Wills, probate and inheritance: 7 English and French tips

With the recent wave of independence movements never before in my lifetime has it seemed so important for the English and French to understand each other. In this spirit of mutual understanding I have set out below some key succession and inheritance differences between England and France. From my experience when you can see or even better anticipate an issue from the other side of the Channel before it becomes a problem differences diminish and harmonious solutions become possible.

1. Connections

Residence habitual residence domicile nationality and citizenship are (i) all different tests (ii) apply to different legal concepts and taxes (iii) can be interpreted differently in England and France. For example domicile in the English sense (the territory to which one has the strongest permanent or indefinite ties) is the vital first test for assessing how far English law will apply to a succession. The equivalent but different first French test in an international succession is 'habitual residence' as introduced by the European Succession Regulation (ESR) (see more below). Once the differences and effects of these two tests are...

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