Your husband collapsed at home in the Dordogne. Your mother, who had lived with you near Bergerac for six years, has died in her sleep. Your brother, a second-home owner who spent half the year in the Languedoc, has been found dead in his house. In the shock of the first hours, two legal systems start moving at once: France, where the death happened and where the house, the bank account and the funeral all sit, and the United Kingdom, where the pension, the passport, the English will and often the rest of the family sit. This guide is written for that exact moment. It walks you, step by step, through the first forty-eight hours — getting the French death certificate, choosing between a funeral in France and repatriation to Britain, and securing the house and the accounts — and then through the French succession that follows: which law applies to a British person who dies in France, what the French notaire, the legal officer who settles estates, will demand from you, how the English will fits in, what inheritance tax you must pay and by when, and how to challenge a refusal or an unfair bill. Every decisive statement below is anchored in the French statute book or in a judgment of the Cour de cassation, France’s highest civil court, quoted word for word. Where a step is purely practical, the source is the official British or French guidance. Keep this page open from the first day: the deadlines that hurt most — six months for the French inheritance tax declaration, two months if a creditor serves you with a formal demand to take your position on the estate — start running while you are still grieving.
I. Your British Relative Has Just Died in France: the First 48 Hours — Death Certificate, Funeral or Repatriation, and Securing the House
A. How to Get the French Death Certificate Within 24 Hours and Choose Between a Funeral in France and Repatriation to the UK
The first paper is the French death certificate, the acte de décès. French law gives the task to the registrar of the place where the death occurred: “L’acte de décès sera dressé par l’officier de l’état civil de la commune où le décès a eu lieu, sur la déclaration d’un parent du défunt ou sur celle d’une personne possédant sur son état civil les renseignements les plus exacts et les plus complets qu’il sera possible.” That provision is article 78 of the Civil Code. In plain terms: a relative, a neighbour, or anyone with the fullest and most accurate civil-status details declares the death at the mairie, the town hall, of the commune where your relative died. The declaration must be made within twenty-four hours. If the death happened in hospital or in a care home, the establishment normally makes the declaration itself to the mairie, still within that twenty-four-hour limit. Before that, a doctor must examine the body and sign the medical death certificate, which acts as the burial permit. Order several full copies of the acte de décès at once, and ask the mairie for multilingual versions: you will need originals for the bank, the insurer, the notaire, the British authorities and the pension funds, and running back for copies weeks later wastes time you do not have.
One reassurance straight away, confirmed by the official British guidance on what to do after a British person dies in France: you do not need to register the death again in the United Kingdom. The French death certificate can normally be used in Britain for most purposes, including probate. If you wish, you may separately register the death with the British Overseas Registration Unit and buy a Consular Death Registration certificate, with a record sent to the General Register Office within twelve months — but that step is optional, not a condition for dealing with either estate.
The second decision is where the funeral takes place. A funeral in France is organised through a pompes funèbres firm, a licensed funeral director. Funeral services are a regulated public-service mission, and there is no local monopoly: “Les communes ou leurs délégataires ne bénéficient d’aucun droit d’exclusivité pour l’exercice de cette mission.” That sentence comes from article L. 2223-19 of the General Code of Local Authorities. Because several authorised firms can operate in the same area, always ask for itemised written quotes from at least two of them before signing anything; in grief, families sign the first paper put in front of them, and the differences run into thousands of euros.
Who pays those funeral costs matters more than most British families expect, because the answer survives even a renunciation of the estate. The Cour de cassation held on 31 March 2021 (First Civil Chamber, appeal no. 20-14.107, full decision) that: “Aux termes de l’article 205 du code civil, les enfants doivent des aliments à leurs père et mère ou autres ascendants qui sont dans le besoin.” It added: “Selon son article 806, le renonçant est tenu à proportion de ses moyens au paiement des frais funéraires de l’ascendant à la succession duquel il renonce.” And it drew the consequence plainly: “Il résulte de la combinaison de ces textes que, lorsque l’actif successoral ne permet pas de faire face aux frais d’obsèques, l’enfant doit, même s’il a renoncé à la succession, assumer la charge de ces frais, dans la proportion de ses ressources.” The statute itself, article 806 of the Civil Code, states: “Le renonçant n’est pas tenu au paiement des dettes et charges de la succession. Toutefois, il est tenu à proportion de ses moyens au paiement des frais funéraires de l’ascendant ou du descendant à la succession duquel il renonce.” So a son or daughter who renounces an insolvent French estate to escape its debts still owes a contribution to the funeral costs, proportionate to their means — with one narrow escape, also confirmed in that judgment: the child can be wholly or partly discharged where the deceased parent had seriously failed in their own obligations toward them. If the estate cannot pay and the family cannot agree, the funeral firm sues the children, not the estate; settle the question early rather than by court summons a year later.
