A French bank may block a deceased person’s individual account as soon as it receives reliable notice of the death. For a British heir, the practical difficulty is rarely limited to the frozen balance. The bank may ask for a French acte de notoriété, meaning a notarial deed identifying the heirs, while the family may already hold a UK will, a grant of probate, a death certificate issued in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and documents in English. The bank may then deduct “succession fees” before transferring the money.

The legal position changed again in June 2026. The Constitutional Council’s Decision no. 2026-1207 QPC of 19 June 2026 removed the statutory cases in which succession operations had to be free. The cap on bank fees survived. A British heir therefore needs to distinguish four questions: whether the account was correctly blocked, which document proves the right to receive the money, whether the fee is within the legal ceiling, and whether the bank has actually performed the work it is charging for. Brexit does not make a UK probate grant automatically equivalent to a French heirship document, but it does not give a French bank permission to demand an unexplained or unlimited charge.

This guide focuses on a French bank account or savings product belonging to a person who lived in France or maintained French banking arrangements. It explains the effect of the 2026 decision, the documents a British executor or heir should prepare, the distinction between an individual, joint and indivisible account, and the steps for challenging a refusal, a delay, an excessive fee or suspicious withdrawals.

I. Why is a deceased British resident’s French bank account blocked, and which fees are lawful?

A. What the French bank can freeze and what a UK probate grant does not do

The first point is the type of account. A compte individuel is an individual account held by the deceased alone. A compte joint is a joint account operated by two or more co-holders. A compte indivis is an indivisible account that normally requires the consent of all co-holders for a payment or withdrawal. The consequences of death are different for each type. A British family should not describe every French account as “the deceased’s bank account” without identifying its legal form.

The current French public guidance states that, once the bank knows of the death, it blocks the individual current account, savings account and regulated savings products held solely by the deceased. It also states that a power of attorney ends and that the bank no longer records ordinary deposits or withdrawals. The guidance is set out in Service-Public.fr’s official page on what happens to a bank account after death. In practical terms, an adult child who previously helped a British parent with online banking cannot continue to use the French account merely because the child holds a mandate or knows the password.

The French legal starting point is the opening of the estate, or succession, at death. Article 724 of the French Civil Code provides that “Les héritiers désignés par la loi sont saisis de plein droit des biens, droits et actions du défunt.” In English, heirs designated by law take the deceased’s assets, rights and claims by operation of law. That rule determines the relationship between the estate and the heirs; it does not oblige a bank to release money to the first person who writes to its customer-service department. The bank still needs reliable evidence of identity, death and entitlement.

Article 730-1 of the Civil Code provides that “La preuve de la qualité d’héritier peut résulter d’un acte de notoriété dressé par un notaire”. The acte de notoriété is therefore a French proof of heirship, not simply an invoice or a letter from a relative. The deed identifies the deceased, refers to the death record, records the supporting civil-status documents and states who is called to receive all or part of the estate. A bank may also ask for a will, marriage or civil-partnership evidence, birth certificates and evidence that no other heir has been omitted.

A UK grant of probate has a different function. GOV.UK describes probate as the authority that may be needed before a personal representative deals with some assets in the UK. The personal representative is responsible for the deceased’s estate during the administration period. The official GOV.UK guide to dealing with an estate after a death is useful for the UK side, but a grant of probate does not automatically tell a French bank which French-law heir is entitled to a French account or whether French succession law, a foreign law chosen in a will or a matrimonial regime applies. The bank may need a French notary’s analysis or a court document before it can pay.

This distinction is important when a British person dies in France leaving an English will. The executor named in the will may have authority to administer the UK estate, but the French bank may still require the executor to prove the will’s effect in France, provide a certified translation and show the chain of authority from the deceased to the person requesting the transfer. The bank should explain precisely which missing document prevents payment. A general statement that “UK probate is not accepted” is less useful than a written list distinguishing the missing proof of death, proof of heirship, proof of the executor’s authority and proof of the destination account.

