Property in France - Intestate Husband !

Hi All

Client purchased a small plot of land in France with a ruin on it with her husband several years ago. Cl’s husband died last year intestate.

Normally in the UK when a spouse dies intestate the surviving spouse would inherit all however under French law my client will only inherit a percentage and each of the husband’s children will receive a share as they are protected through succession law (there are 5 children). However things in France trundle along very slowly so probate has not yet been completed.

The LA have determined that my client owns the lot and following a valuation £9k have determined that HB/CTB have been reduced due to tarriff income.

Any ideas on a challenge?
I would like to be able to prove that the property is jointly held and therefore that my client’s share is below the £6k lower threshold so full HB can be paid…

Chaos

Just a quick thought,
Could you argue that the customer is prohibited from selling the property (as it is subject to probate) and is capital held aboard. Therefore it should not be counted.

I have not read up on this one so cannot quote any regs.

She, and all the adult children, need to put the property on the market for sale anf provide proof of this to HB.

She should then be able to claim full HB for 6monthe to one year,

It is treated as capital in the process of being realised.

I’d also appeal the decision to treat the property as your clients sole capital - it sounds like it will need to be split 6 ways and so she wouldn’t then have enough to affect her benefit (just from this capital) anyway.

Without knowing anything about French testatory law then if the property is formally tied up in their equivalent of our probate then she might not have a current interest only a future or reversionary one and if so it does not currently count as her capital at all.

It would be worth googling “French inheritance law” as there is plenty of information out there. It’s always been a big problem for couples buying property in France. This is because immoveable property (land , roughly) devolves according to the law of the land where the property is, while moveable property (money etc) according to the law of the country where the person who died was domiciled.
What I’m not sure about is the effect of jointly owned property, assuming that’s what this is. In English law no-one has any interest in the estate until the administration is complete, because debts and local taxes take priority over the beneficiaries. But there is stil the eternal problem if she actually owns half the proerty. I have no idea how this works in France.
You need a french lawyer, I suspect.

I note you say that they purchased the property together.  In the UK proprty can be held in differnet ways (e.g joint tennants, tennats in common).  French law is similar i understand

French property can be owned in different ways under French law. The method of owning the property is extremely important for inheritance and tax consideration apparently. The methods can be either a Classic Joint Ownership, or a Clause en Tontine or through an SCI - Société Civile Immobilière.  My understanding of them is as follows.

Classic Joint Ownership - each own a 50% share and have the right on death to do with there share what they like

Clause en Tontine - is similar our joint tennant position in that the whole property goes to the survivor.

Société Civile Immobilière - is where non-residents choose to own property through holding companies thus avoiding the restrictive French Inheritance Laws.

Update on this case…

Appeal won on review - thanks to some mind numbing research on French Intestacy law (Never again!) and your comments.

For those who are dying to know!!
As husband died intestate (without any of the contracts Matthew noted above) and because the deceased was normally resident in the UK the French divide the inheritance as follows;
Wife 50%
Children then get a proportion of the remaining 50%, there were four children so they equally share 25%
The remaining 25% goes to wife
(this protracted way of doing things ensures the spouse has majority share)

Any how 75% of the LA valuation was below the lower capital limit so HB/CTB payable in full.

Thanks for all your help as always.
Chaos