If the family prefers repatriation — bringing the body back to Britain — call the travel insurer first, before the funeral director. Insurers often cover repatriation costs in full and appoint their own handlers; they may also advance medical, legal, interpretation and translation fees. Repatriation itself requires a United Kingdom-based international funeral director, formally appointed by a relative or a duly authorised representative, working with the local French firm. The file must contain the local civil-registry death certificate, an embalming certificate and a certificate authorising the transfer of the remains to Britain. Ask the local firm to collect all personal belongings held by the police or the court and ship them with your relative. Keep the British passport until the transfer is complete, because it may be needed for the operation, then cancel it with His Majesty’s Passport Office on the official form so it cannot be misused. Where a post-mortem examination has taken place in France, it is normally carried out at the forensic medical institute, and small tissue samples or organs may be retained for testing without the family being told automatically; a copy of the report is obtained through the British coroner if the body is repatriated, or through the French court dealing with the death. If you want a second post-mortem in Britain, ask the local coroner, who decides whether one is needed, and remember that cremation in England and Wales needs the coroner’s certificate.
One special case changes everything: a sudden, violent or suspicious death, or a death with unknown cause. Then the funeral cannot go ahead until the judicial authority releases the body. The public prosecutor’s office orders the investigations, and the family receives a judicial authorisation for burial through a police officer. Do not book flights for the funeral party or sign non-refundable funeral contracts until that authorisation exists.
B. How to Secure the French House, the Bank Accounts and the Paperwork in the First Days
While the funeral is being arranged, protect what your relative owned. Start with the house. Change or secure the locks only through lawful means — you are protecting the estate, not taking possession — and photograph every room, the outbuildings, the vehicles and any valuables. Tell the home insurer (assurance habitation) of the death within the contractual deadline, usually a few days, so cover continues; an undeclared death can void theft or water-damage cover. Leave the electricity and water running until the succession is settled, note the meter readings, and redirect the post or arrange for someone local to collect it. If the house was let, inform the tenant in writing and keep collecting the rent for the estate; if your relative was the tenant, the lease continues for the surviving spouse and, failing that, for close family members who lived there, so do not vacate in panic before checking who holds the right to stay.
Next, the bank. Go to each branch in person with death certificates and identification, and ask in writing what is blocked and what is not. French practice, confirmed by the profession’s own guidance, is strict: once the bank knows with certainty of the death, personal accounts are frozen immediately — no deposits, no withdrawals — except for funeral costs, last-illness expenses and taxes owed by the deceased, within a ceiling of five thousand euros. Any procuration, the power of attorney on the account, ends automatically by operation of law. Joint accounts between spouses, by contrast, are not frozen: the surviving spouse keeps using them, and the account becomes individual. Be careful with merely co-titled undivided accounts, which the bank does freeze. Never try to empty an account quickly online before notifying the bank; the movements are traced, and withdrawals after death expose the author to claims by the other heirs and to tax complications. For the full mechanics of unblocking, tax clearance certificates and the documents each bank demands, read our companion guide on French bank accounts blocked after a British resident dies.
At the same time, open the British file. The United Kingdom runs a one-notification system called Tell Us Once, available through the registrar or online, which informs most government departments of the death at once; use it, and separately tell His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs about any continuing United Kingdom income, and the Department for Work and Pensions about the State Pension, because pension paid after death is recovered and overpayments create debts against the estate. Tell the British bank and building society, the private pension provider, the life insurer and the employer. If your relative received a French pension or benefits, notify the French funds as well. Cancel subscriptions, direct debits and the carte Vitale, the French health insurance card, through the health fund. This double notification — French bodies with the acte de décès, British bodies through Tell Us Once and direct letters — prevents the two most common post-death disputes: money paid out that must be repaid, and money frozen that nobody claims.
