A British child who discovers that a parent’s UK will leaves everything to a spouse, partner, charity or another child faces two separate questions. Is the will formally valid, and does the law governing the succession protect a reserved share for the omitted child? Brexit does not answer either question by itself. A will signed in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland does not become ineffective simply because the deceased later lived in France or owned a French asset. Equally, a French notary cannot calculate the child’s rights from the will alone.

The analysis normally moves through four filters: the deceased’s habitual residence and nationality, any express choice of succession law, the location and nature of the assets, and the legal effect of the will, gifts and earlier transfers. French law uses the terms réserve héréditaire (the portion protected for certain heirs), quotité disponible (the portion that can be given freely) and action en réduction (the claim that cuts back an excessive gift or legacy). Those concepts may help an omitted child, but they are not automatic whenever a UK document is involved.

This guide focuses on the narrow situation in which a British child believes that a UK will has infringed rights connected with a French succession. It explains the cross-border choice-of-law problem, the French calculation, the limitation periods, the evidence to collect and the route from the notary’s file to a French court. It is not a substitute for reviewing the complete will, the date and place of death, the family tree and the asset schedule.

I. Can a British child omitted from a UK will claim a French reserved share?

A. What does a French reserved share protect after Brexit?

Start with the distinction between a will and the law of succession. A will is a disposition made on death. It may appoint an executor, identify beneficiaries and express the deceased’s wishes. A reserved share is a limit imposed by the law applicable to the succession. The will can be perfectly genuine and still be reduced if it gives away more than the deceased was legally free to give. Conversely, a child cannot assume that a French reserve applies merely because the deceased owned a house in France or because the child is British.

Under Article 912 of the French Civil Code, the French expression réserve héréditaire means la part des biens et droits successoraux dont la loi assure la dévolution libre de charges à certains héritiers dits réservataires. In plain English, the law protects a portion of the estate for heirs who are called to the succession and accept it. The same article defines the quotité disponible as the portion which the deceased could freely give by a gift or will. Children and their descendants are the relevant reserved heirs in the ordinary French child scenario; the surviving spouse has a different reserved position when there are no descendants.

If French succession law governs, Article 913 sets the basic percentages. Its wording says that gifts and testamentary dispositions ne pourront excéder la moitié des biens du disposant where there is one child, one third where there are two children, and one quarter where there are three or more. The complete provision is available in Article 913 of the French Civil Code. That means:

The same proportions are summarised for the public on the French administration’s Service-Public page on inheritance and wills. That page is useful for orientation, but the cross-border file still turns on the applicable law, the wording of the will and the full succession mass.

• one child: a global reserve of one half and a freely disposable portion of one half;
• two children: a global reserve of two thirds, ordinarily one third for each child, and a disposable portion of one third;
• three children or more: a global reserve of three quarters, divided according to the children’s succession rights, and a disposable portion of one quarter.

Article 913-1 of the French Civil Code explains that “children” in this calculation includes descendants in any degree, counted through the child whom they represent. Representation matters where a child died before the deceased or cannot take directly. A renunciation may also change the count, but it should be verified against the precise statutory rules and the family tree. Do not calculate the reserve from the number of names appearing on the last page of the will.

The first cross-border question is therefore: which law governs the succession as a whole? For deaths connected with France after the European succession rules became applicable, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 generally points to the law of the deceased’s habitual residence at death, subject to its exceptions. It also permits a person to choose the law of a nationality, provided the choice is made in the required form. The official text of Article 22 is available on EUR-Lex. The United Kingdom did not participate in that Regulation as a Member State, but a UK law can still be the law chosen or designated in a succession handled in an EU country. The regulation’s universal conflict rules, the date of the will and the deceased’s facts must be examined rather than treated as a Brexit slogan.

Look for wording such as “I elect the law of England and Wales to govern my succession”, a reference to the deceased’s nationality, or a clause that clearly indicates the intended succession law. A reference to an English executor, an English bank account or an English probate process is not necessarily the same as a valid choice of succession law. The applicable law can govern reserved shares, disinheritance, the disposable portion, the transfer of assets and the powers of an executor. The will’s language is evidence, not an automatic answer.

French case law shows why the distinction matters. In First Civil Chamber, 17 June 2009, appeal no. 07-21.718, the Court of Cassation approved the application of French law to determine the reserved share connected with an immovable situated in France in an international succession. Its published summary states: Le montant de la réserve héréditaire est déterminé par la loi successorale qui, s’agissant des successions immobilières, est celle du lieu de situation de l’immeuble. That decision is an important warning about a French immovable, but it predates the modern European succession framework and does not mean that every French asset automatically makes French law govern the entire estate.

