Key Points
The réserve héréditaire is the share of the estate the law guarantees to certain close heirs, free of charges and regardless of the deceased's testamentary wishes (C. civ. Art. 912).
Only two categories hold reserved status: descendants (at any degree) and, in limited circumstances, the surviving spouse (no descendants + not divorced; C. civ. Art. 914-1).
The global reserve is ½ with one child, ⅔ with two children, and ¾ with three or more (C. civ. Art. 913). The quotité disponible is the remainder. Ascendants are no longer reserved heirs since the 2006 reform.
Renouncing children are not counted in the reserve calculation, unless represented by their own descendants or required to bring a prior gift back into account (C. civ. Art. 913, al. 2).
The quotité disponible spéciale entre époux (C. civ. Art. 1094-1) greatly enlarges what may be freely given to the surviving spouse. The spouse may further restrict what they actually take (cantonnement).
Since 1 January 2007, the spouse cannot cumulate their statutory rights with a donation au dernier vivant or will: gifts to the spouse are imputed against — not added to — their statutory entitlement (C. civ. Art. 758-6).
The existence of reserved heirs is assessed at the date of death, not at the date the will was made or the gift was given.

The Reserve and the Freely Disposable Portion

The réserve héréditaire is defined by C. civ. Art. 912 as the portion of the estate that the law ensures passes free of charges to certain heirs. The reserve is not a right that the reserved heir receives in addition to any testamentary gift: it is a minimum floor. Everything the deceased owned at death — plus the fictive value of lifetime gifts brought back into account — is divided between the reserve and the quotité disponible. The quotité disponible is what the deceased was free to give away, during life or on death, to whomever they chose.

The reserve exists regardless of the deceased's wishes. A will or lifetime gift that encroaches on the reserve may be reduced by the reserved heirs through the action en réduction. The existence of reserved heirs is assessed at the date of death — not at the date the will was made or the gift was given.

Who Are the Reserved Heirs?

Descendants

All children of the deceased are reserved heirs (C. civ. Art. 913, al. 1). The term encompasses descendants at any degree — grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on (C. civ. Art. 913-1). The nature of filiation is irrelevant: biological children, children born outside marriage, and adopted children (both simple and full adoption) all qualify. Simply adopted children and their descendants are not reserved heirs in the succession of the adoptive grandparents (C. civ. Art. 368, al. 2). Ascendants are no longer reserved heirs since the 2006 reform — that protection was abolished and replaced by the statutory right of return over gifted assets (Art. 738-2).

The surviving spouse

The surviving spouse holds reserved heir status only under two cumulative conditions (C. civ. Art. 914-1): there are no surviving descendants, and the parties were not divorced at the date of death. Where descendants exist, the spouse has no reserved share — only the statutory usufruct or one-quarter entitlement under Article 757. Where no descendants survive, the spouse's reserve is fixed at one-quarter of the estate (C. civ. Art. 914-1). The remaining three-quarters may be given away freely.

Rates of the Reserve and the Freely Disposable Portion

The reserve of descendants is global: a single fraction of the estate allocated collectively to all surviving descendants, then divided according to the ordinary devolution rules with representation applying where applicable. The rate depends on the number of surviving children:

One child
½
Global reserve
Freely disposable: ½
Two children
⅔
Global reserve
Freely disposable: ⅓
Three or more children
¾
Global reserve
Freely disposable: ¼

Each child holds an individual reserve proportional to their share of the global reserve. With five children, the global reserve is ¾, so each child's individual reserve is 3/20 of the estate.

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Note on Terminology

The reserve is expressed as a fraction of full ownership (pleine propriété) of the estate. A bequest of bare ownership (nue-propriété) in favour of a child with usufruct to the surviving spouse satisfies the reserve in bare ownership terms, but the global reserve of descendants in bare ownership is ¾ of the estate regardless of the number of children (see the quotité disponible spéciale table below).

Pre-deceased children and representation

Where a child predeceased the deceased and is represented by their own descendants, those descendants count collectively for the reserve calculation as if they were a single child — their parent's place (C. civ. Art. 913-1).

Example — Pre-deceased Child with Descendants

The deceased leaves one surviving son A and two grandchildren B′ and B′′ (children of a pre-deceased son B). The global reserve is ⅔ (two children: A and the represented B). A's individual reserve is ⅓. B′ and B′′ together hold ⅓, which they share equally (⅙ each).

Renouncing children and the reserve

A child who renounces the succession is not counted in calculating the global reserve, subject to two exceptions (C. civ. Art. 913, al. 2): the renouncing child is represented by their own descendants in the succession they renounced; or the renouncing child is required to bring a prior gift back into account (rapport) because the donor expressly required it.

Example — Effect of Renunciation on the Reserve

The deceased leaves three children A, B, and C. A renounces (no prior gift requiring rapport; A has a son A′).