The account may contain assets that the heir did not know existed. A British heir can ask for information from Ficoba, the French national register of bank accounts, when the statutory conditions are met. The official Service-Public.fr Ficoba page states that an heir can request access to the deceased person’s account information by post and must attach a copy of the death certificate, proof of identity and a document proving heirship. Ficoba does not show the balance and does not order the bank to pay. It is an asset-location tool. The heir must then contact each bank and build the succession file.

The bank’s first obligations also depend on whether the account was joint. A joint account is not normally frozen merely because one co-holder dies. Service-Public.fr explains that the account generally remains open under the account agreement, while the deceased’s share of a positive balance is determined during the estate settlement. The surviving co-holder therefore cannot assume that every euro belongs to the survivor, and the heir cannot assume that the whole account is immediately payable to the estate. The convention de compte, or account agreement, the matrimonial regime, the source of the deposits and the evidence of withdrawals all matter.

The Supreme Court’s commercial chamber dealt with a related evidence problem in its decision of 9 November 1993, no. 91-13.950. The official Légifrance decision records that, after a co-holder’s death, the bank had a duty to notify the relevant holder of the closure of the account and that the case concerned communication of statements to an heir. The Court’s published analysis says that the bank “doit néanmoins aviser chacun des titulaires du compte de la clôture de celui-ci”. The case is old, but the practical lesson remains current: the heir should request statements and the bank should not treat the estate’s right to information as irrelevant.

A joint account also creates a risk of post-death withdrawals. In its decision of 20 May 2009, no. 08-13.907, the First Civil Chamber examined withdrawals, transfers and direct debits made after death and the obligation to restore sums to the succession. The official Légifrance decision no. 08-13.907 refers to “tous les prélèvements, virements ou retraits effectués sur les comptes joints postérieurement” to the relevant date. A surviving co-holder may continue to use the account under the banking agreement, but that operational power is not the same as ownership of the deceased’s share.

An indivisible account is stricter. Once the bank is informed of the death of a co-holder, the account is normally blocked and the positive or negative balance is dealt with in the estate. This can affect a British couple who used a French account for household payments but chose an indivisible structure for a particular investment or transaction. The family should identify standing orders, rent, utility bills, insurance and tax payments that require an urgent replacement arrangement. Blocking an account is not a finding of wrongdoing; it is a protection mechanism while the bank and the estate establish who may instruct it.

French law also treats a bank mandate separately from heirship. Article 2003 of the Civil Code says that “Le mandat finit”, among other events, “par la mort” of the principal or the agent. A former attorney should therefore stop operating the account after learning of the death and should preserve the statements and receipts rather than moving money to a personal account. The First Civil Chamber’s decision of 11 September 2013, no. 12-19.218, concerned a general bank mandate and unexplained withdrawals. The official Légifrance decision no. 12-19.218 is a warning that a person who operated a deceased person’s account may have to explain the destination of withdrawals to the heirs.

Finally, the bank can usually carry out limited payments needed to protect the estate. Article 784 of the Civil Code distinguishes acts that preserve the estate from acts that amount to accepting it. The official text states that “Sont réputés purement conservatoires” certain urgent payments, including funeral costs, the deceased’s taxes and urgent estate debts. Article L. 312-1-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code allows an heir who proves heirship to obtain, in the conditions set by the statute, the debit needed for conservatory acts and the closure of a low-value account. The official Article L. 312-1-4 text also requires an heir to prove entitlement through an acte de notoriété or the specified collective certificate in the situations covered by the provision.

B. What the 19 June 2026 Constitutional Council decision changed about fee-free cases

“Succession fees” are charges imposed by a bank for the administrative work connected with death: recording the death, checking powers and identity, reviewing the heirship documents, corresponding with the notary, separating a joint account where necessary and transferring the balance. They are not French inheritance tax, not the notary’s fee and not a charge imposed by HM Revenue and Customs. A bank may call them frais de succession, estate-handling fees or account-closure fees. The first task is to ask the bank for its tariff description and its calculation, not to argue about a label.

The legislation adopted in 2025 created a specific framework. The version of Article L. 312-1-4-1 that applied before the Constitutional Council’s ruling listed cases in which the operations were to be free, including certain small estates and simple successions with the required proof. It also limited charges in other cases to 1% of the relevant balances and to the regulatory ceiling. This produced an especially confusing result for British families because an international element, such as the deceased’s habitual residence or an heir’s residence abroad, could make the file complex under the implementing regulation.

