A British person who has made a home in France may leave a family with an urgent question when death occurs without a will: who inherits, which country’s rules apply, who can deal with the French bank and home, and how can the family avoid accepting unknown debts? Brexit does not create a single “British succession” rule. The answer depends first on the deceased’s habitual residence, the existence of a surviving spouse, the children’s status, the matrimonial regime and the location of the assets. A UK grant of letters of administration may be useful for the British estate, but it does not replace the French documents needed to establish heirship in France. The French process uses a notaire, a French civil-law notary and public officer, and an acte de notoriété, the notarial deed identifying the heirs. This guide separates the legal rules from the practical response. It explains what changes when there is no will, how the spouse and children are placed, what happens to a civil partner, how to choose between accepting and renouncing, and what to do when a bank, notary or co-heir blocks the file.

I. Who inherits when a British resident dies in France without a will?

A. Does French law apply after Brexit, and who are the heirs?

The first mistake is to treat nationality as the only connecting factor. A British passport does not, by itself, send the whole estate to English or Welsh intestacy rules. For a person living in France, the starting question is where the deceased had his or her habitual residence at the time of death. That is the connecting factor used by the European succession rules that France applies to international estates. The official text of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 states in Article 21 that, subject to the Regulation’s exceptions, “the law applicable to the succession as a whole shall be the law of the State in which the deceased had his habitual residence at the time of death”. The official EUR-Lex text of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 also confirms that the chosen law governs the succession as a whole.

That rule has two consequences for a British family. First, a person who genuinely moved to France, organised daily life there, and retained France as the stable centre of family and financial life will usually be analysed through French succession law, even though the deceased remained British. Secondly, the family must distinguish a holiday home from a genuine move. A British owner who spent a few weeks in France while keeping the centre of life in the United Kingdom may present a very different evidence file from a British retiree registered with French services, receiving care in France and living there throughout the year. Address, tax residence, healthcare registration, family life, work, possessions and the duration and stability of the move may all matter.

Article 720 of the French Civil Code gives the domestic starting point: “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. The official Article 720 of the French Civil Code is therefore important even before anyone discusses tax. It points the family towards the place where the French succession is opened and where a notary and, if necessary, a French court will organise the legal process.

No will means no express choice of national law in the normal form contemplated by Article 22 of Regulation 650/2012. Article 22 allows a person to choose the law of a country of which that person is a national, but the choice must be expressed in a disposition on death or follow from its terms. A family cannot manufacture that choice after death by presenting a passport, a British address or an old UK tax record. It must prove the facts that existed when the deceased died and identify any valid testamentary instrument that the deceased actually made.

Once French law is the applicable law, the French rules of legal devolution apply. “Dévolution légale” means the statutory allocation of the estate when the deceased did not leave an effective will. Article 724 of the Civil Code provides that the heirs designated by law are automatically seized of the deceased’s property, rights and actions. This is not a licence to empty a French bank account. It means that the heirs have a legal vocation to the estate, subject to proof of their status, the debts, the rights of the surviving spouse and the formalities required by banks, land registries and tax authorities. The wording appears in the official Article 724 of the French Civil Code.

Where there is no surviving spouse, Article 734 organises the family in orders. Children and their descendants come first; parents, brothers and sisters and the descendants of brothers and sisters come next; more remote ascendants follow; and other collateral relatives come last. Each order excludes the following order. The text is available in the official Article 734 of the French Civil Code. Article 735 adds that children or their descendants succeed without distinction of sex or primogeniture and even where they come from different unions. That rule is set out in Article 735 of the French Civil Code.

For the British reader, “children” in this context means legal descendants recognised by the applicable law. Stepchildren do not automatically inherit merely because they lived in the household. Adopted children may have rights, but the family must present the adoption judgment or the civil-status documents needed for the French notary to analyse it. A child born outside marriage is not pushed down the order merely because the parents were not married. A family tree, birth certificates, marriage certificate, adoption records and any change-of-name evidence should be assembled at the beginning rather than after a bank or notary raises an objection.

