Accepting or Renouncing a French Inheritance

The three options open to a French heir

When a person dies, French law does not force the estate on those called to inherit. Each heir has a personal choice between three options, and must take one of them: accept the estate purely and simply, accept it up to the net assets, or renounce it (Article 768 of the Civil Code). The choice matters because a French estate carries not only assets but debts, and the option an heir takes decides whether, and how far, those debts can apply to the heir personally.

The option is a right attached to the person. Where there are several heirs, each chooses independently, and their choices can differ — one child can accept while another renounces, and a third can accept only up to the net assets (Article 768). The option is also, in principle, indivisible: an heir cannot accept part of the estate and renounce the rest, nor claim a different share from the one their entitlement gives them (Article 769). A conditional option, or one subject to a time limit, is void (Article 768, paragraph 2). The right to accept up to the net assets is reserved to universal heirs or heirs to a share of the estate (héritiers universels ou à titre universel); a legatee of a specific asset (légataire particulier) can only accept the legacy or renounce it (Articles 768 and 1024).

Timing is the other half of the picture. Nothing compels an heir to decide immediately, and the right to opt survives for ten years from the opening of the succession (Article 780 of the Civil Code); but a creditor of the estate, a co-heir, a subsequent heir or the State can cut that period short. Four months after the death, any of them may serve the heir with a formal notice (sommation) to choose, after which the heir has two months to take a position or ask the court for more time (Articles 771 and 772). This article sets out each of the three options in turn, what happens to an heir who conceals estate assets, how the estate is jointly owned before it is divided (indivision), and how the division itself (partage) is carried out and taxed.

Accepting purely and simply

Accepting purely and simply (acceptation pure et simple) is the full, unqualified acceptance of the inheritance. It consolidates the transmission of the deceased's estate onto the heir, retroactively to the day of death (Article 776 of the Civil Code): every asset in the estate belongs to the heir from the moment of death, and the heir may deal with it as any owner would. The price of that unqualified title is an unqualified liability, which is why this is the option to think hardest about where the estate's finances are uncertain.

Acceptance can be express or tacit (Article 782 of the Civil Code). It is express where the heir takes the title or capacity of accepting heir in a formal or private document (Article 782). It is tacit where the heir does an act that necessarily implies an intention to accept — an act the heir would only be entitled to do as an accepting heir (Article 782). The Civil Code lists certain acts that entail pure and simple acceptance automatically, such as the disposal of estate assets (Article 783). By contrast, purely conservatory acts, acts of supervision, and provisional administration of the estate do not, in themselves, amount to acceptance, provided the heir has not taken the title of heir (Article 784). Defending a claim brought by a creditor of the estate is, in itself, only a conservatory step and does not imply acceptance (Cass. 1re civ. 13 December 1988, no. 87-10269).

The heir becomes liable for the estate's debts without limit

The defining consequence of pure and simple acceptance is unlimited liability. A universal heir or heir to a share who accepts purely and simply is liable for the whole of the estate's debts, whatever the value of the assets (Article 785 of the Civil Code). Acceptance merges the estate's assets and liabilities with the heir's own patrimony (ultra vires liability), so that if the estate's assets are not enough to meet its debts, the accepting heir must meet the shortfall out of personal funds. Once an heir has accepted purely and simply, they can no longer renounce or switch to acceptance up to the net assets (Article 786, paragraph 1).

French law softens this in two narrow ways. First, an heir who accepted in good faith may ask to be discharged, in whole or in part, of an estate debt they had legitimate grounds to be unaware of at the time of acceptance, where paying it would seriously affect their own patrimony (Article 786, paragraph 2); the action must be brought within five months of the day the heir learned of the debt's existence and extent, and it is not granted as of right. Second, an heir who accepts purely and simply is only liable for money legacies up to the net assets of the estate after debts (Article 785, paragraph 2). These are correctives, not a safety net: an heir who wants a genuine cap on liability should look to the second option rather than rely on a later discharge.