The Constitutional Council decided the issue in Decision no. 2026-1207 QPC of 19 June 2026. The decision was published in the Journal officiel and is available on the official Légifrance page for Decision no. 2026-1207 QPC. In its operative part, the Council held that the words “ne font l’objet d’aucuns frais” and the former paragraphs 1 to 3 were contrary to the Constitution. It also held that the 1% limitation was constitutionally compliant. In simple terms, the compulsory free cases disappeared from the statute, while the cap remained.

The date matters. The Council stated that the declaration took effect on publication; it did not postpone the effect. A bank dealing with a succession file after 19 June 2026 should therefore not be told that a fee is automatically unlawful merely because the balance is below the former threshold or because the deceased was a minor. Conversely, the decision did not create an unlimited right for banks to charge anything they choose. The statutory framework continues to identify the products covered and to retain the percentage and maximum amount limits.

The current version of Article L. 312-1-4-1 records that, in other cases, the operations may give rise to fees and that the fee mechanism is limited to 1% of the balances and savings products covered by the provision. The current Légifrance version of Article L. 312-1-4-1 shows the provision as in force from 19 June 2026. The text should be read together with the Constitutional Council decision, because the current article reflects the deletion of the invalidated wording.

The implementing provision is Article D. 312-1-3 of the Monetary and Financial Code. It identifies manifest complexity and refers to “le domicile fiscal ou la résidence habituelle du défunt ou de l’un des héritiers localisé à l’étranger” as an example of an international element. It also fixes the maximum deduction at €857. For a British heir, the foreign residence or the application of French and UK rules may make the file administratively more demanding, but the bank still has to show how the charge corresponds to the covered operations and the applicable ceiling.

The official Ministry for the Economy explanation confirms the practical effect. Its current guidance on bank charges states that, since 20 June 2026, banks can again apply fees in the three former free situations, while the ceiling remains. The wording is useful for a British family because it avoids an outdated internet summary that promises automatic free closure for every account below €5,965. The amount can still matter for the account-release procedure, but it is not, on its own, a complete answer to the fee question after the constitutional decision.

The ceiling operates in two stages. First, the bank should identify the balances and savings products within the legal scope. Second, it should apply the lower of 1% of those amounts and the regulatory maximum of €857. A charge of €600 on a covered balance of €20,000 is below the €857 ceiling but exceeds 1% and would require challenge. A charge of €200 on a covered balance of €50,000 is below 1% and below €857, but it may still be disputed if the tariff was not disclosed, the bank charged an operation outside the scope or the bank has duplicated work. A charge of €857 is not automatically correct simply because it is the maximum.

Do not confuse the fee ceiling with the amount that can be released for urgent expenses. Article L. 312-1-4 allows limited payments for funeral costs, certain conservatory acts and low-value account closure subject to its conditions and the regulatory amount. The amount that a bank may debit to pay a funeral invoice is not the amount that a bank may charge for estate administration. The two figures should be separated in the correspondence and in any calculation.

The bank should also distinguish a fee from a legitimate tax or payment instruction. If the notary asks the bank to transfer money to the French tax authority or to pay an urgent estate liability, that payment reduces the estate balance; it is not necessarily a bank fee. If the bank applies a transfer charge, account-closure fee or estate-handling fee, the charge should appear separately. Ask for a transaction-level statement showing the date, description, amount, account and tariff basis.

There is a further distinction where a French account pays a UK pension or other income after death. A pension payment arriving after the date of death may need to be returned or allocated to the estate, while an interest credit may continue until settlement. The bank’s treatment of the incoming payment is not resolved by the fee ceiling. The executor should notify the UK pension provider and the French bank, keep the payment record and ask the notary how the amount is to be reported.

French inheritance tax is a separate file. Article 641 of the French General Tax Code sets the ordinary filing period at six months from death when the deceased died in metropolitan France and one year in other cases. The official Article 641 text states: De six mois, à compter du jour du décès in the first situation. Article 800 of the same Code requires a detailed declaration in the situations covered by the provision. Article 800 on Légifrance says that the relevant heirs, legatees or donees “sont tenus de souscrire une déclaration détaillée”. A bank’s release of money does not discharge the estate’s tax obligations, and paying the bank fee does not pay inheritance tax.