B. What does the surviving spouse receive, and what about a civil partner?

The surviving spouse has a distinct statutory position. The answer changes depending on whether all children were children of both spouses, whether one or more children came from another relationship, and whether the matrimonial regime has first been liquidated. The assets that belong to the surviving spouse under the matrimonial regime are not simply part of the deceased’s estate. The notary must separate the matrimonial liquidation from the succession. A British family should not calculate the spouse’s share by looking only at the total value of the French property or the balance of a joint account.

When the deceased leaves a spouse and children who are all children of both spouses, Article 757 gives the surviving spouse a choice between the usufruit of the whole estate and full ownership of one quarter. Usufruit is the right to use property and take its income without owning the underlying capital; the children then hold the nue-propriété, or bare ownership, which becomes full ownership when the usufruit ends. The surviving spouse may instead take one quarter in full ownership, leaving the children with the remaining three quarters in full ownership. The precise wording is in Article 757 of the French Civil Code.

The option is not a detail to leave in an email. The property, cash, investments and income consequences can be very different. A spouse who chooses usufruit may be able to remain in the home or receive rents, but the children’s bare ownership creates a new relationship around sale, substantial works, refinancing and the later death of the usufruitier. A spouse who chooses one quarter in full ownership has more direct capital but may receive less immediate use of the estate. The family should request a written explanation of the values and consequences before signing an option or a partition.

Article 758-2 states that the spouse’s option between usufruit and ownership can be proved by any means. The French wording is short: “L’option du conjoint entre l’usufruit et la propriété se prouve par tout moyen.” It appears in the official Article 758-2 of the French Civil Code. In practice, that makes the evidence trail important. Keep the letter sent by the notary, the spouse’s signed response, the date of receipt, any registered post receipt, and any message that records the choice. If the spouse does not make the choice within the relevant period after being invited to do so, the statutory consequences must be checked rather than assumed.

If one or more children are not children of both spouses, the surviving spouse’s statutory share is normally one quarter in full ownership. That family pattern is common among British residents who moved to France after a first marriage or who have adult children in the United Kingdom and a later French household. The family should provide all birth certificates, not just the documents for the children who live in France. A missing child can affect the spouse’s share, the calculation of the children’s reserve and the tax file.

If the deceased leaves a spouse but no children or descendants, the parents may still have a statutory share. Article 757-1 provides that, where there are no children or descendants but both parents survive, the spouse receives one half and each parent one quarter; a predeceased parent’s share goes to the spouse. The official text is available at Article 757-1 of the French Civil Code. If there are no children, descendants, father or mother, Article 757-2 provides that the surviving spouse receives the whole succession, subject to the specific right of return rules that can affect property received from ascendants. See Article 757-2 of the French Civil Code.

A civil partner must not be treated as a spouse. A French PACS is a civil solidarity pact. A PACS partner is not automatically a legal heir in the same way as a married spouse and generally needs a will to inherit. An English civil partnership also requires a separate conflict-of-laws analysis; the family should not assume that a British relationship status will produce the same result as a French marriage. The surviving partner may have housing or tax protections, but those are not the same as a statutory entitlement to the whole estate. This is one reason why a British couple living in France should review the legal status of the relationship and not wait for a death before asking which documents exist.

The French reserve is also often misunderstood. A réserve héréditaire is the part of the estate that the law protects for certain heirs if they are called to the succession and accept it. Article 912 defines the reserve and the quotité disponible, the part that may be given away freely. The official wording and current status are available in Article 912 of the French Civil Code. In a no-will case, there is no gift or legacy to reduce, but the reserve explains why a later-discovered will, trust arrangement or lifetime gift may change the analysis.

Article 913 fixes the children’s protected fraction: one half for one child, two thirds for two children and three quarters for three or more children, subject to the statutory conditions in the article. The current text also contains a limited compensatory mechanism for certain international situations. It is reproduced in the official Article 913 of the French Civil Code. The family should therefore avoid saying that “British law has no forced heirship, so the children get nothing” or, in the opposite direction, that “French reserve always overrides every foreign law”. The answer requires the applicable-law analysis and the facts connecting the deceased and the heirs to France.