The opposite warning comes from First Civil Chamber, 27 September 2017, appeal no. 16-13.151. The Court held that a foreign law which does not recognise a reserved share is not, by that fact alone, contrary to French international public policy. The summary says: 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; the concrete result must be examined. In that case, the connection with California and the absence of demonstrated economic precarity were decisive. A British child must therefore prove why the law designated for this succession should be French law, why a valid French protective mechanism applies, or why the concrete result engages a relevant French exception.

Article 913 contains a further mechanism that deserves careful checking in a post-Brexit file. Where the deceased or at least one child was, at death, a national of an EU Member State or habitually resident in one, and the foreign law applicable to the succession offers no protective mechanism for children, the statute can allow a compensatory levy on assets situated in France. A British passport alone does not satisfy the nationality condition. A deceased British national who was habitually resident in France may satisfy the residence condition, but the date of death, the designated foreign law, the child’s status and the French assets must all be analysed. This is not a shortcut around the choice-of-law exercise.

Finally, separate the succession claim from other claims. A child may challenge the validity of the will for a signature or capacity problem, ask for delivery of a legacy, contest a donation, allege concealment of an account or pursue an inheritance-tax correction. An action en réduction assumes, in principle, that the gift or legacy exists but exceeds the disposable portion. It seeks the economic restoration of the protected share; it does not automatically erase the entire will or punish the beneficiary.

B. How is the reserved share calculated when the will, assets and gifts cross borders?

The legal percentage is only the beginning. The calculation uses a succession mass, not just the balance shown on a French bank statement. Article 922 of the French Civil Code begins: La réduction se détermine en formant une masse de tous les biens existant au décès du donateur ou testateur. It also requires certain inter vivos gifts to be brought together fictitiously, with the statutory valuation rules, and says that the disposable portion is calculated after considering the quality and number of heirs.

Build the working schedule in separate columns. First list the assets existing at death: French property, UK property, bank accounts, securities, vehicles, business interests and recoverable loans. Next identify debts and charges that can properly reduce the net estate. Then list gifts made during the deceased’s lifetime, including transfers to children, spouses, partners, friends, trusts or companies. Finally list testamentary legacies, beneficiary designations and any assets whose qualification is disputed. The notary’s first estimate may be incomplete while banks, insurers and foreign advisers are still producing records.

Consider a simple example. A French-law succession leaves one child and a calculation mass of €900,000. The will gives €800,000 to the deceased’s partner and €100,000 to another person. The child’s global reserve is €450,000 and the disposable portion is €450,000. If no earlier gift changes the mass, the testamentary dispositions exceed the disposable portion by €450,000. The child would normally seek reduction to that extent, subject to the exact nature of the benefits and any amounts already received. The correct remedy is not necessarily to invalidate every clause of the will.

With two children and a mass of €1.2 million, the global reserve is €800,000 and the disposable portion is €400,000. The ordinary reserve is €400,000 per child, but the individual result can change if one child received a prior gift, if representation applies, if a gift was made with a particular legal qualification, or if the child renounced. The omitted child’s claim should show both the global reserve and the individual amount sought.

Earlier gifts can be decisive. A parent may have transferred a French flat to one child, paid the deposit for another child’s UK home, placed cash into a trust, or transferred securities to a relative. The fact that the transfer happened years before death does not end the analysis. The document, the intention, the recipient, the value, the state of the asset at the relevant date and any debt attached to it must be classified. A gift made to advance a child’s share is not analysed in exactly the same way as a gift made outside the child’s share, and a gift to a third party raises a different reduction question.

The Court of Cassation insists on a real calculation. In First Civil Chamber, 27 October 1976, appeal no. 73-14.684, it set aside a decision that relied on presumptions without explaining the elements required by Article 922 to calculate the disposable portion. The published summary says that the court must explain the different elements that have to be taken into account. In practice, a British child should ask for valuations, account histories and gift deeds rather than sending the court a single figure unsupported by a schedule.

Valuation can remain difficult when money has been converted into another asset. In First Civil Chamber, 17 September 2019, appeal no. 18-22.810, the dispute concerned a cash donation used to acquire property and the way the substituted asset should be valued under Article 922. The case illustrates a recurring point: the original bank transfer may not be the end of the valuation if the money was used to buy another asset. Trace the money, identify the replacement asset and ask the notary or court to apply the statutory valuation rule to the proven facts.