A British resident may also need a UK estate file. GOV.UK states that personal representatives may have to deal with debts, taxes and assets during the administration period, and the UK rules can require separate reporting even when the bank account is in France. A French bank’s request for a French heirship document does not replace UK probate, and a UK grant does not replace every French formality. The safest approach is to create one cross-border schedule listing the French account, UK accounts, property, pensions, insurance, debts, the applicable will and the status of each authority’s request.

The practical answer to “can the bank charge me?” is therefore qualified. Since the June 2026 decision, a bank may charge in a case that would previously have had mandatory free treatment, subject to the surviving percentage and maximum limits. It cannot use Brexit as a blank cheque. A British heir can ask for the legal basis, tariff, calculation, account scope and work performed, then challenge the charge if the amount exceeds the ceiling, duplicates another fee, concerns an excluded product or is unsupported by the bank’s own records.

II. How can a British heir release the funds and challenge the bank’s fee?

A. Which documents should be sent, including the French heirship deed, apostille and translation

Begin with a document map rather than a long narrative. The cover letter should identify the deceased, the date and place of death, the French bank, the account number if known, the requesting person’s role and the exact outcome sought: notice of the balance, release of a defined sum, payment of an urgent expense, transfer to the notarial account or explanation of the fee. The bank should be able to route the file to its succession department without guessing whether the writer is an heir, an executor, a surviving joint holder or a solicitor.

The core file normally includes the full death certificate, the requesting person’s passport or identity card, proof of address, the will and any codicil, evidence of the family relationship, marriage or civil-partnership documents, and the French acte de notoriété if a notary has prepared it. If the deceased was British but lived in France, add evidence of the French residence, the last tax address, the French bank’s correspondence address and any document showing the habitual residence at death. Those facts can affect which law governs the succession and whether a French notary must investigate a foreign will.

An English-language document may require a certified French translation. A traducteur assermenté is a court-approved or officially recognised sworn translator in the relevant French system. The bank may also ask for an apostille, which is an authentication certificate used to confirm the origin of a public document for use abroad. The need for an apostille and the competent issuing authority depend on the document, its issuing country and the applicable international convention. Do not assume that a scan of a UK grant, without the court seal, certificate of finality where relevant, apostille and translation, will be enough.

The bank should explain whether it wants the original, a certified copy or an electronically verifiable document. Send copies that are readable and keep the originals. If the bank requests a translation, ask whether it accepts a UK sworn translation, a French sworn translation or a translation arranged by the notary. The cost and timing can be material, especially if several birth certificates, marriage certificates and pages of a will must be translated. A written request prevents the file from moving through repeated informal objections.

If the British requester is an executor rather than the beneficiary, add the document proving the executor’s appointment and authority. The executor should identify the beneficiaries separately and explain whether the transfer is requested to a solicitor’s client account, a notarial account, an estate account or the beneficiaries’ personal accounts. A French bank may refuse to send an estate balance to an executor’s personal account, and that refusal can be correct even if the executor has a valid UK grant. The destination must match the legal role.

If there is no French notary, the bank may sometimes accept an heir certificate or a collective attestation in a simple, low-value situation. Article L. 312-1-4 refers to a document signed by all heirs and requires declarations concerning the absence of another heir, a will or a marriage contract, as well as authorisation to receive the funds and the absence of an ongoing dispute. The statutory route is narrow. A British estate involving a foreign will, a surviving spouse, a property, a trust, a matrimonial agreement or an unresolved dispute may not fit the simple certificate route.

Ask the notary to address the specific bank question. A generic acte de notoriété may identify heirs without answering whether a UK will selects English law, whether the bank should pay the executor or the beneficiaries, or whether the surviving spouse’s matrimonial rights affect the account. The bank should receive the deed and any notarial explanation in the form needed for its compliance process. If the notary refuses to issue a document because the family has not supplied a foreign civil-status record, obtain the refusal in writing and ask what precise record is missing.

