A British executor dealing with a French bank account after a death is facing two different legal questions. The first is practical: what may the bank freeze, and which payments can still be made? The second is documentary: how can the person administering the estate prove the identity and entitlement of the heirs under French law? A UK grant of probate may establish an executor’s authority in England and Wales, but it does not automatically replace the French acte de notoriété, the notarial deed used to identify the heirs and their shares in a French succession (estate administration). The answer can also change according to whether the account was individual, joint or held in indivision (co-ownership), whether there is a will, whether the deceased was habitually resident in France, and whether inheritance tax documents are outstanding. This guide sets out the route a British family, executor or beneficiary can follow: secure the account, preserve evidence, instruct the right French notaire (civil-law notary), prepare the cross-border document pack and challenge an unjustified delay. It is particularly important after Brexit because a French bank will assess the French succession file and the UK document of authority separately. The law and official guidance referred to below were checked for this article on 20 August 2026.

I. What happens to a French bank account when a British owner dies?

A. Why does a French bank freeze the account, and what can still be paid?

The starting point is to tell the bank about the death promptly, preferably through a written notice sent to the bank’s succession department and copied to the French notary. The notice should identify the deceased, the account number if known, the date and place of death, the person making contact and the reason for the request. Attach the death certificate, but do not send the only original unless the recipient has expressly required it. Keep a complete copy and proof of delivery.

For an individual account, the bank normally stops new withdrawals and payments once it knows that the sole account holder has died. Any power of attorney (procuration) ends at death. That does not mean that the money has disappeared or that the bank has become the owner of it. The balance is preserved while the succession is established. Payments already initiated before the bank was notified can still appear, and a pension or other credit may arrive after death before the paying organisation receives the information. The statement at the date of death, together with later movements, matters when the notary prepares the estate inventory.

The official French guide Service-Public.fr guidance on a bank account after a death, verified on 22 June 2026, distinguishes four situations. It explains that an individual account is blocked, while a joint account normally continues for the surviving holder subject to the account agreement and an objection by the heirs. An indivis account, meaning an account operated collectively and requiring the consent of the co-holders, is blocked when the bank is informed of the death. A securities portfolio is also frozen in principle; transactions generally require the agreement of all heirs. A safe-deposit box is closed to access and previous powers of attorney end.

The distinction between a joint account and the deceased’s ownership of the money is essential. A surviving joint holder may still be able to make ordinary transactions, but that does not prove that all of the balance belonged to that person. The deceased’s contribution and the economic reality of the account may have to be examined in the succession. A British executor should ask for statements from the relevant period, not rely on the account label alone. If the bank says that the surviving holder is free to use the account, the executor should still notify the notary and reserve the estate’s position in writing.

French succession law opens the estate at a defined legal point. Article 720 of the French Civil Code states: “Les successions s’ouvrent par la mort, au dernier domicile du défunt.” In English, the succession opens on death at the deceased’s last domicile. That domestic rule must then be read alongside the European rules on international succession where the deceased’s life, nationality, assets and will connect more than one country. A French bank cannot solve that conflict by releasing funds to the person who first asks.

Certain urgent expenses can nevertheless be paid from the frozen account. Article L312-1-4 of the French Monetary and Financial Code allows the person arranging the funeral to obtain payment of funeral costs, subject to the account balance and the applicable ceiling. A direct-line successor may also ask for payment of documents and sums connected with acts needed to preserve the estate, including funeral or final-illness costs and taxes owed by the deceased. The current public guidance refers to a ceiling of €5,965 for the relevant payments. That facility is not a licence to withdraw money for ordinary living expenses, to pay a personal credit card or to transfer the whole balance to one heir.

The connection with the Civil Code matters. Article 784 of the French Civil Code provides that “Les actes purement conservatoires ou de surveillance et les actes d’administration provisoire peuvent être accomplis sans emporter acceptation de la succession”. In practical terms, an heir who has not yet decided whether to accept the estate can take a genuinely protective step without automatically accepting all the deceased’s debts. The character of the payment must be defensible. Preserve every invoice, tax notice, funeral contract and bank confirmation.

The bank may charge administration fees when it processes a succession. The official French information currently says that the fees are capped at 1% of the total balance of the deceased’s accounts and savings products and cannot exceed €857. Article L312-1-4-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code contains the statutory framework for fee-free situations and the ceiling applicable to complex succession operations; the Service Public notice on the 2026 ceiling explains the €857 maximum from 1 January 2026. A foreign element, a will, a mortgage, a professional account, security interests or disagreement between heirs can make the file complex. Ask the bank to itemise any charge rather than accepting an unexplained deduction from the estate.