II. What must the family do after the death, and how can it protect the estate?

A. Which documents and decisions are needed to open the French file?

The first practical task is to create one complete evidence bundle. It should contain the French death certificate or the foreign death certificate with the formalities required for use in France, the deceased’s passport and proof of address, the marriage certificate, civil-partnership documents, every child’s birth certificate, adoption judgments where relevant, divorce or death certificates for earlier spouses, and evidence of the deceased’s habitual residence. If a certificate was issued in the United Kingdom, ask whether an apostille and a certified French translation are required. An apostille is a certificate authenticating the origin of a public document for use abroad; it does not translate the document and does not decide who inherits.

Next, search for a will even though the family believes there is none. Check the French central register through the notary, search the deceased’s papers and safe-deposit arrangements, and ask the UK family to check the relevant probate records. GOV.UK explains that probate records can show whether a grant exists and whether a copy of a will is included in the record. The official GOV.UK probate-record search service is useful for England and Wales, but it is not a substitute for a French succession search. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different procedures.

On the UK side, the terminology matters. If there is no will, the person who administers the estate normally seeks letters of administration rather than a grant of probate in the strict sense. GOV.UK explains that, where there is no will, the most entitled person can apply to become the administrator, and that the law decides who inherits. The official guide is Applying for probate when there is not a will. A British administrator may need that authority to collect UK accounts, investments or pensions. It can also help the French notary understand who is authorised to communicate with UK institutions. It does not, by itself, prove that the administrator owns or can sell a French house.

The French proof of heirship is normally built through the notary. Article 730-1 provides that proof of the quality of heir may result from an acte de notoriété drawn up by a notary at the request of one or more beneficiaries. The deed refers to the death record, lists the supporting documents and records the assertion of the persons who say that they are entitled to all or part of the succession. The official Article 730-1 of the French Civil Code should be read alongside the evidence rules. This is the document a French bank, insurer or land registry may ask for before releasing or transferring assets.

For a British family, the best instruction letter to the notary should identify the deceased’s last French address, the date and place of death, every known asset in France and the United Kingdom, the family tree, the marriage and matrimonial regime, any previous marriage, any possible will, and any person who may claim an interest. Attach a translated document index. Do not send a folder containing fifty scans with no explanation. A clear chronology reduces the risk that the notary treats an incomplete family tree as a final statement.

The family should also separate legal ownership from administrative control. A bank may freeze an account as a protective measure. That does not mean the bank has decided that the money belongs to the spouse or to a particular child. A UK administrator may be authorised to collect assets, while the French notary determines the legal devolution of French assets. If a French property is involved, the notary must prepare the deed needed for French land registration. If a bank account is involved, the bank may require the act of notoriety, proof of tax clearance or payment, identity evidence and the signatures of the persons entitled to receive the funds.

Do not sign a French document merely because its heading contains the word “succession”. Ask for an English explanation of whether it is an act of notoriety, an option by the spouse, an acceptance, a renunciation, a partition, an inventory, a power of attorney or a tax declaration. A document that only acknowledges a family relationship may not amount to an acceptance, but the result depends on its wording and the person’s conduct. If the family wants to preserve the ability to reject unknown debts, the acceptance decision must be treated as a legal decision, not a routine form.

B. How can an heir accept, renounce or unblock the estate?

Each heir has an option. The three routes are acceptance pure and simple, acceptance up to the net assets, and renunciation. Acceptance pure and simple means that the heir takes the estate together with its debts, subject to the statutory protection that may be available in exceptional cases. Acceptance up to the net assets is designed to prevent the heir’s personal assets from being confused with the estate and to limit liability to the value received, but it requires a disciplined inventory. Renunciation means that the heir is treated as not having been an heir for the purposes of the succession, subject to the consequences for descendants and replacement heirs.