Where the deceased owned a French property, the bank may regard the succession as more complex and may require a notary to establish the estate before releasing cash. That does not mean the bank can hold an undisputed account indefinitely without updates. Ask for the date on which the file became complete, the person responsible for the review, any missing document and an estimated decision date. If a tax payment or funeral payment is urgent, request that limited payment separately under Article L. 312-1-4 and attach the invoice or tax notice.

The account inventory should include more than the current balance. Request the balance at the date of death, statements for the relevant period before death, the date the bank received notice of death, any post-death transactions, the amount of each fee, the tariff version and any transfer or exchange-rate charge. For a joint account, request the balance at death and the bank’s explanation of how it will distinguish the deceased’s estate share from the surviving holder’s share. The title of the account alone does not prove who owned every deposit.

The law of evidence becomes important if a family member used a power of attorney or moved funds before death. The Supreme Court’s First Civil Chamber decision of 11 September 2013, no. 12-19.218, involved unexplained withdrawals by a person holding a general mandate. The case should not be used to accuse every attorney of misappropriation, but it supports a disciplined request for statements, receipts and explanations. If the documents show a transfer to a person connected with the deceased, ask the notary to record it and consider whether it must be reported as an advance, a gift, a debt repayment or an unexplained withdrawal.

The Supreme Court’s Commercial Chamber decision of 26 June 2012, no. 11-21.160, is also useful when the French tax administration alleges that withdrawn funds remained in the deceased’s estate. In its published analysis, the Court stated: “Il appartient à l’administration fiscale de démontrer” that the withdrawn sums were retained until death. The official Légifrance decision no. 11-21.160 illustrates that a bank statement, a tax assertion and a family allegation are not interchangeable forms of proof. The exact issue in a British estate must be analysed on its own facts, but the case is a useful warning against unexplained reclassification of old withdrawals.

If the account is joint, obtain the account agreement and the statements showing the source of funds. Service-Public.fr explains that each joint holder can operate the account alone, but the account title does not determine ownership of the deposited funds. The surviving holder may have to account for the deceased’s share. If the account is indivisible, ask the bank to confirm the rule that caused the block and whether it can pay urgent expenses. If there is a dispute between heirs, do not ask the bank to choose a beneficiary without a notarial or judicial instruction.

Article 815 of the Civil Code states that “Nul ne peut être contraint à demeurer dans l’indivision”, meaning that no co-owner can normally be forced to remain in an undivided ownership structure indefinitely. This does not entitle one heir to empty a blocked bank account. It explains why the estate may eventually require an agreement, a distribution or a court-supervised solution when several British and French heirs disagree. The bank’s role is to follow valid instructions and protect the account while the estate rights are established.

Prepare a single PDF index for the bank, but preserve an original-document folder. The index should list each file, its language, whether it is original or certified, whether an apostille is attached, whether a sworn translation is attached and which question the document answers. This makes the cross-border file easier to audit and reduces the risk that a bank treats the same missing document as a new obstacle every week.

B. How to complain, claim a refund and litigate disputed withdrawals or a prolonged refusal

The fee challenge should start with a written request to the bank’s succession department. Ask for: the contractual or tariff basis for each charge; the tariff version applicable on the date of the operation; the covered balance used for the 1% calculation; the products included and excluded; the work performed; the date of completion of the succession review; and the amount that the bank intends to transfer. Ask the bank to suspend deduction of the disputed amount if the transfer has not yet occurred, or to mark the payment as made under protest if it has.

Use a table with four columns: bank description, date, amount, and legal or factual objection. For example, “succession handling fee — €857 — balance and calculation not supplied”; “transfer fee — €75 — no separate tariff basis”; “translation or document fee — €200 — third-party cost not supported by invoice”; “account maintenance — €40 — account was blocked and the contractual basis is unclear.” A bank’s maximum fee is not a flat entitlement to every possible charge. The table should show whether several descriptions are charging for the same operation.

If the balance is €20,000 and the bank charges €857 for the covered operations, the amount is within the regulatory maximum but exceeds 1% of the balance. The 1% figure would be €200. If the balance is €100,000, a €700 charge is below both €1,000 and €857, but the heir can still ask which operations justify it and whether the bank has included an excluded product. If the bank says that the entire estate is “international” and therefore €857 is automatically due, ask it to identify the balance, the statutory scope and the actual services. “British” is not a calculation.

