divides the estate. Julie prepares: the list of gifts to trace, the order of magnitude of the reserved share, the questions for the appointment. Reduction is first discussed in the out-of-court settlement of the estate, before the notaire (the notary handling the succession), who must warn each heir of a possible breach of the reserved share (Civil Code, article 921). Without agreement the claim goes to the tribunal judiciaire (civil court), where a lawyer is compulsory. Arriving with the gifts, their dates and their deeds saves months.

What this page is built on

What should you check before continuing?

An estate is settled on real deeds and real values: here is what this page does and what it leaves to the notaire.