Section 6: Family habilitation

Articles in this section · 12

Article 494-6

French Civil CodeIn force

Updated 8 Nov 2023

Habilitation may relate to:

- one or more of the acts that the guardian has the power to perform, alone or with authorisation, on the property of the person concerned;

- one or more acts relating to the person to be protected. In this case, the empowerment is exercised in compliance with the provisions of articles 457-1 to 459-2 of the Civil Code.

The empowered person may only carry out, in representation, a disposal act free of charge with the authorisation of the guardianship judge.

If the interests of the person to be protected so require, the judge may issue a general authorisation covering all the acts or one of the two categories of acts mentioned in the second and third paragraphs.

The person authorised under a general authorisation may not perform an act for which he or she would be in opposition of interests with the protected person. However, by way of exception and where the interests of the protected person so require, the court may authorise the person authorised to perform such an act.

In the event of general authorisation, the court shall set a duration for the arrangement, which may not exceed ten years. Ruling at the request of one of the persons mentioned in Article 494-1 or the Public Prosecutor seized at the request of one of them, he may renew the authorisation when the conditions provided for in Articles 431 and 494-5 are met. Renewal may be granted for the same period; however, where the impairment of the personal faculties of the person in respect of whom the authorisation has been granted is manifestly unlikely to improve in accordance with current scientific knowledge, the court may, by specially reasoned decision and on the advice of the doctor referred to in article 431, renew the arrangement for a longer period which it shall determine, not exceeding twenty years.

Decisions granting, amending or renewing a general authorisation shall be noted in the margin of the birth certificate in accordance with the conditions set out in article 444. The same applies when the authorisation is terminated for one of the reasons set out in article 494-11.

Mariela Petrova

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Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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