The bank’s internal complaint procedure should be used next. Send the claim to the named complaints address or secure channel, attach the first request and all relevant documents, and ask for a reasoned answer. Keep delivery evidence. If the bank does not resolve the complaint, a consumer may be able to refer a dispute to the banking mediator under the conditions of the bank’s mediation scheme. The mediator is not a substitute for urgent judicial relief, and an executor acting for an estate should check whether the scheme accepts the claim and whether the claimant is a consumer.

Do not wait for a mediation period if the bank is refusing to recognise a valid heirship document, money is needed for an urgent estate debt, a co-holder is withdrawing funds or a limitation deadline is approaching. A lawyer can send a formal notice, ask the bank for documents, seek an interim order in the appropriate court or coordinate with the notary. The forum depends on the relief sought, the bank’s conduct, the claimant’s status and the location of the bank or estate. A dispute about a bank fee is not automatically a succession dispute, and a dispute about heirship is not automatically a consumer complaint.

The formal notice should say exactly what must happen. It may request release of the undisputed balance, delivery of the complete statements, correction of the fee calculation, refund of a sum already deducted, or confirmation that the bank will transfer the funds after receipt of a specified document. Set a reasonable deadline and state that the heir reserves the right to claim interest, costs and any loss caused by an unjustified delay. Do not threaten a criminal complaint or accuse a bank employee of fraud unless the evidence supports that step.

Where the dispute concerns a joint account, the heir should not request the immediate transfer of the entire balance. The proper request may be for statements, the balance on the date of death, the bank’s records of post-death transactions and preservation of the account history. The 1993 decision no. 91-13.950 and the 2009 decision no. 08-13.907 show why the information trail matters. A bank may have complied with the operating rules while a surviving holder still owes money to the succession. Those are separate questions.

Where the dispute concerns a former attorney, Article 2003 means that the authority normally ends at death, but the bank’s records may be needed to establish when the bank was informed and which transactions were processed before or after that point. The heir should request the mandate, the notification record, statements and supporting invoices. The 2013 decision no. 12-19.218 illustrates that a general explanation such as “I acted for the family” may not answer the question where the destination of withdrawals is unexplained.

If the bank claims that a UK grant of probate is insufficient, ask for the objection in writing and send it to the French notary. The answer may require a certificate of applicable law, a legalisation or apostille, a sworn translation, a French deed of notoriety or a court order. The executor should not alter the UK grant or create a new private declaration that contradicts the will. If the bank’s request is legally excessive, the written record will help a lawyer challenge it; if the request is justified, the same record will identify the quickest document to obtain.

If the bank has already deducted a fee, a refund request should state the amount, date and reason the charge is unlawful or excessive. The request may rely on one or more of the following: the amount exceeds 1% of covered balances; the amount exceeds €857; the bank included an excluded product; the charge is duplicated; the tariff was not disclosed or does not match the bank’s published tariff; the bank deducted a third-party cost without proof; or the bank kept charging after the succession operation was complete. The request should not simply repeat that the deceased was British or that the family is experiencing hardship.

Article 1217 of the Civil Code provides a general framework for contractual remedies when an undertaking is not performed or is performed imperfectly. The official Article 1217 text lists remedies including forced performance and compensation. The exact contractual relationship between a bank and its customer, the tariff terms and the legal basis of the fee must be checked before relying on that article. In a straightforward fee dispute, the practical claim may be repayment of the excess rather than termination of the banking relationship.

The estate also needs to protect the tax timeline. A delay in releasing a French account does not extend the deadline for the declaration of succession. Article 641 of the CGI sets the ordinary period, and Article 800 sets the detailed-declaration obligation. If the bank has not released the balance, ask the notary and tax adviser how to report the account using the date-of-death balance and what evidence should be attached. Do not omit the account because the bank has frozen it. An asset can remain part of the estate even while the bank holds it.