Finally, start the envelope the notaire will ask for. Gather the death certificate, any English will and its French translation, any French will, any donation entre époux, the enhanced protection gift spouses sign before a notaire, the livret de famille, the family record book, the marriage contract, the property titles and leases, bank and savings statements, life-assurance contracts, vehicle registration documents, company statutes and recent loan and tax notices, and the funeral invoices. The notaire will also search the central wills register at Venelles, question the banks, the social bodies and the tax administration, and, if an heir must be traced, instruct a genealogist — which lengthens the settlement and adds a fee. A complete envelope on day one shortens the succession by months.
II. Opening the French Succession After a British Death: the Notaire, the English Will, the Tax Bill and the Remedies
A. Which Law Applies, What the Notaire Expects and How Heirs Prove Their Rights
Under French law, the estate opens at death, at the deceased’s last home: “Les successions s’ouvrent par la mort, au dernier domicile du défunt.” That is article 720 of the Civil Code. For a British national who lived in France, two questions follow: which country’s courts deal with the estate, and which country’s substantive law divides it. Since 17 August 2015, the European Succession Regulation applies in France: the law of the habitual residence at death governs the whole succession, unless the deceased chose in their will the law of their nationality — so an English will can validly choose English law for the French estate. Before that date, case law settled jurisdiction case by case, and it still governs older deaths. In a leading judgment of 14 April 2021 (First Civil Chamber, appeal no. 19-24.773, full decision), the Cour de cassation restated the principles for successions opened before the Regulation: “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.” It added the conflicts rule: “La nature de l’action successorale est déterminée selon la loi du for.” In practice, for a British resident who dies in France today owning a French house, the French notaire and the French courts handle the estate, applying either French law or English law if the will validly chose it — but the French house itself almost always passes through French hands.
That is why the English will must be drafted, or reviewed, with France in mind. English law gives the testator near-total freedom; French law reserves a protected share, the réserve héréditaire, for the children. Article 913 of the Civil Code provides: “Les libéralités, soit par actes entre vifs, soit par testament, ne pourront excéder la moitié des biens du disposant, s’il ne laisse à son décès qu’un enfant ; le tiers, s’il laisse deux enfants ; le quart, s’il en laisse trois ou un plus grand nombre.” A will that leaves everything to the surviving spouse and nothing to two children is therefore vulnerable in so far as French law governs, and the children can bring a reduction action to restore their share. Conversely, a valid choice of English law in the will can displace the réserve — which is exactly why the choice-of-law clause must be express, written and valid under the Regulation, and why the French notaire examines it first. Our detailed guides explain how a UK will interacts with French forced heirship and how to get an English will past the French notaire when there is a French house.
The notaire then establishes who the heirs are. French law is liberal on proof: “La preuve de la qualité d’héritier s’établit par tous moyens. Il n’est pas dérogé aux dispositions ni aux usages concernant la délivrance de certificats de propriété ou d’hérédité par des autorités judiciaires ou administratives.” That is article 730 of the Civil Code. In practice the notaire draws up the acte de notoriété, the deed of heirship, naming the heirs — and that deed binds third parties, so it must be right. The danger of a hasty deed was illustrated on 12 June 2018 (First Civil Chamber, appeal no. 17-19.825, full decision), where a notaire, told of a possible non-marital daughter abroad, mandated a genealogist, received an inconclusive answer and drew up the deed naming only the surviving spouse. The court of appeal found, and the Cour de cassation let stand, that the lower court “a estimé que Mme C… ne pouvait justifier, à la date d’établissement de l’acte de notoriété de la succession, le 4 décembre 2008, d’un lien de filiation avec Stella A…, et donc de sa qualité d’héritière”. For British families, the lesson is concrete: children from a first marriage, children born outside marriage, and adopted children must be declared to the notaire with their birth and filiation papers from day one. A deed that omits an heir does not stand, and putting it right means a second deed, new registrations and, often, litigation over money already distributed.
