Family and couples · Minor · guardianship dossier
Guardianship of a minor after parents’ death in France
A minor’s guardianship following death depends on both parents’ situation and exercise of parental authority. One parent’s death does not automatically open guardianship if the other exercises authority. Locate records, decisions and any testamentary or notarial designation, then prepare family-council material. Designation neither forces acceptance nor replaces examination of the child’s interests.
- Parents
- Designation
- Organisation
- Official texts cited
- Sources checked on
- Drafted with AI assistance, our method
General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.
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Is the nearest grandparent automatically guardian?
Preparing a minor’s protection after death? Let’s check parents, designation and required decisions.
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When does minor guardianship open?
Article 390 includes both parents being deceased or deprived of exercise, and no legally established parentage. One parent’s death is insufficient if the other exercises authority. Establish the complete position.
Related step: Family and couples
How can actors, designation and records be assembled?
Fictional example: both parents deceased and designation to locate; the worksheet gathers records without appointing a relative.
Fictional example · Your preparation worksheet
The worksheet maps parental status, any designation and needs. It appoints no guardian and does not infer guardianship solely from one parent’s death.
- Needs to address
- Schooling, birth records and parental decisions
- Designation
- Maker, form and decision to examine
Gather civil-status records, death certificates and parental-authority decisions.
Search for any designation and check form, maker and the child’s situation.
Identify family-council actors and urgent acts with the competent service, without disposing of assets through this worksheet.
The nearest relative is not automatically appointed. The designated person may decline, and the child’s interests may justify another solution.
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Who may have designated a guardian?
The last surviving parent may make this choice under article 403 by will or special declaration before a notary. Check authority at death and instrument form, rather than merely a family letter.
Related step: Challenge a French adult-protection decision
Must the designated guardian accept?
No. The person may decline. Designation may also be departed from where the child’s interests require it within the statutory framework. Parental choice is not an irrevocable or compulsory appointment.
Related step: French family authorisation or guardianship
What is the family council’s role?
Guardianship is organised with a family council under the statutory framework even with a designated guardian, except prescribed vacancy. Informal family agreement does not replace necessary decisions and authorisations.
Related step: Accept, refuse or accept up to the net assets: an heir’s three options in France
Which documents belong together?
| Point | Check |
|---|---|
| Parents | Deaths and authority exercise |
| Designation | Form and proposed person |
| Organisation | Council, decisions and needs |
What does the governing text say about guardianship dossier?
La tutelle s'ouvre lorsque le père et la mère sont tous deux décédés ou se trouvent privés de l'exercice de l'autorité parentale.
In plain English: Article 390 includes both parents being deceased or deprived of exercise, and no legally established parentage. One parent’s death is insufficient if the other exercises authority. Establish the complete position.
What prepares immediate needs?
Organise civil status, deaths, authority, designation, decisions and school, material or property needs. Separate child protection from acceptance of the child’s inheritance. This worksheet authorises no sale of assets.
Tutelle d’un mineurCode civil, article 390Code civil, article 398
What else should you know about guardianship dossier?
Is the nearest grandparent automatically guardian?
No. Designation and statutory organisation need examination.
Can a surviving exercising parent change the route?
Check that parent’s exercise; one death is not automatically sufficient.
Does a will remove the family council?
Not by itself under article 398.
Does the dossier decide inheritance acceptance?
No. Protection and inheritance choices have distinct procedures.
Which sources explain guardianship dossier?
- Code civil, article 390DILA / Légifrance
- Code civil, article 398DILA / Légifrance
- Code civil, article 403DILA / Légifrance
- Tutelle d’un mineurService Public / DILA
Texts cited last checked: 20 October 2026