Conversely, do not treat a bank statement as proof that the entire balance is taxable in France or the UK. The location of an account, the deceased’s tax residence, the heir’s residence, the will, the applicable succession law and the relevant treaty may affect the tax result. The bank’s fee calculation is a banking-law question; inheritance tax is a separate analysis. A British heir should give the French notary and the UK personal representative the same date-of-death asset schedule so that the two filings do not contradict each other.

The evidence for a court file should be chronological and bilingual where necessary. Keep the original death certificate, the will, the UK grant, apostille and translation, the French notarial deed, the bank’s first notice of the block, the list of requested documents, statements, the tariff, the fee debit, complaint letters and delivery confirmations. Add a calculation showing the balance and the 1% ceiling. If the issue involves a joint account or power of attorney, mark every pre-death and post-death transaction that needs explanation.

A British heir should also check whether the deceased’s French bank account received recurring payments. A UK State Pension, private pension, annuity or dividend may arrive after death because the payer had not yet received notice. The payment may belong to the estate, need repayment or require a separate tax treatment. Do not use a frozen account’s incoming payment to justify an unauthorised withdrawal. Notify the payer and ask the bank how it records the credit while the estate is being administered.

Where the surviving spouse needs access to ordinary living expenses, the solution may be a transfer from the spouse’s own account, a lawful payment for urgent expenses or a notarial instruction. A joint account’s continued operation does not authorise the survivor to take the deceased’s share, and an individual account’s block does not mean the spouse has no financial rights under the matrimonial regime or succession law. Those rights must be established through the correct notarial or judicial route.

For a French property-owning family, the bank file can also be delayed by an unresolved ownership structure, an SCI, a trust or a life-insurance contract. This article does not decide who owns those assets. The estate schedule should classify the French bank account, securities account, life-insurance policy, property and any UK trust separately. The bank should not be allowed to apply an unexplained global fee to assets it does not hold, and the family should not ask the bank to settle a life-insurance beneficiary dispute that belongs to the insurer or a court.

The most effective complaint usually has three requests: release any undisputed amount once the bank has the required heirship proof; provide the complete calculation and statements; and refund or reserve the disputed charge pending review. That is more likely to produce a usable answer than a general demand that the bank “unblock everything immediately”. If the bank cannot identify the missing document or the legal basis of the fee, the written failure becomes evidence for escalation.

Use this final checklist before sending the file:

• Identify whether the account is individual, joint or indivisible and obtain the account agreement.
• Notify the bank with the death certificate and request written confirmation of the block date.
• Prove identity, heirship and the executor’s authority separately; do not treat a UK probate grant as an automatic French heirship deed.
• Ask whether an apostille and sworn French translation are required for each UK document.
• Obtain the balance at the date of death, complete statements, post-death transactions and the tariff version used.
• Calculate 1% of the covered balances and compare it with the €857 maximum; check for excluded products and duplicated charges.
• Separate bank fees, notary fees, inheritance tax, urgent estate payments and transfers to heirs.
• Send a reasoned internal complaint, preserve proof of delivery and escalate quickly if funds or evidence are at risk.

The existing guide for a UK executor facing a French notary’s refusal deals with a neighbouring document problem. The broader British will and French succession guide explains choice of law, reserved heirs and the French notarial process. This article adds the narrower banking and fee issue created by the 2026 constitutional decision. Linking the files in that order helps the reader distinguish proof of heirship from the bank’s separate duty to calculate and justify its charges.

Conclusion

A British heir dealing with a French bank after a death should expect an individual account to be blocked and should prepare for a French proof-of-heirship review. A UK grant of probate may be important, but it does not automatically replace an acte de notoriété, a certified translation or the notarial analysis of an English will. Joint and indivisible accounts require a separate examination because operational access and ownership of the balance are not the same thing.

The June 2026 constitutional decision changed the starting point for fees: the former mandatory free cases were removed, but the 1% ceiling and €857 maximum remain. The bank must still identify the relevant balance, tariff and work performed. Send a complete, indexed document file, request statements and a calculation, separate urgent estate payments from bank fees, and challenge any amount that exceeds the legal limits or cannot be explained. If the bank continues to block undisputed funds or refuses to produce the records, a coordinated French notarial and legal response is usually safer than repeated informal emails.

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