Article 771 protects an heir from being forced to choose immediately. The heir cannot be compelled to opt before four months have passed from the opening of the succession. After that period, a creditor, co-heir, heir in a later rank or the State may serve a formal demand to choose. The official Article 771 of the French Civil Code is the reference for that first four-month period. The period is not a recommendation to wait without preserving evidence; it is a legal protection against an immediate demand.

Article 780 provides a longer outer limit for the option: “La faculté d’option se prescrit par dix ans à compter de l’ouverture de la succession. L’héritier qui n’a pas pris parti dans ce délai est réputé renonçant.” The exact text is in the official Article 780 of the French Civil Code. The ten-year period does not answer every practical question. A formal summons to opt can accelerate the decision, and a person who is unaware of the death or has a legitimate reason not to know of the right may need to preserve evidence explaining the delay.

If there may be debts, ask for an asset-and-liability inventory before accepting outright. Article 789 provides that the inventory includes an estimate, item by item, of the assets and liabilities, and that it is prepared by a judicial auctioneer, bailiff or notary in accordance with the applicable rules. See the official Article 789 of the French Civil Code. A British family should look beyond the French house and visible bank account. Search for mortgages, guarantees, unpaid tax, care-home charges, business liabilities, joint borrowing, personal guarantees, online accounts and debts connected with a UK property.

Acceptance can also occur by conduct. Article 782 states that acceptance pure and simple may be express or tacit. It is tacit when the heir performs an act that necessarily shows an intention to accept and which the person could carry out only as an accepting heir. The official Article 782 of the French Civil Code should be read before an heir sells personal effects, withdraws money, transfers a vehicle or signs a document describing the person as the owner of the estate. Necessary preservation acts are not automatically the same as an acceptance, but the distinction is fact-sensitive.

Renunciation must be express. Article 804 states: “La renonciation à une succession ne se présume pas.” To be enforceable against third parties, the renunciation must be sent or filed with the court in the district where the succession opened, or made before a notary; where a notary receives it, the notary sends a copy to the court within one month. The full official wording appears in Article 804 of the French Civil Code. An heir living in Britain should ask exactly which French court has jurisdiction and whether the filing route requires an apostilled identity document, a certified translation or a power of attorney.

Renunciation also affects the next generation. If a child renounces, that child’s own children may be called by representation depending on the family tree and the applicable rules. A parent cannot safely say “I renounce for the whole family”. Each person’s status and age must be checked. Where minor children may inherit, the process can require additional authorisation and a different evidence file. The family should not send a renunciation before identifying every person who may move into the line of succession.

When heirs disagree or one person refuses to communicate, the estate is not condemned to remain frozen. Article 813-1 allows a judge to appoint a qualified individual or entity as a mandataire successoral, a court-appointed succession administrator, when there is inertia, default, fault, disagreement, conflict of interests or complexity. The official text is available in Article 813-1 of the French Civil Code. The application may be made by an heir, creditor, person who administered the deceased’s assets, another interested person or the public prosecutor. This route can be relevant where a UK-based child cannot obtain information from a co-heir in France or where urgent insurance, tax or property decisions cannot wait.

The courts’ treatment of international succession also shows why the family must identify the legal nature of a claim instead of using a broad label. In Cour de cassation, First Civil Chamber, 14 April 2021, no. 19-24.773, the Court dealt with an international succession opened before the current European rules applied. Its verified wording states: “Selon ces principes, les tribunaux français sont compétents pour statuer sur une succession mobilière lorsque le défunt avait son domicile en France. Ils sont compétents pour statuer sur une succession immobilière pour les immeubles situés en France.” The same decision states: “La nature de l’action successorale est déterminée selon la loi du for.” The case concerned jurisdiction and a reduction claim, not a simple no-will family file, so it must not be copied mechanically. Its value is methodological: identify the asset, the claim and the applicable connecting rule.

