Estate planning and wealth management Biarritz in the Basque Country

This situation is very frequent. However, it can present a number of risks: the risk of being in the obligation to buy whereas the sale of the flat has not yet taken place and the price of sale has not yet been paid; the risk of having sold whereas acquisition has been made impossible due to external factors (important legal problem in the file); the risk of being unable to coordinate sale and purchase at the same time. Once you have taken the decision to carry through on this project, you must get in touch with  the international department of  Etude ETASSE et Associes in order to be counselled well upstream. In effect, a number of clauses must be inserted at the time of signature of the sales agreement or of the undertaking to sell in order to protect yourself with regard to the conditions precedent. Moreover, it is important for you to fully understand the stakes of this purchase/resale. Lastly, the international department of ETASSE et Associes law firm, with your assistance, must study your sale file in order to have the time to bring up and iron out any possible difficulties so as not to be subject to delays that might be prejudicial to you.

Marriage, a union and mutual commitment between two people, is considered as being international in the three following scenarios: the union of two French nationals living abroad, of two foreign nationals living in France, or two spouses of different nationalities. Though these situations are increasingly frequent, special attention however needs to be paid to the requirements for international marriages to be recognised in order to ensure the latter's full effectiveness and avoid any subsequent difficulties. Generally speaking, to be recognised, a marriage must comply with the local rules applicable in the location where the marriage was celebrated, as regards the formal requirements (ex: civil or religious marriage, etc.) and the personal rules applicable to the spouses (depending on their nationality), as regards substantive requirements (ex: age of majority). The situation of French nationals abroad and foreign nationals in France must thus be distinguished. * conditions for the recognition of marriages between French nationals abroad: Many formalities must imperatively be observed should French nationals marry abroad. Before marrying, the future spouses will need to request the French consulate of the country in which the marriage is to be celebrated to establish a "certificate of no impediment". Next, the spouses will need to "publish the banns". Finally, the marriage will imperatively need to be recorded in the French civil status registers. To do so, the spouses will need to contact the French Consulate or Embassy. *conditions for the recognition of marriages between foreign nationals in France: In this case, the local rules – i.e. the French rules – will apply. The marriage will thus be celebrated before a French Civil Registrar. If the two spouses share the same foreign nationality, their marriage may also sometimes be celebrated in front of their country's consular or diplomatic authorities. However, the substantive requirements under the law of each of the spouses' countries will need to be observed (ex: as regards the age of majority) and the spouses will need to make sure that their national laws do not impose a religious celebration as a condition for validity. If the foreign law imposes the latter requirement, it would then be in the spouses' best interest to carry out a religious marriage after the civil marriage in order to ensure the effectiveness of their union in their country of origin.

It is best for mixed couples (where one of the two spouses is of foreign nationality) or couples wishing to relocate or already living abroad, to formalise a marriage contract within which they shall choose the law applicable to their matrimonial regime. Failing this, in many cases, the nature of their matrimonial regime will remain uncertain. In general, the spouses will have the choice between the three following laws: -the law of the State of which one of the spouses is a national at the time of the act, - the law of the Sate within which one of the spouses has their habitual residence at the time of the act, - or the law of the first State on the territory of which one of the spouses will establish their new habitual residence once married. Apart from this choice of law, you need to anticipate any difficulties linked to the coexistence of several legal systems throughout the world so as to secure at best the effectiveness and recognition of your marriage contract abroad. To do so, feel free to contact Alexandra ETASSE, who specialises in International Law and heads the international department of ETASSE et Associés, and who will therefore be able to help and advise you in order to consider together the terms for the drafting of the marriage contract 

Yes you can choose a notary anywhere in France to assist your in a property purchase. The purchaser and the seller can have different notaires, and  this will not incur any extra charges or fees

The system of “protected sector” (“secteur sauvegardé “) of sales in a future state of completion concerns sales bearing on premises to be used principally for residential purposes or for both professional and residential purposes and including an obligation to pay a deposit prior to completion of the construction. In this case, specific provisions (schedule of payments, guarantee of completion, etc.) must be observed under penalty of nullity of the contract and punitive sanctions. By the general nature of the definition of protected sector, the question of the compatibility of certain contracts can be raised such as hire-purchase, transfer of land against premises to be constructed, sales of buildings to be renovated (“vente d’immeuble à rénover) Moreover, the law requires that a contract of sale of a building to be constructed (“vente d’immeuble à construire”)together with provisions specific to said sector be drawn up from the moment that he who undertakes to construct a house or to have it constructed procures the land directly or indirectly. 