If A is not represented by A′: only B and C count. The global reserve is ⅔, shared equally: B and C each hold ⅓.

If A is represented by A′: three children count (A, B, C). The global reserve is ¾. A′ holds A's ¼; B and C each hold ¼.

The Freely Disposable Portion (Quotité Disponible)

The quotité disponible is the complement of the reserve: the portion the deceased could give away, during life or on death, to any person of their choice. All testamentary legacies and lifetime donations must in total not exceed the quotité disponible. If they do, the excess is subject to reduction at the request of the reserved heirs. There are two quotités disponibles: the ordinary one (applicable to gifts to any beneficiary other than the spouse) and the special one (quotité disponible spéciale entre époux), which applies exclusively to gifts from one spouse to the other.

The Quotité Disponible Spéciale Entre Époux

Where the beneficiary is the surviving spouse, a substantially larger freely disposable portion applies. The enlarged quota gives the surviving spouse a choice among three options (C. civ. Art. 1094-1). In practice, the disposition is most often drafted to give the surviving spouse "the largest possible quota under Art. 1094-1 as at the date of death", delegating the choice to the survivor. The choice itself does not constitute a reduction of the initial universal gift (Cass. 1ère civ. 13-7-2022 n° 21-10.226).

Number of childrenDescendants' reserve (PP)Descendants' reserve (NP)Quotité disponible spéciale — three options for the spouse
1 child½ PP¾ NP½ PP  or  ¼ PP + ¾ usufruct  or  full usufruct
2 children⅔ PP¾ NP⅓ PP  or  ¼ PP + ¾ usufruct  or  full usufruct
3 or more children¾ PP¾ NP¼ PP  or  ¼ PP + ¾ usufruct  or  full usufruct

PP = full ownership (pleine propriété). NP = bare ownership (nue-propriété). The bare-ownership reserve applies where the spouse holds a usufruct over the estate. The enlarged quota applies whether or not the children are common children of both spouses.

The cantonnement right

Unless the donor has provided otherwise, the surviving spouse who receives a disposition under the quotité disponible spéciale may restrict the scope of the gift they actually take (cantonner son émolument) to a part of the assets disposed of in their favour (C. civ. Art. 1094-1, al. 2). This right requires no particular form and is subject to no deadline. The exercise of cantonnement does not constitute a gift by the spouse to the other successors and therefore triggers neither rapport nor reduction (C. civ. Art. 1094-1, al. 2 in fine). The children who benefit indirectly are not subject to gift duty (CGI Art. 788 bis).

Tax Caution on Cantonnement

The fiscal neutrality of cantonnement is not always advantageous for common children. Since the surviving spouse is fully exempt from inheritance tax, it is often more tax-efficient for the spouse to take the full gift (tax-free) and subsequently donate assets to the children with the benefit of the parent-child allowance, rather than the children receiving the surplus directly via cantonnement. The exception is where the child is a child from another relationship of the deceased: the tax neutrality of cantonnement then avoids the 60% rate otherwise applicable between non-relatives.

The No-Cumulation Rule (Since 1 January 2007)

For successions opened since 1 January 2007, the surviving spouse cannot cumulate their statutory succession rights with gifts received under a donation au dernier vivant or a testament (C. civ. Art. 758-6). Any gift received by the spouse is imputed against — rather than added to — their statutory entitlement. If the gift is worth less than the statutory rights, the spouse may claim the difference, up to the limit of the quotité disponible spéciale. Notaries who failed to advise clients of the old cumulation option (in force 1 July 2002 to 31 December 2006) have been held liable in damages (Cass. 1ère civ. 22-11-2017 n° 16-26.169).

Testamentary Freedom and Its Limits

Within the quotité disponible, the deceased enjoyed complete freedom to choose the beneficiary of their dispositions. The reserved share does not prevent the deceased from disinheriting the spouse of their statutory succession rights (subject to the housing rights and the alimentary pension, which remain). The reserved share equally does not prevent the deceased from granting larger rights to any heir within the free portion: one child may be favoured over another, or a grandchild may be enriched at the expense of the children to the extent permitted.

Cross-Border Families

The réserve héréditaire applies where French law governs the succession under EU Succession Regulation No. 650/2012 (Brussels IV). The applicable law is generally the law of habitual residence at death, though the deceased may elect their national law. France has not modified its forced heirship rules following the CJEU's rulings on public policy and third-country successions, so the reserve remains applicable in all successions governed by French law.

Planning Around the French Reserve?

Our guides cover estate planning strategies that respect — and optimise within — the réserve héréditaire for international families, trustees, and legal advisors.

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This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The rules described apply to successions opened on or after 1 January 2007. The réserve héréditaire applies to assets subject to French succession law; cross-border estates may be governed by EU Succession Regulation No. 650/2012. Readers should consult a qualified French lawyer before making any estate planning arrangements involving French assets.