As most readers will be aware, under French law your children are protected heirs, and in your will you are only able to freely dispose of a small proportion of your wealth.

If you have one child, they are entitled to half your estate; two children inherit two-thirds, and three children share three quarters of your estate.

And if you have children by a second marriage or partnership, they are also, per se, protected heirs.

If you are estranged from any of your children, or you would prefer that the children of your former or new partner do not benefit from your estate, you need to act.

As we explained in an earlier article, there are various steps that can be taken to give priority to a particular child or children, but there is also a more radical option available.

That is, to simply ignore French inheritance law and leave your estate to whom you wish.

Although children are protected heirs, the law does not operate in an automatic manner.

If you decide to ignore the law and gift one of your children more than their entitlement under the hereditary reserve, those who have been penalised would need to bring a legal action to restore equality of treatment.

This is called an action en réduction, meaning to reduce the inheritance that has been granted to other beneficiaries in order to re-establish the hereditary reserve.

Such an action is provided for in Article 921 of the civil code, which states:

'The reduction ……… may only be requested by a those for whose benefit the law makes the reservation, by their heirs or successors: neither donees, legatees, creditors of the deceased may request this reduction, nor take advantage of it.'

It must be brought within five years from opening of the succession, or two years from the day in which the heirs became aware of the infringement of their reserve, without ever exceeding ten years from the death.

It is of course a choice not without risk, as those who stand to be disenfranchised may not sit idly by, in which case distribution of the estate could be stalled.

However, a legal challenge cannot be assumed, as many recorded cases testify. Whether through insouciance or ignorance, they may not act. The complexity, costs and the interminable delays in proceedings is also likely to be dissuasive and/or a motivating factor to negotiate a settlement.

One approach to reducing the risk of a legal action is to consider partial rather than complete exclusion of the errant child(ren).

A more radical option is simply to relocate from France to a country where forced heirship does not apply, although some planning is required, as our article Principal Residence and French Succession Laws illustrates.

Similarly, if a child is faced with the prospect of total exclusion, it may be possible to negotiate a family settlement.

The choice of a cooperative notaire will be a major factor in determining how quickly the matter can be resolved.

On your death, notaires have a legal obligation to inform potential heirs of their rights stating:

When the notaire realises during settlement of the inheritance, that the reserved rights of an heir may be susceptible to infringement by the provisions of the deceased, he/she will inform each known and concerned heir individually, and if needed, before any distribution, of their rights to request a reduction of legacies exceeding the available funds.

In addition, beneficiaries also have a legal obligation to inform the notaire of other entitled heirs. The notaire may well be unwilling to distribute with a legal dispute possible.

As a result, just how the process is handled is likely to be a decisive factor in determining the outcome. Choose your notaire with care!

Other possible options to consider, in addition to those set out in our previous article, could be to purchase property in joint ownership with a member of your family (other child(ren) with all or the majority of the funds supplied by you. Alternatively, to open a bank account in joint names, funded solely by your income. In both cases there is the risk that they would amount to a disguised gift, so use of the 15 year exemption period is highly desirable.

Needless to say, the advice here is given on a general basis, and professional advice should always be taken.