Key Points
A donation-partage simultaneously accomplishes an inter vivos gift and an anticipated partition of the succession, in a single notarial act (C. civ. Art. 1075–1079).
Unlike a simple donation, a donation-partage is never subject to rapport: the allotted lots are not brought back into account at the succession for equalisation.
When all the donor's children (or their representatives) participate and receive a lot, gifted assets are valued at the date of the deed for reserve calculation — not at the date of the donor's death (C. civ. Art. 1078). Future appreciation or depreciation falls entirely on each lot's recipient.
A donation-partage transgénérationnelle allows grandparents to allot grandchildren directly (with the parents' consent), treating the grandchildren's lots as advances on the children's reserve rather than on the freely disposable portion (C. civ. Art. 1075-1).
Prior gifts may be incorporated into a later donation-partage with the donee's consent, locking in their value and eliminating the rapport uncertainty that attaches to standalone donations (C. civ. Art. 1078-1).
The droit de partage (2.5%) does not apply where the partition takes place in the same deed as the donation. Grandchildren's lots in a transgenerational structure are exempt from fiscal recall in the child's succession (CGI Art. 776 ter).
The donation-partage is not subject to the action en lésion for partition inequality of more than one-quarter — an important distinction from ordinary partitions (C. civ. Art. 1075-3).

Nature and Advantages

The donation-partage is defined by its dual nature: it is simultaneously a libéralité entre vifs (an inter vivos gift governed by the rules of donations) and a partage anticipé (an anticipated partition of the succession producing the effects of a partition as between the allottees). The combination in a single notarial act produces consequences that neither instrument achieves alone.

Civil advantage 1
No Rapport

Lots distributed in a donation-partage are never subject to rapport: they do not enter the fictive mass for equalisation purposes at the succession, regardless of whether the lot was made hors-part or as an advance on the reserve.

Civil advantage 2
Values Frozen at the Deed

Where all living children (or their representatives) accept a lot, assets are valued at the date of the deed for reserve calculation and imputation — not at the date of death (C. civ. Art. 1078). Future appreciation or depreciation is entirely borne by each lot's recipient, giving the partition lasting stability.

Civil advantage 3
Incorporation of Prior Gifts

Earlier donations — whether notarial, manual, indirect, or disguised — may be incorporated into a later donation-partage with the donee's consent (C. civ. Art. 1078-1). Incorporation locks in value and transforms the previously rapportable donation into a stable lot.

Fiscal advantage
No Droit de Partage

When the donation and partition occur in the same deed, the droit de partage of 2.5% does not apply. Soultes stipulated within the deed are also not subject to transfer tax. Only ordinary gift duties apply.

Form and Basic Conditions

A donation-partage must be made by notarial deed (acte authentique), on pain of nullity (Cass. 1ère civ. 1-12-1999 n° 97-21.953; Cass. 1ère civ. 3-1-2006 n° 02-17.656). It cannot be accomplished through multiple separate donation deeds: the notarial act must encompass all the gifted assets in a single instrument. The donation and partition may, however, be made in two separate acts provided the donor participates in both (C. civ. Art. 1076, al. 2; Cass. 1ère civ. 13-2-2019 n° 18-11.642), though a single combined act is strongly preferred.

The instrument may cover only present assets belonging to the donor at the time of the deed (C. civ. Art. 1076, al. 1). Future property is excluded. Like all donations, the donation-partage is irrevocable (subject to the statutory grounds: non-performance of charges, ingratitude, birth of a child). It is not subject to the action en lésion for partition inequality of more than one-quarter (C. civ. Art. 1075-3).

Beneficiaries

The general rule: héritiers présomptifs

A donation-partage may in principle only benefit presumptive heirs of the donor — those who would inherit if the donor died on the date of the deed (C. civ. Art. 1075, al. 1). In the vast majority of cases, these are the donor's children, possibly joined by grandchildren representing a pre-deceased child. The donor's surviving spouse may also participate. It is not required that all children participate; a donation-partage in favour of only some children is valid (Cass. 1ère civ. 13-2-2019 n° 18-11.642), though non-participation has consequences for the stability of the reserve calculation.

Transgenerational donation-partage

Since the 2006 reform, a donation-partage may benefit descendants of different generations simultaneously — the donor may allot both children and grandchildren in the same deed (C. civ. Art. 1075-1). The sole condition is that the children must consent in the deed to their own descendants being allotted in their place, in whole or in part (C. civ. Art. 1078-4, al. 1). The lots received by the grandchildren are treated as advances on the children's reserve — not on the donor's quotité disponible. For transgenerational structures, gifts to grandchildren are taxed at the grandparent–grandchild abatement rate (€31,865), not the parent–child rate (€100,000) (CGI Art. 784 B).

At the donor's death, if all children consented and each branch received a lot, values are frozen at the deed date. At the later death of a child, the grandchildren's lots are treated as received from the child for reserve and rapport purposes in the child's succession — unless all the grandchildren in that branch received lots, in which case the deed-date valuation rule also applies at the child's level (C. civ. Art. 1078-9).

Third-party allotment: business transmission

A third party (non-heir) may be allotted within a donation-partage, but only in respect of a business — an individual enterprise or company shares, provided the donor holds a management role (C. civ. Art. 1075-2). The allotment of the third party is limited to the business assets; they cannot receive other assets or a soulte payable by the heirs. Dutreil abatements may substantially reduce the taxable base in eligible cases.