Accepting up to the net assets: protecting against estate debts

Acceptance up to the net assets (acceptation à concurrence de l'actif net) is the middle path between outright acceptance and renunciation (Articles 787 and 768 of the Civil Code). The heir declares that they will take the capacity of heir only up to the net value of the estate. Its advantage is exactly the protection that pure acceptance lacks: the heir is liable for the estate's debts only up to the value of the assets they receive (Article 791). If the debts turn out to exceed the assets, the heir's personal patrimony is shielded — the creditors of the estate cannot reach beyond what the estate itself contained. This is the option for anyone who wants the inheritance but cannot be sure the estate is solvent.

Unlike pure acceptance, this option can never be tacit; it requires a formal declaration (Article 788 of the Civil Code). The heir declares either at the registry (greffe) of the judicial court where the succession opened, which records it in a special register, or before a notaire, who sends a copy to the court within a month (Article 788). The declaration is published nationally in the official bulletin (BODACC), and within a month the heir must also publish a notice in a legal-announcements journal. The declaration must be accompanied or followed by an inventory of the estate (Article 789), and the inventory has to be deposited at the court within two months of the declaration, unless the judge grants an extension (Article 790, paragraphs 1 and 2).

The formalities have teeth: missing them costs the protection

The protection is conditional on doing the procedure properly, and the sanction for slipping is severe. If the inventory is not deposited within the two-month period (or the extended period the judge allows), the heir loses the benefit of the option and is treated as an heir who accepted purely and simply — with the unlimited liability that carries (Article 790, paragraph 4). The same applies to an heir who, knowingly and in bad faith, omits assets or liabilities from the inventory, or fails to apply the value of the assets to paying the estate's creditors: that heir is stripped of the net-asset acceptance and deemed to have accepted purely and simply, retroactively to the opening of the succession (Article 800, paragraph 4).

Two further points matter in practice. Where an estate is accepted purely and simply by some heirs and up to the net assets by others, the rules of the net-asset acceptance apply to all of them until the division of the estate (Article 792-2 of the Civil Code) — so one cautious heir effectively imposes the protective regime on the whole indivision until partage. And an heir who has accepted up to the net assets can still, as long as the ten-year right to opt has not lapsed, revoke that acceptance and accept purely and simply instead, which then takes effect retroactively to the day of death (Article 801, paragraph 2). The reverse switch — from net-asset acceptance to renunciation — is not open, because taking the net-asset option is itself an acceptance.

Renouncing an inheritance and its consequences

Renunciation (renonciation) is the choice to take nothing. An heir who renounces is deemed never to have been an heir (Article 805 of the Civil Code): their legal entitlement disappears retroactively to the opening of the succession. Because the renouncer takes no assets, they are not liable for the estate's debts and charges — the clean way out of an insolvent estate. Renunciation, like acceptance up to the net assets, cannot be tacit: it is made by an express declaration at the registry of the judicial court where the succession opened, or before a notaire (Article 805; see the comparison table below).

Renouncing is not entirely cost-free. The renouncer remains liable, in proportion to their means, for the funeral expenses of an ascendant or descendant to whose estate they renounce (Article 806 of the Civil Code). Legitimate costs the heir properly incurred before renouncing are borne by the estate (Article 808). And because the renouncer stays a stranger to the inheritance, they are not required to bring lifetime gifts back into account and cannot claim that others do so (Article 843) — though the person who made a gift can expressly require it to be brought back even where the recipient renounces (Article 845).

Where the renounced share goes, and representation of the renouncer

The renouncer's share does not vanish. It goes to their representatives; failing them, it accrues to the co-heirs; and if the renouncer was the only heir of their rank, it passes to the next degree (Article 805 of the Civil Code). The key modern rule is that a renouncer can be represented by their own descendants. For deaths since 1 January 2007, representation of a renouncer is allowed in successions passing in the direct line or the collateral line (Article 754), whereas previously only a predeceased or unworthy heir could be represented. The practical effect is transgenerational: grandchildren can be called to their grandparent's estate because their own parent renounced, and a deceased's nephews can represent a renouncing parent in an uncle's estate. Where that happens, the share the renouncer would have taken is divided equally between their children.

