Lawyer for an international marriage contract Paris Batignolles in Triangle d'Or

The tontine clause that must be inserted in the acquisition act, is often considered in the scope of the protection of the surviving spouse or the partner. This clause foresees that the owner of the goods shall be the survivor of the signatories of the tontine pact. Often it aims to avoid the application of the hereditary reserve to the death of the first of the spouses or partners. But pay attention to the tax system for those that are not married nor in civil unions. 

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. 

Generally, the preliminary agreement provides for approximately three months between the signing of the preliminary agreement and the signing of the deed of sale. During this period, the purchaser must obtain financing and more specifically their loan offer. The exact time limit for the purchaser to provide evidence of this loan offer is indicated in the preliminary agreement; in practice it is between 45 and 60 days. If the purchaser does not obtain a real estate loan, if he provides evidence that the loan has been refused and that the conditions laid down in the preliminary contract have been met, he can in principle be released from all obligations and recover his security deposit. If the purchaser obtains his loan, once the loan offer has been received the borrower will have a minimum of 11 days from receipt to accept it. 

Since 17 August 2015, a major European Regulation dated 4 July 2012 has come into effect. The provisions of this Regulation apply where the deceased died on or after 17 August 2015. The Regulation aims at unifying the laws on inheritance so that the assets left by the deceased, whether movable or immovable, will no longer be divided and subject to different laws. They will be subject to a single law, the law of the State in which the deceased had his habitual residence at time of death. But this law also allows for the planning of his estate. Thus, this Regulation allows people to choose their inheritance law and to designate their national law to govern the whole of their estate. This choice of law is called "professio juris".  For greater legal certainty it is strongly recommended that you make this choice of law in writing in the form of a will. Nevertheless, the designated law will apply only on condition that it is not contrary to international public order.  The International Department of ETASSE et Associés will assist you in drafting your wills in an international context and in this choice of inheritance law. Our team will give you advice for considering the possibilities offered by this Succession Regulation but also its limitations. Indeed, although the Succession Regulation is "universal" in character (applicable regardless of the nationality of the persons concerned, even if they are not nationals of a connected State), its opposability in regard to third countries may raise some difficulties. Moreover, the determination of "habitual residence at time of death" can sometimes be tricky. Warning: this Succession Regulation contains no provisions on taxation. It will therefore always be necessary to refer to the provisions of the Code Générale des Impôts (the French General Tax Code), to the tax treaties signed between France and many States, and possibly the national tax systems of each State. Here again, seeking advice from the International Department of ETASSE et Associés will prove to be extremely usefu

          The application of social charges to capital gains realised by non-residents is currently the subject of a procedure against the French State. The French Council of State (“Conseil d’Etat”) has also referred a question to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling on whether these social charges can be levied on persons not benefiting from the scheme that these contributions are intended to fund. To date, the issue of the payment of social charges by non-residents is still not fully resolved. However, it would appear that the Direction générale des finances publiques (the French Department of Public Revenue) has communicated guidelines to its regional branches with a view to ensuring that the Land Registry Office and local tax offices should no longer require the payment of social charges in the situations covered by the ECJ case law of February 2015 and that of the Council of State of July 2015. It would therefore seem that in the current state of the law, sales of real estate undertaken by taxpayers from a social security scheme of another Member State of the EEA will not entail the payment of social charges. However, it is necessary for the taxpayer in question to provide evidence to their notary of their affiliation to a social security scheme in a foreign Member State of the EU or EEA, by means of either a social security card or a certificate of affiliation.

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.