The surviving spouse’s own share frequently surprises British couples, because it depends on whose children exist. Article 757 of the Civil Code states: “Si l’époux prédécédé laisse des enfants ou descendants, le conjoint survivant recueille, à son choix, l’usufruit de la totalité des biens existants ou la propriété du quart des biens lorsque tous les enfants sont issus des deux époux et la propriété du quart en présence d’un ou plusieurs enfants qui ne sont pas issus des deux époux.” The usufruit, the life interest over the whole estate, or outright ownership of one quarter: that is the choice. And the choice, once exercised, must be provable. On 5 March 2025 (First Civil Chamber, appeal no. 23-11.430, full decision), the Cour de cassation recalled: “Selon ce texte, si l’époux prédécédé laisse un ou plusieurs enfants qui ne sont pas issus des deux époux, le conjoint survivant recueille la propriété du quart des biens existants.” It quashed the appeal judgment that had dismissed the heirs’ claims over doubts about which option the widow had taken. British widows and widowers should therefore exercise the option expressly, in writing, before the notaire, and keep the deed: our guide on whether a British widow can keep the French family home details the deadlines and the interaction with gifts between spouses.
Every heir then faces the three-way choice French law offers: accept purely and simply, accept up to the net assets (acceptation à concurrence de l’actif net, which caps liability for debts at what the estate contains), or renounce. No one can force your hand for four months: as the Cour de cassation recalled on 5 February 2025 (First Civil Chamber, appeal no. 22-22.618, full decision), that “à l’expiration d’un délai de quatre mois à compter de l’ouverture de la succession, l’héritier peut être sommé, par acte extrajudiciaire, de prendre parti à l’initiative d’un créancier de la succession, d’un cohéritier, d’un héritier de rang subséquent ou de l’Etat.” But once that formal demand, served by a bailiff, arrives, the clock is brutal: “Dans les deux mois qui suivent la sommation, l’héritier doit prendre parti ou solliciter un délai supplémentaire auprès du juge lorsqu’il n’a pas été en mesure de clôturer l’inventaire commencé ou lorsqu’il justifie d’autres motifs sérieux et légitimes. Ce délai est suspendu à compter de la demande de prorogation jusqu’à la décision du juge saisi.” And: “A défaut d’avoir pris parti à l’expiration du délai de deux mois ou du délai supplémentaire accordé, l’héritier est réputé acceptant pur et simple.” The court drew the consequence: “Il en résulte qu’à l’expiration de ce délai, s’il n’a pas pris parti et n’a pas sollicité de délai supplémentaire auprès du juge, étant réputé acceptant pur et simple de la succession, il ne peut plus y renoncer, ni l’accepter à concurrence de l’actif net.” A British heir who treats a French bailiff’s letter as junk mail can therefore wake up personally liable for the deceased’s debts, including the mortgage and the tax arrears. The statute behind this is article 771 of the Civil Code. If the estate may be insolvent, instruct a lawyer before the four months expire, open an inventory with the notaire, and, if served with a demand, apply to the judge for extra time rather than letting silence decide for you.
B. French Inheritance Tax After a British Death: the Six-Month Declaration, the Treaty Safety Net and How to Challenge Double Tax or a Refusal
French inheritance tax catches far more British estates than families expect, because France taxes on two alternative hooks. Article 750 ter of the General Tax Code provides: “Sont soumis aux droits de mutation à titre gratuit : 1° Les biens meubles et immeubles situés en France ou hors de France, et notamment les fonds publics, parts d’intérêts, biens ou droits composant un trust défini à l’article 792-0 bis et produits qui y sont capitalisés, créances et généralement toutes les valeurs mobilières françaises ou étrangères de quelque nature qu’elles soient, lorsque le donateur ou le défunt a son domicile fiscal en France au sens de l’article 4 B ;” Where the deceased was fiscally domiciled in France, worldwide property is caught; where they were not, French-sited property is still caught. A British second-home owner who never became French tax resident still faces French inheritance tax on the French house. And since Brexit changed nothing in this article, the old assumption that European Union membership softened the bill has no legal basis.
The declaration deadline is the one that generates most penalties. Article 641 of the General Tax Code states: “Les délais pour l’enregistrement des déclarations que les héritiers, donataires ou légataires ont à souscrire des biens à eux échus ou transmis par décès sont : De six mois, à compter du jour du décès, lorsque celui dont on recueille la succession est décédé en France métropolitaine; D’une année, dans tous les autres cas.” Six months from the day of death when your relative died in metropolitan France; twelve months in other cases, for example a British resident of France who dies while on holiday in Britain. Miss the deadline and interest of 0.20 per cent per month starts running from the seventh month, with a further 10 per cent surcharge if the declaration is still missing twelve months after death. This is a purely fiscal deadline — the civil settlement can take longer — but it is the expensive one. File even an incomplete declaration within time and complete it later, rather than filing nothing while waiting for a missing valuation.