Renunciation is also reversible within the option period. As long as the ten-year prescription of the right to opt has not run against the heir, they can revoke their renunciation by accepting the estate purely and simply, provided no other heir has already accepted and provided the assets have not meanwhile been acquired by third parties (Article 807 of the Civil Code). The acceptance then takes effect retroactively to the day of death. Where an heir simply never chooses, the ten-year lapse works the other way: the heir is treated as having renounced (Article 780, paragraph 2), and anyone later claiming to be an heir must prove that they, or those from whom they derive their capacity, accepted before the ten years expired (Article 781).

Concealed assets: recel successoral

French law reserves a specific and severe penalty for an heir who cheats the division by hiding assets — concealment of estate assets (recel successoral). An heir who has concealed assets or rights of the estate, or hidden the existence of a co-heir, loses the right to opt and is treated as having accepted the estate purely and simply, notwithstanding any renunciation or acceptance up to the net assets (Article 778 of the Civil Code). The forced pure acceptance means the concealing heir becomes liable ultra vires for the whole of the estate's debts. But the heir gets none of the upside: they cannot claim any share in the assets or rights concealed or misappropriated, all without prejudice to damages.

Concealment covers every fraud by which an heir tries, at the expense of the co-heirs, to break the equality of the division (Cass. 1re civ. 7 December 1982, nos. 81-15471 and 81-15624). It has a material element and an intentional one. The material element can be, for example, the removal of an estate asset, the failure to disclose estate assets in the heir's possession during an inventory, the concealment of a co-heir, the suppression of a will or the making of a false one, or the concealment of a lifetime gift. The intentional element is the intention to appropriate estate assets to the knowledge and detriment of the other heirs; the wronged heirs must prove that fraudulent intent, which the trial judges assess (Article 778; Cass. 1re civ. 28 June 2005, no. 04-13776, where an heir used bank powers of attorney to move estate money behind the co-heirs' backs).

The penalties, and the false certificate of heirship

The sanctions are cumulative. The concealing heir is deemed to accept purely and simply and is liable for the whole of the estate's liabilities (Article 778). They must restore the diverted assets and can claim no right in them (Article 778); where the concealed asset has been sold and cannot be returned in kind, the heir must restore a sum representing its current value (Cass. 1re civ. 19 November 2014, no. 13-24644). They must return all the fruits and income the concealed assets produced since the succession opened (Article 778, paragraph 3). And they may be ordered to pay damages (Article 778). Where the concealment concerns a reportable or reducible gift, the heir must bring it back or reduce it without taking any share in it (Article 778, paragraph 2; Cass. 1re civ. 2 September 2020, no. 19-15955). Because concealment can also amount to theft, fraud, or forgery, criminal proceedings are possible in addition.

The penalty reaches a specific document that foreign heirs meet early in every French estate: the certificate of heirship (acte de notoriété). Drawn up by a notaire, this deed establishes who the heirs are and in what proportions, and the assertion it contains is presumed true until proved otherwise (Articles 730-1 and 730-3 of the Civil Code). Heirs who, knowingly and in bad faith, rely on an inaccurate acte de notoriété incur the penalties for concealment, without prejudice to damages (Article 730-5). Concealing the existence of an heir carries the concealment penalty with a specific rule: the rights of the hidden heir that did, or could have, increased the concealer's share are deemed to have been concealed by that person (Article 778). The lesson for an heir is blunt — full disclosure to the notaire is not merely good manners but the condition of keeping any share at all.