A French immovable also creates practical complications. Obtain the title deed, the acquisition price, mortgage statements, works invoices, valuations near the relevant dates and any sale agreement. If the deceased owned a UK property, obtain the Land Registry details, mortgage balance and valuation evidence from the UK. The French court or notary may need an expert report, a certified translation or evidence from a UK professional. Currency conversions should be dated and explained; a later exchange-rate assumption can materially change the amount claimed.

Do not treat a pension, a life-insurance policy, a joint account or a trust as an ordinary bank asset without checking the governing rules. The question may be whether the benefit enters the civil calculation, whether premiums were excessive, whether a co-owner’s share was real, or whether the structure was used to conceal a gift. A tax return, probate account and civil succession mass may not use identical definitions. Keep the civil reserve calculation separate from the inheritance-tax calculation.

Article 924 states that when a gift exceeds the disposable portion, the beneficiary doit indemniser les héritiers réservataires à concurrence de la portion excessive de la libéralité. Read Article 924 of the French Civil Code with the particular asset and the beneficiary’s status in mind. French law generally works through an indemnity rather than an automatic return of the whole asset. The omitted child may therefore be entitled to a monetary payment while the beneficiary keeps the property, unless another form of reduction is chosen or ordered.

There can be a reduction in kind. Article 924-1 of the French Civil Code provides that the beneficiary may execute reduction in kind where the asset remains with that beneficiary and satisfies the statutory conditions. The text begins: Le gratifié peut exécuter la réduction en nature. It also imposes a three-month period to choose that route after a formal notice from a reserved heir. That period should not be confused with the limitation period for the child’s court action.

The timing of payment is also distinct from the timing of the claim. Under Article 924-3 of the French Civil Code, L’indemnité de réduction est payable au moment du partage, sauf accord entre les cohéritiers. The law can permit payment arrangements in particular situations, but a beneficiary who wants to keep an illiquid French property cannot assume that the child’s claim disappears. Set out the requested payment, security, interest and any proposed instalments in the settlement draft.

The calculation should also test whether the will’s beneficiary has sold the relevant asset. Article 924-4 of the French Civil Code addresses certain claims against third-party holders of immovables where the beneficiary is insolvent, after the statutory conditions have been met. This is a technical and fact-sensitive remedy, not a reason to accuse every purchaser of wrongdoing. Obtain the sale deed and check dates before asserting that a later buyer is exposed.

II. How can a British child challenge the succession and recover the reserved share?

A. Which deadline and action apply to a reduction claim?

Once the governing law and provisional calculation point towards a French reserve, identify the cause of action precisely. An action for reduction challenges the excess, not necessarily the existence of the will. A claim for nullity says that the will or another gift is invalid because of form, capacity, consent or another defect. A claim concerning an undisclosed lifetime gift asks for the asset or value to be included in the calculation. These claims can be pleaded together or in the alternative, but the facts and evidence for each must be separated.

The limitation rule for reduction is in Article 921 of the French Civil Code. The verified text states: Le délai de prescription de l’action en réduction est fixé à cinq ans à compter de l’ouverture de la succession, ou à deux ans à compter du jour où les héritiers ont eu connaissance de l’atteinte portée à leur réserve, sans jamais pouvoir excéder dix ans à compter du décès. In practical terms, there is a five-year period from the opening of the succession, an alternative two-year period from knowledge of the infringement, and an absolute ten-year ceiling from death. The applicable transitional rules and the date of death still need checking in an individual file.

Knowledge of the death is not necessarily knowledge of the infringement. A child may know that a parent died but not know that a large inter vivos gift existed, that the estate included a French property, or that the will’s chosen law affected the reserve. Conversely, signing a document that clearly identifies the benefit and the calculation may become evidence that the child knew earlier. Preserve every letter, email, notary appointment, disclosure date and request for information. Never wait for the notary’s negotiations to drift close to the longest possible deadline.

The person bringing the action must also have standing. Article 921 reserves the action to those for whose benefit the law creates the reserve, their heirs or successors in title. The Court of Cassation applied that standing rule in First Civil Chamber, 25 October 2017, appeal no. 16-20.156. The official summary states that a successor in title to a reserved heir could ask for reduction of the deceased’s legacies. For a British child, the first documents should therefore establish the parent-child relationship, the child’s place in the family tree, any representation and whether the child has accepted or renounced the succession.

A British will may also trigger a proof and execution issue. GOV.UK explains that an executor applying for probate normally sends the original will, not a photocopy, and that the grant confirms the executor’s authority in England and Wales. The official guidance is Applying for probate: If there’s a will. Ask for the original will, codicils, the grant of probate or equivalent order, any resealing or foreign recognition document, and the evidence showing which UK jurisdiction governed the will. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems and terminology, so an English probate answer cannot simply be transplanted to a Scottish succession.