A second decision guards against an opposite overstatement. In Cour de cassation, First Civil Chamber, 27 September 2017, no. 16-13.151, the Court considered a foreign law that did not provide a French-style reserve. The verified passage is: “Mais attendu qu’une loi étrangère désignée par la règle de conflit qui ignore la réserve héréditaire n’est pas en soi contraire à l’ordre public international français et ne peut être écartée que si son application concrète, au cas d’espèce, conduit à une situation incompatible avec les principes du droit français considérés comme essentiels ;” This was a California case, not a British case, and it concerned a will and a foreign law. It nevertheless warns the British family that the phrase “French property means French forced heirship in every situation” is too simple. The court must apply the conflict rules and examine the concrete result.

If the family later discovers a handwritten or foreign will, the file changes again. Article 1007 requires a French notary to receive an olographic or mystic will before it is put into effect and to draw up a record of its opening and condition. The official Article 1007 of the French Civil Code explains the deposit and notice process. A British will may be legally important, but the family should not treat an unsigned scan, a solicitor’s note or a draft as a valid choice of law. Send the original, the probate record, the date, the witnesses and any codicil to the French notary and obtain a written view on form and substance.

Tax is a parallel track, not a substitute for heirship. If the deceased was domiciled outside France, the French tax authority’s official guidance states that a succession declaration is generally due within twelve months of death; if the death occurs in France, the deadline is generally six months. The current official page, Quand et où déclarer?, also identifies the non-resident service and the payment requirement. The exact filing duty can depend on the assets, the deceased’s tax domicile, the heirs’ residence and any treaty. The family should not wait for a bank release before asking who must file and which certificate the bank needs.

The UK side must be checked separately. GOV.UK’s guidance for a death in France directs British families to deal with the French death certificate, translation, local authorities and the UK consequences. See When someone dies in France. The UK administrator may need to notify banks, pension providers and HM Revenue & Customs, while the French notary handles the French deed, French tax and French property formalities. France and the United Kingdom may each have a taxing connection. The family should compare the official French declaration, the UK Inheritance Tax position and the applicable double-tax relief rather than assume that Brexit removed the treaty framework.

For the first fourteen days, a practical checklist is more useful than a generic promise that “the notary will handle everything”:

• Secure several official death certificates and identify where the death was registered.
• Freeze informal transfers and ask each bank or pension provider what evidence it requires.
• Make a complete family tree, including children from earlier relationships and adopted children.
• Collect marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, address and nationality records with an index.
• Search French and UK will or probate records and preserve every original document.
• Record the deceased’s habitual residence evidence for the years before death.
• List assets and liabilities in both countries before any heir accepts outright.
• Ask the French notary for the proposed act of notoriety, the matrimonial liquidation and the tax calendar.
• Obtain written advice before a spouse chooses usufruit, an heir signs an acceptance, or anyone renounces.

That checklist also identifies when a court application may be necessary. A bank refusal without reasons, a notary who will not recognise a document, a co-heir who conceals assets, a dispute over habitual residence, a minor heir, an alleged debt, or a risk that a tax deadline will expire can turn a routine succession into a contested cross-border file. The relevant evidence should be preserved before communications become hostile. A short letter stating the family tree, the asset, the requested document and the deadline is usually more useful than a long argument based on Brexit alone.

Conclusion

A British resident’s death in France without a will is not solved by asking whether the deceased was British. The legal route starts with habitual residence and the opening of the succession, then moves through the French rules on spouse, children, parents and the proof of heirship. The surviving spouse may have an option between usufruit and one quarter in full ownership; children may be protected by the reserve; a civil partner may not inherit automatically; and a UK administrator may need a separate French act before touching French assets.

The family should gather the civil-status file, search for a will, instruct a French notary, identify the tax deadlines and delay any outright acceptance until the liabilities are known. If an heir wants to renounce, Article 804 requires an express and opposable step. If a co-heir or institution blocks the estate, a court-appointed mandataire successoral may provide a route to temporary administration. The most important practical distinction is between collecting information and accepting the estate. Treat the first as urgent; treat the second as a decision that should follow an evidence-based review.

The earlier guide explaining how a UK will is used in France after Brexit is relevant if a will is found. The separate guide on renouncing a French inheritance as a UK resident is relevant if the estate appears debt-heavy. Those links do not replace a review of the particular family tree, residence evidence and documents.

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