Joint ownership of the estate: indivision

Where more than one person inherits, they do not each own particular assets straight away; they own the whole estate together, in undivided shares. This joint ownership — indivision — arises automatically by operation of law on the death, without any act of will by the heirs (Article 815 of the Civil Code). Each co-owner (indivisaire) has a right of the same nature over the whole, for a fraction, with no exclusive claim to any specific asset, and they exercise concurrent powers over everything until the estate is divided. The indivision has no legal personality of its own, which has practical consequences: a lease signed in the name of an indivision that has no legal personality is void (Cass. 3e civ. 16 March 2017, no. 16-13063).

Indivision is deliberately precarious. The governing principle is that "no one can be compelled to remain in indivision, and the division may always be provoked" (Articles 815 and 816 of the Civil Code). Any co-owner can therefore ask for the estate to be divided, and the right to do so is a discretionary right that cannot be abused. That precariousness is tempered in defined cases: the co-owners can enter an agreement to stay in indivision for a time (see below), the court can order a stay of the division for up to two years where an immediate sale would harm the value of the assets (Article 820), and the court can order the temporary maintenance of the indivision over a family business or the family home where the deceased leaves a co-owning spouse or minor descendants (Articles 821 and 821-1).

Managing property held in indivision

The management rules are where indivision becomes difficult, because they mix majority and unanimity. Any single co-owner may take the steps necessary to preserve the joint assets — conservatory acts — even where there is no urgency (Article 815-2 of the Civil Code). Acts of administration, such as ordinary management or granting most leases, and selling movable assets to pay the estate's debts, can be taken by co-owners holding at least two-thirds of the undivided rights, who must inform the others (Article 815-3). But the consent of all the co-owners is required for any act that falls outside the normal exploitation of the assets, and for any act of disposal other than the sale of movables (Article 815-3) — so selling the estate's house needs everyone's agreement. Where a co-owner unreasonably refuses, another can ask the court to authorise the act alone, but only where the refusal imperils the common interest (Article 815-5).

The economics are shared in proportion to each co-owner's rights. Co-owners are entitled to the fruits and income of the joint assets and bear the losses in proportion to their shares (Article 815-10, paragraph 4). A co-owner who has exclusive use of a joint asset owes the indivision an indemnity for that use, unless otherwise agreed (Article 815-9) — the rule that lets one heir charge another for living in the family home. A co-owner who has paid to preserve or improve a joint asset out of their own funds, for instance by meeting mortgage instalments, can be indemnified by the indivision (Article 815-13). And a co-owner may freely sell their own undivided share, but if they sell to someone outside the indivision, the other co-owners have a legal right of pre-emption (Article 815-14).

Creditors, and organising the indivision by agreement

Creditors are treated differently according to whom they are owed by. Creditors of the indivision — those who could have acted on the assets before the indivision arose, and those whose claim results from the management of the indivision — are paid by levy on the joint assets (Article 815-17, paragraph 1). By contrast, the personal creditors of one co-owner cannot seize that co-owner's undivided share; their remedy is to provoke the division in their debtor's name, an application of the oblique action (Article 815-17; Article 1341-1). The other co-owners can stop that division in its tracks by paying the debt on the debtor's behalf (Article 815-17, paragraph 3). The Cour de cassation has confirmed that this right lets a co-owner's creditor force the division of the very property that houses the family (Cass. 1re civ. 16 September 2020, no. 19-15939).

Where the heirs get on and want to stay in indivision on purpose, they can turn a state they suffer into one they choose, by an indivision agreement (convention d'indivision) governed by Articles 1873-1 and following of the Civil Code (Article 815-1). The agreement must be in writing on pain of nullity, and where the joint estate includes real property or debts it is only enforceable against third parties once the land-registry formalities are done (Article 1873-2). A fixed-term agreement cannot in principle run more than five years, renewable, and during it the division cannot, save for good cause, be provoked (Article 1873-3). While such an agreement is in force, the creditors of a co-owner can provoke the division no more than their debtor could — so a five-year agreement keeps them at bay for its duration (Article 1873-15).