French execution may require more than the UK probate grant. In First Civil Chamber, 13 April 2022, appeal no. 20-23.530, the Court of Cassation held, in a dispute involving a foreign will and a European Certificate of Succession, that the certificate had evidential effect but was not an enforceable title. Its summary says: le certificat successoral européen a une efficacité probatoire, mais ne constitue pas un titre exécutoire. The case also concerned French tax registration formalities. It does not provide a universal checklist for every UK will, but it shows why a document proving heir status may not by itself release a French asset or complete the notary’s work.

If the beneficiary argues that the UK will excludes every child and therefore defeats the French claim, respond with the choice-of-law analysis rather than only the moral unfairness of the result. The 2017 California decision mentioned above is a direct caution: a foreign rule that ignores the reserve is not automatically rejected. The file must explain the deceased’s habitual residence, the will’s choice clause, the connection with the UK and France, the location of immovables, the date of death and the concrete effect on the child. A child in financial need may raise a different public-policy argument from an adult child who has independent resources; that factual difference must be evidenced, not assumed.

If the will is formally defective, bring that argument separately. A missing signature, an unauthorised alteration, uncertainty over a codicil or evidence that the deceased lacked capacity may support a nullity claim. The fact that the will was accepted into a UK probate file does not prevent a French court from examining the consequences for French assets or a French succession, but it changes the evidence and jurisdiction questions. Obtain the probate file before alleging that the document is forged or invalid.

An agreement can also be relevant. A reserved heir may have signed a settlement, a deed of variation, a release or a renunciation. French law recognises a formal advance waiver of an action for reduction in tightly controlled circumstances. A casual family email saying “I do not want anything” is not automatically equivalent to that act, but it can create factual and contractual complications. Have the text, signature, advice received, capacity and applicable law reviewed before alleging that a waiver is void or before signing a new settlement.

The first written demand should be purposeful. Identify the child’s status, the legal basis under the provisionally applicable law, the known will and the suspected infringement. Request the notary’s complete calculation, the underlying valuations, the lifetime-gift schedule, insurance and bank information, and confirmation of the documents relied upon for the UK will. Ask that no distribution or sale that could prejudice the child’s rights proceed without notice. A demand that merely says “I was disinherited” gives the other side no way to see the amount or the legal issue.

B. What evidence and procedure are needed before the French court?

Organise the evidence before choosing the forum or filing a claim. The first file should contain the death certificate, the child’s full birth certificate, marriage or divorce documents affecting the family tree, adoption or recognition documents, and documents proving any representation. Include the complete will and every codicil, not only the page that names the beneficiary. Add the UK probate grant or equivalent, the executor’s correspondence and a certified translation where the French notary or court requires one.

The second file concerns the French succession. Request the acte de notoriété, meaning the French notarial deed identifying the persons entitled to inherit, the minutes recording the will, the inventory, the declaration of succession, title deeds, mortgage statements, valuations, bank statements and life-insurance correspondence. Ask whether the French register of testamentary dispositions was checked and whether another will exists. If the notary refuses a document, keep the refusal in writing; it may be relevant to a later request for disclosure or a procedural measure.

The third file concerns the UK side. Use the original will and codicils where possible, the probate record, estate accounts, UK property valuations, bank and investment statements, pension and trust documents, and any deed of variation or family agreement. GOV.UK says that original-will evidence is part of a probate application; that practical point is useful even when the ultimate dispute is before a French court. If a UK document must be legalised, apostilled or certified, confirm the receiving authority’s exact requirement. The official UK overview explains that legalisation attaches an apostille to certain documents and that the recipient should confirm whether an original or certified copy is needed: see GOV.UK: Get your document legalised.

Do not ask a translator to decide the law. A sworn translation should reproduce the will, probate order, property deed and key correspondence accurately. Keep the English original beside the translation, identify names and dates consistently and explain UK terms such as executor, grant of probate, domicile, trust and deed of variation. A French notaire is a public officer who prepares and authenticates succession instruments; a UK executor has a different function. Confusing those roles can lead to the wrong request and wasted time.

Prepare a calculation schedule that another lawyer could audit. For every asset, show the owner, country, document, gross value, debt, valuation date, currency, conversion rate and proposed treatment. For every gift, show the date, donor, recipient, asset, value when made, value under the applicable statutory method and whether the transfer was reported. For each testamentary benefit, identify the clause, beneficiary, asset and value. Then show the global reserve, the individual reserve, the disposable portion, prior benefits received by each child and the excess claimed. Mark assumptions in a separate column; do not present an estimate as an established fact.