The first practical rule is therefore simple: do not attempt to bypass the freeze. Do not use a deceased person’s card, online banking credentials or standing power of attorney. Those actions can create evidence problems, accusations of misappropriation and a dispute about the estate’s composition. Request the bank’s written procedure, identify the person responsible for the file and ask what document it requires for release. A controlled paper trail is usually faster than repeated calls to a branch that cannot decide a cross-border succession.

B. Which French document proves the right to receive the funds?

The key French document is the acte de notoriété. It is a notarial deed identifying the people entitled to inherit and, where appropriate, their proportions. It is not the same as a UK grant of probate. A grant normally establishes who may administer a will-based estate under the relevant UK probate system. The French acte de notoriété addresses the French bank’s question: who are the heirs or universal beneficiaries, what is the legal basis of their rights and what share can be released?

Article 730-1 of the French Civil Code states: “La preuve de la qualité d’héritier peut résulter d’un acte de notoriété dressé par un notaire”. The deed refers to the death certificate, records the supporting civil-status documents and may refer to testamentary dispositions that affect the succession. The notary will usually need the original or a reliable copy of the will, the deceased’s birth and marriage records, details of children and other relatives, evidence of divorce or a civil partnership, and information about previous gifts or wills.

The deed is evidence, not a substitute for the underlying facts. Article 730-3 of the French Civil Code says that the deed “fait foi jusqu’à preuve contraire” and creates a presumption of hereditary rights in the proportions it states. If a relative, spouse, beneficiary or creditor produces evidence of another heir or a later will, the bank and notary cannot safely treat the first document as final without examining the challenge.

The deed also helps explain why a British beneficiary should not sign a broad release too early. Under Article 730-2 of the French Civil Code, “L’affirmation contenue dans l’acte de notoriété n’emporte pas, par elle-même, acceptation de la succession.” Obtaining or using the deed does not by itself answer the separate decision whether to accept the inheritance, accept it subject to the net assets, or renounce it. Before signing a distribution statement, an heir should check debts, guarantees, tax liabilities, loans and possible gifts that may be brought into account.

Once the heirs are identified, Article 730-4 of the French Civil Code gives the deed practical force towards third-party holders. It provides that heirs named in the deed, or their common representative, are regarded as having free disposal of succession assets and funds in the proportions shown. That is why a French bank will often insist on the deed, a common mandate or instructions from the notary before it transfers money to several recipients. The bank is not required to choose one person’s version of the family tree.

For a British executor, the document pack should normally be divided into two sections. The first section proves the UK appointment: the will, the grant of probate in England and Wales or the appropriate grant in Scotland or Northern Ireland, any letters of administration, and the executor’s identity. The second section proves the French succession: death certificate, civil-status records, will search evidence, the French acte de notoriété or notary certificate, the inheritance tax position and written instructions showing where the money should go. The person named as executor may not be an heir. Conversely, an heir may be entitled to funds without being the executor. The bank must know which role the applicant is asserting.

The GOV.UK probate guidance defines probate as the legal right to deal with a deceased person’s property, money and possessions. It also says that named executors can apply when there is a will, while the closest living relative may apply when there is no will. That is useful evidence of the UK process, but the French bank may still need a French law analysis. The grant should be sent with a short explanation of the role it proves, rather than as if it were automatically a French inheritance certificate.

If the French bank or notary asks for a UK document to be legalised, obtain a written specification first. The GOV.UK legalisation guidance explains that the UK Legalisation Office can attach an apostille when the signature, stamp or seal matches its records, and expressly advises applicants to check the recipient’s requirements, including whether an original, certified copy or paper apostille is needed. A French sworn translation may also be requested. The exact combination depends on the document, the issuing UK jurisdiction, the French recipient and the succession’s legal basis. Never order several costly apostilles before the French notary confirms which documents will be accepted.

The existing British Desk guide on whether a UK will works in France after Brexit is the natural planning companion to this article. The present issue is narrower and later in the process: the executor already has a death, a bank account and a release problem. The will article explains the planning and choice-of-law background; the present route focuses on proving authority, preserving the balance and obtaining payment.

II. How can a UK executor recover the funds and challenge a blocked succession?

A. What should be sent to the bank, the notary and the French tax authority?

A good file starts with one controlled chronology. Record the date of death, the date the bank was notified, every response, the date the notary was instructed, the date the UK grant was issued, the date each civil-status document was obtained and any tax deadline. This is more than administration. It allows the notary to distinguish a bank delay from a missing document, and it prevents a deadline in one country from being mistaken for a deadline in the other.

The first request to the bank should ask for five things in writing: confirmation that the death has been registered; the type of each account; the balance and securities position at the date of death; the bank’s list of documents for release; and the name or address of the succession department. If the family does not know every account, a successor can use the French FICOBA process, the national register of bank accounts, by sending the death certificate, proof of identity and evidence of heirship to the competent service. FICOBA does not provide transaction histories or balances, but it can reveal the existence of accounts that the family did not know about. The French notary can also request information for the succession.