What you actually pay depends on who inherits. Each child benefits from a personal allowance: article 779 of the General Tax Code grants, “un abattement de 100 000 € sur la part de chacun des ascendants et sur la part de chacun des enfants vivants ou représentés par suite de prédécès ou de renonciation.” Beyond the allowance, article 777 sets the progressive scale: “Les droits de mutation à titre gratuit sont fixés aux taux indiqués dans les tableaux ci-après, pour la part nette revenant à chaque ayant droit” — from 5 per cent on the first slice up to 45 per cent in the direct line, with heavier scales between distant relatives and up to 60 per cent between non-relatives. The surviving spouse is fully exempt from French inheritance tax, which often makes the spouse’s option under article 757 the most tax-efficient route as well as the most protective. Life-assurance payouts follow their own regime outside the estate, and English family trusts holding French assets trigger specific declaration and levy rules — see our guide on declaring a UK trust with French connections and its tax on death.
Double taxation is the fear every Anglo-French family voices: tax in Britain, tax in France, on the same house. A bilateral estate-tax treaty between France and the United Kingdom allocates the taxing rights and mechanisms exist to credit tax paid in one state against the bill in the other, with the French declaration carrying the treaty claim and the supporting British probate and tax documents attached. The precise allocation depends on domicile, on the nature of each asset and on which state taxes first, so treaty relief must be computed asset by asset, not assumed as a blanket exemption. Our companion analysis of French inheritance tax, allowances and treaty relief for British heirs of a French house works through the allowances and the credit method in detail. Two practical warnings: first, pay the French bill on time even while the British probate is still pending, because the French surcharges run regardless of delays in London; second, keep every British tax receipt, probate grant and valuation, since the French tax office will ask for them before granting any credit.
When something goes wrong, each refusal has its own remedy — and most have a deadline. If the mairie refuses a multilingual death certificate, escalate to the mayor in writing, then to the administrative court. If the insurer refuses repatriation cover, invoke the policy wording in a formal complaint, then the insurance mediator, then the civil court. If the bank will not release funds for funeral costs within the legal ceiling, send a recorded-delivery demand citing the estate, then apply to the civil court in summary proceedings. If the notaire will not recognise the English will or its choice-of-law clause, ask for the written reasons, obtain a second opinion with a certified translation and, if needed, have the court rule on the applicable law before the distribution. If the tax office denies a treaty credit or an allowance, file a formal tax claim within the statutory time limit, then appeal to the administrative court. In every case, act in writing, keep the acknowledgements of receipt, and diary the appeal periods: a good substantive case dies with a missed procedural deadline.
Conclusion
A British death in France unfolds in a fixed order, and respecting that order is what keeps costs and disputes down. In the first twenty-four hours, have the death declared at the mairie and collect multilingual death certificates. In the first days, choose between a French funeral with competing written quotes and a repatriation organised through the insurer and a United Kingdom-based international funeral director; secure the house and its insurance; freeze what must be frozen at the bank and keep the joint account running; notify the British authorities through Tell Us Once and directly, and the French bodies with the acte de décès. Within weeks, open the file with the notaire, declare every child and every will, have the surviving spouse’s option recorded in writing, and decide on acceptance or renunciation before any creditor forces your hand. Within six months of a death in France, file the inheritance tax declaration and pay, claiming treaty relief asset by asset. The Cour de cassation’s messages are consistent: prove heirship early and accurately, exercise options expressly, and never ignore a bailiff’s demand to take a position. Where an administration or an insurer says no, challenge it through the proper channel and on time. Done in this order, even a cross-Channel estate closes cleanly; done out of order, it produces the disputes that fill the courts.
Need a quick opinion on your case
A death in the family leaves no time to waste. A telephone consultation within 48 hours with a lawyer of the firm clarifies the first steps, the applicable law and the deadlines for your case. Call +33 6 46 60 58 22 or write via our contact page. We receive clients in Paris and across Île-de-France, and we act throughout France for British families.