Eligible Assets and Incorporation of Prior Gifts

Only present assets owned by the donor at the deed date may be given (C. civ. Art. 1076, al. 1). Community property may be included with the non-donating spouse's consent. Undivided interests and property with a reserved usufruct are both permissible, though a usufruct reserved on a cash sum triggers the exception that prevents the deed-date valuation rule from applying (C. civ. Art. 1078; Cass. 1ère civ. 18-5-1978 n° 76-12.709).

A donation-partage may incorporate earlier donations — whether notarial, manual, indirect, or disguised — that the donor made to the prospective beneficiaries (C. civ. Art. 1078-1). The donee must consent to the incorporation. Once incorporated, the prior donation loses its standalone character and becomes a lot in the donation-partage, fixing its value and removing it from the ordinary rapport rules. Earlier donation-partages may themselves be incorporated into a later one (C. civ. Art. 1078-7). Incorporation of a prior donation into a donation-partage is generally not subject to fresh gift duty — the incorporated donation has already been taxed.

Effects at the Succession

No rapport: the defining advantage

The lots in a donation-partage are never subject to the rapport des libéralités: they do not enter the fictive mass for equalisation between the heirs. This is the defining civil advantage of the instrument over a simple donation, which — unless expressly made hors part — is rapportable by default.

The value-freeze rule and its conditions

Where all the donor's children who are alive at the time of the donation-partage (or their representatives) received and accepted a lot, the gifted assets are valued at the date of the deed for reserve calculation and imputation (C. civ. Art. 1078). This rule has two exceptions: it does not apply where a usufruct is reserved on a cash sum, and it may be contractually disapplied by a clause in the deed. Where not all children participated, the ordinary law applies and all donated assets are valued at the date of the successor's death (C. civ. Art. 1077-2).

Example — Value Freeze with All Children Participating

Donor has two children A and B. Both participate. At the deed date: A receives a property worth €400,000; B receives a business worth €400,000. At the donor's death ten years later, the property is worth €700,000 and the business is worth €250,000. Existing estate at death: €300,000.

Reserve calculation uses deed-date values: fictive mass = €300,000 + €400,000 + €400,000 = €1,100,000. Reserve (⅔) = €733,333; each child's reserve = €366,667. A's lot (€400,000) ≥ their reserve. B's lot (€400,000) ≥ their reserve. No reduction action possible. The €300,000 appreciation in A's property and the €150,000 loss in B's business are each child's own affair.

Revocation and sanctions

Like all donations, a donation-partage may be revoked for non-performance of charges, ingratitude, or (for donors without descendants at the time) birth of a child. Revocation affects only the defaulting co-recipient; the partition is maintained for the others (Cass. 1ère civ. 4-7-2006 n° 04-16.272). It is not subject to rescission for lésion — inequity of more than one quarter — since this action is excluded for donation-partages (C. civ. Art. 1075-3).

Conjunctive and Cumulative Structures

Donation-partage conjonctive

Both spouses may donate their respective assets in a single combined act, allotting their children from a unified mass of assets (C. civ. Art. 1076-1). This enables the preservation of a family business or property that must remain undivided. Where children include children from different relationships (enfants de lits différents), the deed contains two operations: a joint donation-partage for the common children, and a separate operation by the relevant parent for their non-common children. The action en réduction can only be brought after the death of the last survivor of the two donors (C. civ. Art. 1077-2, al. 2).

Cumulative donation-partage

A surviving spouse may, with all the children's consent, combine their own assets with those from the pre-deceased spouse's estate in a single partition act. This allows both successions to be settled simultaneously, under the authority of the surviving parent, in a single organised transaction.

Fiscal Regime

A donation-partage is subject to ordinary gift duty rates, abatements, and reductions — the same rules as for a simple donation. Applicable abatements: €100,000 (parent–child) or €31,865 (grandparent–grandchild), subject to the 15-year rappel fiscal rule. The droit de partage (2.5% on the net partitioned value) does not apply when the partition takes place in the same deed as the donation. Soultes within the deed are not subject to transfer tax. If the donation and partition are made in separate deeds, the droit de partage applies to the partition deed.

Grandchildren's lots in a transgenerational donation-partage are taxed at the grandparent–grandchild rate (CGI Art. 784 B) and are exempt from fiscal recall in the child's succession (CGI Art. 776 ter) — they do not trigger an additional tax charge when the child later dies.

The Critical Condition: All Children Must Participate

The value-freeze rule — the most important advantage of the donation-partage — only applies where all the donor's living children (or their representatives) received and accepted a lot. Any child born after the deed, or any child who did not participate, causes the ordinary valuation-at-death rules to apply to the entire operation. Estate planners therefore strongly advise ensuring that every child participates and receives at least a token lot. Alternatively, the donor may incorporate children who have already received informal gifts, ensuring they formally participate via the incorporation mechanism.

Planning an Anticipated Partition?

Our guides cover donation-partage structures, including transgenerational planning, incorporation of prior gifts, and combined spousal transmissions for international families under French succession law.

Book a Consultation

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The rules described apply to donations-partages consented since 1 January 2007. Fiscal treatment depends on the specific facts of each situation and is subject to change. Readers should consult a qualified French lawyer and notary before implementing any estate planning arrangement.