The second request should go to a French notary. Choose a notary who accepts cross-border instructions and give the notary the full UK probate file, not only the first page of the grant. Include the original will or a certified copy, any codicil, the death certificate, the deceased’s full name and former addresses, marriage and divorce documents, children’s birth records, details of previous wills, a list of known French and UK assets, known debts and the bank’s correspondence. Explain whether the applicant is executor, beneficiary, heir, attorney or all four. The role affects which signature the bank can accept.

The third request concerns the law governing the succession. France applies the European Succession Regulation to the situations within its scope, even though the UK is not a participating Member State in the same way as France. Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 generally connects the succession to the deceased’s habitual residence at death, subject to exceptions, and permits a person to choose the law of a nationality in a valid disposition on death. Article 21 describes the habitual-residence connection; Article 22 allows a person to choose the law of a nationality. A British will that contains an effective choice of English, Scottish or Northern Irish law therefore has to be analysed, not simply ignored because the bank account is in France.

The point is factual rather than merely national. In Cour de cassation, First Civil Chamber, 29 May 2019, appeal no. 18-13.383, the court applied the international succession rules and examined the deceased’s life as a whole to determine habitual residence. The decision repeats the rule that the courts of the Member State of the deceased’s habitual residence are competent for the succession as a whole. It is a useful warning for a British family who moved between France and the UK: tax residence, a French address, time spent in each country, family life, medical arrangements, voting, work and the location of assets may all matter. A French bank should not be asked to decide that question informally at a branch counter.

The fourth request concerns French inheritance tax. The account balance is an asset of the estate, even when the eventual beneficiary is in the UK. The French tax administration explains how to obtain a certificate of non-liability or payment of inheritance tax and states that, where one heir is resident outside France, such a certificate may be needed to release funds held by a bank or financial institution in France. The administration also identifies the relevant forms for a bank account and the non-resident revenue service. Ask the notary to confirm whether the bank requires this certificate, a tax receipt, a declaration or another document for this particular deceased person.

Do not confuse the deadline for filing a French succession declaration with the date on which the bank must release the money. The official French tax guidance states that the ordinary declaration period is six months when the death occurred in France and twelve months when it occurred outside France, subject to special rules. The executor should ask the notary or tax office to confirm the applicable period from the actual death location and residence. The deadline can run while the bank file is still incomplete. If funds are needed to pay tax, request a controlled payment from the frozen account or a written solution from the notary; do not assume that a bank card or an informal transfer is acceptable.

The release request should then be sent as one indexed bundle. It should contain:

• the death certificate and certified identity documents;
• the UK will, grant of probate or letters of administration, and any codicil;
• the French acte de notoriété, notary certificate or equivalent proof of heirship;
• civil-status records proving the family line, marriage, divorce and any change of name;
• the will-search certificate and a declaration of known heirs, if requested;
• the bank’s statement at the date of death and a list of later transactions;
• the French inheritance tax declaration, receipt or certificate requested by the bank;
• the apostilled and translated UK documents, only where the recipient requires them;
• the signed payment instructions, with each heir’s account details and allocation; and
• a power of attorney if the executor or heirs are represented in France.

Use the bank’s own secure channel for identity documents. Password-protecting a file is sensible, but the recipient must be able to open it. Ask for confirmation that every document has been added to the succession file. If the bank asks for the same document again, reply with the earlier delivery date and attach the proof rather than starting an entirely new request.

Where the balance is small, check whether the simplified French route applies. Article L312-1-4 can allow a direct-line successor to arrange qualifying payments and, under strict conditions, close an account below the regulatory amount where there is no French real estate, no relevant will or dispute and the required declarations are signed. A British executor named in a will should not assume that this route applies merely because the balance is below €5,965. A will, a non-French heir, a foreign probate grant, a French property, several heirs or disagreement may require the notary route. The amount is only one part of the test.

B. What can be done if another heir, the bank or a cross-border law issue blocks payment?

If the bank refuses to release the account, ask for a written refusal stating the precise missing document, the legal or contractual basis and whether the refusal concerns identity, heirship, tax, the governing law or an internal compliance review. The reply should distinguish a temporary hold from a final refusal. Send the request to the bank’s complaints department and succession department, and copy the notary. A branch employee may not have authority to decide a complex foreign succession, so the escalation should be directed to the team named in the bank’s procedure.

If the bank relies on Brexit or British nationality alone, ask it to identify the rule that prevents payment. French banks may legitimately need enhanced identity, tax-residence and anti-money-laundering evidence. That is different from saying that a British beneficiary cannot inherit or cannot receive funds. Provide the UK probate evidence, the French heirship evidence and the tax certificate separately. If the bank has misunderstood the role of the applicant, correct the description: an executor administers; an heir inherits; a legatee receives under a will; a solicitor or notary may act under a mandate. One person may hold several roles, but the documents must show which one is being used for the requested transfer.