Located in the heart of the 17th district of Paris in a private mansion, the Firm is managed by six notaries with the support of thirty employees including seven graduate notaries. Our aim is to combine modernity and the tradition of a centuries-old firm, to assist our clients in the most efficient and secure manner. The Firm ETASSE et associes is an experienced and qualified firm of French Lawyers (“Notaires”). While maintaining our approach as a generalist notary, our teams work in various specialities: family law, real estate law, international private law, complex real estate property portfolios, estate management, company law, urban planning law, administrative law, tax law, etc. In order to provide the legal security and counselling necessary for carrying out one’s projects, we take pains to assist our clients to the best of our ability with professionalism, reactivity and efficiency as well as with independence and rigour in the strictest observance of our notarial code of ethics. We work both with national and international clients, private individuals at each key step in their personal and professional life as well as with our institutional and professional clients. The international dimension is increasingly present within both the professional and private lives of our fellow citizens. The increasing mobility of people and capital means that situations involving foreign (international) elements are multiplying, leading to the coexistence of several legal and taxation systems, which raises specific issues that need to be anticipated at best.  The practice of Private International Law requires special expertise. To this end, ETASSE et Associés includes a department specialised in Private International Law.Maître Alexandra ETASSE, in charge of the law office’s International Department, is a certified specialist of Private International Law. Maître Alexandra ETASSE was appointed notary in 2007 and has been a partner since that time.  Me Alexandra ETASSE, who heads this department, is certified as an expert in Private International Law. Due to her dual curriculum – completed both in France and abroad –, her diplomas in Private International Law and her professional experience both in France and the United Kingdom, she is able to assist you with international issues, even complex. She acquired part of her international professional experience by working within a renowned legal office / family office, based in London, where she worked for some 3 years before becoming a partner within ETASSE et Associés.     She holds a Master’s Degree in international law from the University of Canterbury (England), an International Notarial Law Degree, a Private International Law Degree and an International Private Law Specialization Certificate. as well as a university diploma in Estate Management. She is recognised as a specialist in Private International Law.  Her working languages are French and English Before joining the ETASSE et Associés law firm, Alexandra ETASSE worked for around three years in a well-known English legal firm, a sort of family office, based in London and specialising in acquisition by British citizens in France. She works in particular on files with an international dimension for English-speaking clients, cross-border clients, real estate sales, family law, estate planning. Since June 2015, she has also held a Certificate of Specialisation in International Private Law. Her dual training and professional experience, both in France and abroad, enables her to assist international clients, border residents, or clients residing outside of France, for the purchase, financing and estate planning.  pre-nuptial agreement or post-nuptial agreement, mortgages or financing, estate planning, trust and any other subjects pertaining to legal and taxation aspects as regards real estate ownership, inheritance or other modes of transmission. She also helps her clients find the most suitable way in which to acquire property in France and structure the financing and purchase of real estate in France. But the Firm ETASSE et associes has also various other areas of practice with the 4 others partners, who are all “Notaires” (French Lawyer).   Our fields of competence cover most areas of law and taxation: -          Family Law / Estate Planning * marriage contract,, pre/ post nuptial agreement, civil partnership contracts, PACS, cohabitation agreement, Marriage Regimes Amendments, * donation , liberality, and wills, * structuring and organising property ownership, *divorce, * estate planning and tax planning, * inheritance, * Assets Management, tax law, private weatlh   -          Residential/private real estate: * Residential private property law and tax : purchase, sale, resale, current apartment deeds, house, land, company shares (primary residence, secondary residence, rental investment); * mortgages and financing   -          Complex real estate property portfolio/real estate professionals: * real estate promotion, building lot, housing estate, parcelling of land, urban planning law, construction, data-room, institutional real estate, corporate real estate; * commercial and industrial real estate - Estate management, private management, fiscal optimisation, tax law, organisation and conveyance of estate, optimization of business transfer (‘pacte Dutreil’), optimisation of private and professional estate in France and abroad; - Corporate law and business law: real-estate company set-up (SCI), disposal of company shares, operation on capital (increase, decrease, contribution); - File in connection with international and transborder clients, particularly with English-speaking and Spanish-speaking clients: *international marriage, nuptial agreement / marriage contract, change of type of matrimonial regime, *acquisition by non-residents, foreigners, inhabitants of border areas or French living abroad, sale by non-residents, cross-border acquisition *international inheritance, trust, estate planning, * corporate law. * mortgage and financing * family law. Maître Gilbert ETASSE was appointed notary in 1979 and took over the law office in 1994 with Maître Marie-Therese ETASSE. He has a long experience in real estate law, family law and company law. The first honorary president of the “Chambre des Notaires de Paris”, he is involved in numerous missions bearing on the profession. Maître Marie-Therese ETASSE, notary partner since 1994, deals mainly with family law, settlement of inheritances, estate planning and real estate transactions for private individuals. Maître Virginie GUIMIER-MENARD, appointed notary in 2007, is the partner in charge of the Department of Real Estate Promotion, Construction and Complex Real Estate Property Portfolios. Maître Faïz AMDJAD, appointed partner notary in 2010, has a long experience in urban planning law and urban development. He also deals with all types of real estate transactions as well as with company law, tax law and family law. He holds a postgraduate professional degree (DESS) in public law.