Dividing the estate: partage and the 2.5% duty

The division of the estate — partage — is the operation that ends the indivision and gives each heir exclusive, private ownership of a defined lot of assets or money (Articles 815 and 816 of the Civil Code). It is a liquidation exercise: the estate is valued, each co-heir's rights are fixed and quantified, and the assets are allotted. The aim is allotment, not sale — the estate's assets are meant to be shared, not sold off — though a sale becomes necessary where the heirs cannot agree on who takes an indivisible asset such as a business, or where the other assets are not enough to satisfy the non-taking heirs.

A division can be amicable or judicial. Where all the heirs are adults who are not under a protective regime, are present or represented, and are in agreement, the division can be made amicably in whatever form they choose; but where the estate contains real property, the deed must be notarial and published at the land registry (Article 835 of the Civil Code). A division can also be partial, whether as to persons — one co-owner is satisfied and leaves while the others stay in indivision — or as to assets — some assets are divided and others stay joint (Article 838). Where an heir refuses to consent to an amicable division, or the heirs disagree on how to proceed, the division becomes judicial (Article 840). Judicial division is heavy and slow — the average procedure runs many years — and the court appoints a notaire to draw up the deed recording it; at any moment the parties can abandon the judicial route and return to an amicable division if the conditions are met (Article 842).

How the lots are made up: equality in value and soultes

Modern French law divides by value, not by nature. Each co-owner receives assets to a value equal to their rights in the indivision (Article 826 of the Civil Code); the older principle of equality in kind was abandoned precisely to avoid having to break up or sell assets that cannot conveniently be split. Where the heirs all take in their own right, the estate is divided per head (Article 827); where grandchildren come by representation of a predeceased parent, the division is by branch, the grandchildren sharing the lot that would have gone to the parent they represent (Article 828). Where the lots are unequal, the imbalance is corrected by a cash payment — a soulte — from the heir who takes more to those who take less (Article 826). A soulte whose payment is deferred can be revised if the value of the assets in the lot rises or falls by more than a quarter after the division (Article 828).

Two mechanisms round out the division. The preferential allotment (attribution préférentielle) lets a co-owner have a particular asset — the home and its furniture, or a business — placed in their lot rather than sold, avoiding the break-up of the asset (Articles 831 and 831-2 of the Civil Code); for the surviving spouse, the allotment of the home they actually live in is granted as of right (Article 831-2). And where assets cannot be conveniently divided or allotted, they are sold (licitation) (Article 826). A division has a declaratory effect: each co-heir is deemed to have owned the assets in their lot from the day the succession opened, and never to have owned the other assets — the division is not treated as transferring anything (Article 883). That retroactive, declaratory character is why a co-heir's title, once the lot is allotted, dates back to the death rather than to the deed of division.

The partition duty of 2.5%

Dividing an estate has a tax cost that heirs should budget for from the start. Where indivision assets are divided by a deed of division, the deed attracts the partition duty (droit de partage) of 2.50% (Article 746 of the General Tax Code). The duty is charged on the net value of the assets shared out — the assets less the deductible liabilities — and it applies to the division itself, regardless of whether soultes are paid. On a substantial estate, 2.50% of the net divided assets is not trivial, and it is one reason heirs sometimes stay in indivision, or use a preferential allotment, rather than run a full formal division. It is a distinct charge from the inheritance tax (droits de succession) already paid when the estate was declared; the partition duty is the price of formally unwinding the joint ownership, not of inheriting.

Because a formal division ends the joint ownership cleanly and fixes each heir's title back to the death, it is usually worth doing properly rather than leaving the estate in an open-ended indivision that can block every future sale. The valuation used must be as close as possible to the date the lots take effect (the jouissance divise), both to keep the division fair and to avoid a later action for a supplementary share where an heir was short-changed by more than a quarter (Articles 829 and 889 of the Civil Code). Getting the valuation, the allotments and the soultes right — and choosing between an amicable division, a preferential allotment and, where nothing else works, a sale — is exactly the work a notaire and a French lawyer do together.