If the dispute is about a joint account, obtain the full account agreement and statements. The surviving holder’s ability to use the account does not remove the need to determine what belonged to the deceased. In Cour de cassation, Commercial Chamber, 9 November 1993, appeal no. 91-13.950, the court held, in a case involving a deceased joint-account holder, that although a bank did not have to send operation statements to each co-holder without a request, it still had to notify each holder of the closure of the account. The decision’s practical lesson is that the bank’s communication duties and the estate’s ownership analysis are separate. Request the statements and preserve the notice history before accepting a final allocation.

If one heir refuses to sign, disappears or disputes the will, do not manufacture a unanimous attestation. The simplified bank declaration requires the signatories to confirm, among other matters, that there is no other heir, no relevant matrimonial agreement and no dispute. A false or incomplete declaration can expose the signatory to liability and can damage the estate’s position. Ask the notary to record the disagreement, identify the disputed issue and propose a route: a corrected acte de notoriété, a common representative, a judicial application or a partition procedure.

The French concept of indivision becomes important when several heirs are entitled to the money. One heir cannot normally treat the whole bank balance as personal property merely because that heir is the first person to find the account or lives in France. A written distribution agreement may solve the problem if every person entitled signs after receiving adequate information. If agreement is impossible, Article 815 of the French Civil Code states: “Nul ne peut être contraint à demeurer dans l’indivision et le partage peut toujours être provoqué”. That does not produce an instant bank transfer, but it supplies a legal route to end a deadlock rather than leaving the money indefinitely in an unmanaged account.

If the French notary is not progressing, send a dated formal letter asking for the current inventory, the documents still missing, the tax status, the bank’s response and the proposed next procedural step. Give a reasonable period for a substantive reply and keep the appointment history. A second notary can sometimes assist with an independent review, but changing notaries does not erase the first file or make a disputed heirship issue disappear. Where the disagreement concerns the governing law, the validity of the will, the identity of the heirs or a substantial sum, obtain advice before issuing a court application in France or taking a step in the UK probate process.

The international-law question may also need to be decided by a court. The 2019 French Supreme Court decision in appeal no. 18-13.383 is relevant because it rejects a purely mechanical approach to habitual residence. The deceased may have held a French home, a UK bank account and a British passport while living between countries. The evidence must show where the centre of life was at death and whether a valid choice of national law was made. A UK executor should place all relevant facts before the notary, including the deceased’s actual days in France and the UK, tax filings, medical care, family arrangements, work, voting, utility bills and property use. Leaving out inconvenient facts can create a later challenge to the acte de notoriété or the tax declaration.

There is also a difference between recovering the bank account and distributing the estate. The bank may be ready to transfer funds to the notary’s client account while the heirs still disagree about the final proportions. The notary may retain or segregate the money pending tax payment, a release from a creditor or a signed distribution. That is not necessarily an unlawful refusal by the bank. Ask whether the funds are held by the bank, by the notary or in a court-controlled account, and obtain a written statement of what event will permit the next transfer.

A British executor should keep the UK estate administration moving at the same time. Report the French account to the UK probate adviser or tax adviser when valuing the estate. The GOV.UK guidance warns applicants to check whether Inheritance Tax is due and says that the estate value must be established before applying for probate. A French account may need to be included in the UK estate calculation even if French tax is also due, with double-tax relief or treaty analysis considered separately. Do not use the French bank’s delay as a reason to omit the asset from a UK return. Record the balance at death, currency conversion method, later interest and expenses.

The strongest file is one that makes the next action obvious. If the bank needs the French deed, instruct the notary to obtain it. If the notary needs the UK grant, order the sealed copy and ask whether an apostille and translation are required. If the tax office needs a declaration, identify the form and deadline. If another heir contests the share, stop any simplified attestation and put the dispute into the succession file. If the bank has all documents but still refuses, request its written legal basis and follow the bank complaint and mediation route, while asking the French lawyer whether an urgent court order is proportionate. Each step should answer a single missing question rather than generating another general exchange of emails.

Conclusion

A British executor can usually unblock a French bank account after a death by separating four issues: the bank’s temporary freeze, the French proof of heirship, the governing law of the international succession and the French tax position. The UK grant of probate is important evidence of administration, but the French bank will often need an acte de notoriété or a notarial certificate showing who may receive the funds. The executor should secure the account, preserve statements, notify the notary, obtain written document requirements and avoid using any power of attorney or card after death. A joint account, a will, a French property, a foreign heir or a disagreement can take the case outside the simplified low-value route. When a bank, notary or co-heir blocks progress, a documented request for the precise missing step is the right first escalation; a contested succession may then require a French legal application.

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