The calculation should test hidden movements. Search for transfers made under a power of attorney, cash withdrawals, payments of a child’s mortgage, shares moved to an investment account, joint accounts opened shortly before death, trust distributions and property sold below value. A missing asset does not automatically prove fraud. It may be an ordinary expense, a loan repayment, a debt, a gift, a co-owner’s money or an accounting error. The evidence must connect the movement to the deceased, the recipient, the date and the effect on the reserved share.

Use the notary stage to narrow the dispute. Ask for a written statement of the law the notary considers applicable, the reason for accepting or rejecting the will’s choice-of-law clause, the treatment of the French property, and the calculation under Articles 912, 913 and 922. If the notary identifies an excess, Article 921 requires the notary to inform each known heir concerned of the right to seek reduction. A written calculation can make a settlement possible; it also reveals which issue must be decided by a court.

If no agreement is reached, a French lawyer can prepare proceedings before the competent tribunal judiciaire, the French civil court of first instance, with the correct jurisdictional analysis for the succession and the assets. The pleading should state the child’s status, the applicable law, the facts proving the will and gifts, the mass calculation, the infringement and the exact relief sought. Depending on the case, relief may include an order for disclosure, a valuation expert, recognition of the child’s status, reduction of the excessive legacy, payment of an indemnity, or a related claim for nullity or restitution.

Do not make the court reconstruct an international estate from general accusations. Attach the family tree, the will, the probate evidence, a dated chronology, the asset schedule and a short calculation. If the opposing party disputes a translation, produce the original and explain the certification. If a property is disputed, identify the title and valuation. If the two-year knowledge date is disputed, list when each document was disclosed and when the concrete infringement could first be understood. Procedural clarity is especially important when the child lives in the UK and several witnesses or professionals are abroad.

Preserve the limitation position while negotiations continue. A letter to the notary may document knowledge and negotiations, but it should not be treated casually as a substitute for a procedural act that protects the claim. Ask counsel to confirm what interrupts, suspends or does not affect the applicable prescription in the precise case. The five-year period, the two-year knowledge period and the ten-year ceiling in Article 921 should be placed visibly on the case calendar.

Tax administration is a parallel timetable. The French tax authority states that a succession declaration is generally due within six months when the death occurs in France and within twelve months when the death occurs abroad; see impots.gouv.fr: When and where to file. That tax deadline is not the limitation period for an action for reduction. A correction to the civil distribution may require a corresponding tax review, and the UK inheritance-tax position may require separate advice under the applicable France–UK rules.

Settlement terms must identify what is being released. A payment described as “full and final” may waive claims about the will, donations, insurance, recel, accounts or tax when the child intended to settle only one legacy. State the mass accepted by the parties, the amount and payment date, security for deferred payment, treatment of any French property, tax responsibility, costs, documents to be delivered and the precise claims released. If the settlement is executed before a notary, make sure the notarial act reflects the agreement rather than merely referring to an informal email.

Keep in mind that a reduction dispute can change when a property is sold. A beneficiary who sells a French house, distributes proceeds or transfers an asset to a related person may make recovery more complicated. That does not establish bad faith by itself, but it increases the value of an early written notice and an urgent review of protective measures. The evidence should show the property’s title, the proposed sale, the buyer, the price and the relationship between the parties.

The strongest file is usually narrow. It does not ask the judge to decide every family grievance. It asks: which law governs, is the child protected, what is the legally calculated mass, what benefit exceeded the disposable portion, what sum or asset must be restored, and what deadline governs? A UK will, a French property and a family disagreement create a cross-border problem, but a dated document trail and a transparent calculation turn it into a legal claim that can be assessed.

Conclusion

A British child omitted from a UK will may have a claim connected with a French reserved share, but Brexit does not make the answer automatic. The child must first establish the law governing the succession, test any choice-of-law clause, identify the effect of French immovables and determine whether a French protective mechanism applies. If French law governs, Articles 912, 913 and 922 provide the framework for the reserve, disposable portion and calculation. If foreign law governs, the 2017 Court of Cassation decision shows why the absence of a reserved share is not automatically displaced by French public policy.

The practical response is urgent and documentary: obtain the original will and probate file, prove the family relationship, request the notary’s full asset and gift schedule, reconstruct the calculation and calendar the five-year, two-year and ten-year rules in Article 921. Then separate reduction from nullity, valuation, concealment and tax issues. A well-supported demand may lead to an indemnity or settlement; if it does not, the French court must receive a precise claim supported by the will, the cross-border evidence and a reproducible calculation.

For the wider choice-of-law and notary framework, see the related guide to UK wills, French reserved heirs and the notary process after Brexit.

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