Frequently asked questions about accepting or renouncing a French inheritance

Can I refuse a French inheritance?

Yes. Renunciation is one of the three options every heir has (Article 768 of the Civil Code). An heir who renounces makes an express declaration at the registry of the judicial court where the succession opened, or before a notaire, and is then deemed never to have been an heir — receiving nothing and, in principle, owing nothing (Article 805). You keep the right to renounce for ten years unless a creditor or co-heir serves you with a formal notice to choose (Articles 771, 772 and 780).

Do I inherit the deceased's debts in France?

It depends on which option you take. If you accept purely and simply, you are liable for the whole of the estate's debts, even beyond the value of the assets, out of your own funds (Article 785 of the Civil Code). If you accept up to the net assets, you are liable for the debts only up to the value of what you receive (Article 791). If you renounce, you take nothing and are not liable for the debts (Article 805). Where an estate may be insolvent, the net-asset option is the way to take the inheritance without risking your own patrimony.

What is indivision?

Indivision is the joint ownership that arises automatically when more than one person inherits: the heirs own the whole estate together in undivided shares, with no exclusive claim to any particular asset, until the estate is divided (Article 815 of the Civil Code). Important acts, such as selling the estate's property, need the agreement of all the co-owners (Article 815-3), which is why an indivision can become blocked when heirs disagree. No one can be compelled to remain in it (Article 815).

How do heirs divide an estate?

By a division (partage) that ends the indivision and gives each heir a defined lot (Articles 815 and 816 of the Civil Code). If the heirs agree, the division is amicable — and must be notarial and published where there is real property (Article 835); if they do not, it is judicial (Article 840). Lots are made up by value, with a cash payment (soulte) to correct any imbalance (Article 826), and a co-owner can ask for a particular asset such as the home to be allotted to them (Article 831-2). The deed of division attracts a partition duty of 2.50% (Article 746 of the General Tax Code).

How long do I have to decide?

In principle, ten years from the death; an heir who has not chosen by then is treated as having renounced (Article 780 of the Civil Code). But the period can be cut short. Four months after the death, a creditor of the estate, a co-heir, a subsequent heir or the State can serve you with a formal notice to choose, after which you have two months to take a position or ask the court for more time; if you still do not choose, you are treated as having accepted purely and simply (Articles 771 and 772).

Can I change my mind after choosing?

Sometimes. An heir who renounced can revoke the renunciation and accept purely and simply, as long as the ten-year option period has not lapsed and no other heir has already accepted and the assets have not been acquired by third parties (Article 807 of the Civil Code). An heir who accepted up to the net assets can switch to pure and simple acceptance within the same period (Article 801). But once you have accepted purely and simply, you cannot go back — you can no longer renounce or accept up to the net assets (Article 786).

What happens if an heir hides estate assets?

An heir who conceals estate assets, or hides the existence of a co-heir, is deemed to have accepted the estate purely and simply — so is liable for all its debts — but can claim no share in the concealed assets, must return them and their income, and may be ordered to pay damages (Article 778 of the Civil Code). The same penalties apply to an heir who knowingly relies on an inaccurate certificate of heirship (Article 730-5). Concealment can also be prosecuted as theft, fraud or forgery.

How our French lawyers help with accepting or renouncing a French inheritance

The choice between accepting, accepting up to the net assets, and renouncing a French estate is rarely obvious, and it is made harder for a foreign heir who does not know what debts a French estate may carry or how the formalities work. We advise heirs on which option protects them, run the net-asset declaration and inventory so the protection actually holds, and act on the renunciation where the estate is not worth taking. Where several heirs own the estate in indivision, we advise on managing it, on getting out of it, and on dividing it — including the preferential allotment of the family home and the 2.50% partition duty — and, where an heir has concealed assets, on enforcing the penalties that follow.

This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Which inheritance option is right, and how indivision and division apply, depend on the estate, its debts, the assets and the family. Contact our French lawyers for advice on your situation before acting.