Notary for donation with right of usufruct Cannes in French Riviera

The deceased's family record book and marriage contract, if any. An extract of the deceased's death certificate.  An authentic copy of the judgement of divorce or legal separation, if any An authentic copy of any gift between spouses the deceased may have formalised Any will the deceased may have drawn up, or name and address of the person who may have said will within their possession. All savings accounts. The bank information for each of the banks within which an account is opened in the name of the deceased and their spouse in the case of shared assets (including any joint bank accounts). Any registered or bearer securities at the place of residence. All documents pertaining to all pensions and retirement benefits received by the deceased or their spouse. The registration certificates for all vehicles belonging to the deceased and their spouse, in the case of shared vehicles. All information and documents concerning any receivables. Any life-insurance policies taken out by the deceased or their spouse (in the case of shared policies). Information on all property owned:  Authentic copies of all real estate acquisition deeds All leases and information on the rentals granted. The latest insurance premium receipts for the buildings. Name and address of the property manager.  Name and address of the property management company All information on the deceased's debts, i.e. all bills paid after their death for expenses incurred before their death: -           + Last illness costs. -           + Funeral expenses. -           + Loans. -           + Last tax notice. -           + Wealth tax. + Property tax. -           + Local tax.  + Miscellaneous bills.  Any information on the benefits the deceased may have received as part of social assistance or the National solidarity fund.   You will also need to provide all information on any gifts made to their children during the marriage, as well as on any gifts or estates received by the deceased or their spouse during the marriage, and on any sale of private property having belonged to the deceased. Depending on the nature of the deceased's assets, additional documents may be required

The Hague Convention of 14 March 1978 provides for various cases of automatic change in matrimonial regime merely because of a change of residence. We often talk about "involuntary" change of matrimonial regime, of "time bomb" and of "unsafe" automatic mutability because many spouses are unaware that they have changed their matrimonial regime simply by having moved. What is more, when spouses do become aware of the situation, it is often too late. This automatic mutability can present considerable difficulties in determining the property owned by each spouse, particularly in the context of an estate or divorce settlement. This risk is a real one for all spouses married after 1 September 1992 and who did not sign a prenuptial contract before their wedding or specify under which law they married. For them, the law on habitual residence will replace the previously applicable law in three situations: *When the couple set their new habitual residence in the territory of the State of which they are both nationals. In this case the spouses are automatically and immediately subject to the law of that State. (Example: two French nationals had settled in England after their marriage in 1994. No marriage contract had been signed. If they return to settle in France, they will automatically be subject to French law and therefore the legal regime of community of aquests (limited to assets acquired after the marriage). *When the couple establish their habitual residence for at least 10 years in a country different from that of their first marital residence. In this situation, from the 11th year, the law of the State where the spouses have their habitual residence will replace the law previously applicable. * If the spouses were previously subject to their common national law in the absence of common residence in the same State at the time of marriage. However, it is necessary that the State of nationality has not made a declaration in favour of the national law. (Example: two Moroccan spouses were married in Morocco in 1995, without a prenuptial contract prior to their marriage. The husband was already working in France and returned there to live after the wedding while his wife remained in Morocco. In the absence of a common habitual residence, the spouses were therefore subject to Moroccan law and separation of property. When the wife came to join her husband in France, the couple automatically became subject to the French legal regime of community of acquests (limited to assets acquired after the marriage). ) To avoid the difficulties entailed by this automatic change of matrimonial regime, it is strongly recommended, in an international context, to have a marriage contract drawn up in presence of a notary in order to fix the choice of matrimonial regime. To this end, Ms. Alexandra ETASSE, in charge of the International Department of the Etasse et Associés law office, will advise and assist you in choosing the matrimonial regime best suited to your situation. 

In an international context, husband and wife have the option of changing at any time the law applicable to their matrimonial regime. However, this choice is circumscribed by and limited to the following laws: -          that of the State of which one of them is a national, -          that of the State in which one of them is habitually resident at the time of the choice, -          that of the State where the immovable assets are located, but only in regard to these assets. This change of applicable law must result from an instrument executed in the form of a marriage contract. It may need to liquidate the previous regime. Steps to publicise such a change are necessary for opposability against third parties

The international department of ETASSE et Associes can assist its clients with incorporating a company ETASSE et Associés assists its clients with incorporating companies, particularly real estate companies (SCI), drawing up memoranda and articles of association, the choice of form of company and the best adapted fiscal option. It also assists its clients with disposals of company shares, whether a sale or a donation and ‘Dutreil’ commitments are concerned. Moreover, it will analyse the company manager’s type of matrimonial regime. For most questions relating to company law, our law frim favours team work between the various departments.

Even without a marriage contract, the spouses are necessarily subject to a matrimonial regime and their marriage entails financial consequences towards each other and third parties. In the absence of a marriage contract, the law implicitly chosen by the spouses in order to define their matrimonial regime must be determined. The rules in order to determine this "implicit choice" are different according to whether the spouses were married before or after 1 September 1992. *For spouses married after 1 September 1992 The provisions of the Hague Convention of 14 March 1978, which came into force on 1 September 1992 in France and several other countries, apply. The nature of this convention is "universal", i.e. it also applies to spouses who are nationals of third-party countries that did not sign the Convention, in order to determine their matrimonial regime in France. The principle is set out in article 4, paragraph 1, which provides that in the absence of a marriage contract prior to their union, the spouses are subject to the law of their first habitual country of residence once married. However several exceptions to this principle are provided so as to designate the spouses' common national law instead of the law of their first habitual country of residence. More specifically, these exceptions apply in the absence of a common habitual residence after marriage and with spouses of the same nationality. *For spouses married before 1 September 1992 For spouses married before 1 September 1992, the rules of French international law and case law apply; the latter adopt the principle of freedom of choice and consider that this choice translates by the selection of the spouses' first matrimonial place of residence. However, this matrimonial place of residence must have a certain stability. In general, a period of two years is needed in order to determine the matrimonial place of residence. However, case law specifies that the presumption in favour of the first matrimonial place of residence may be invalidated by other relevant evidence, depending in particular on the behaviour of the spouses once married. 

We refer to an international estate when the inheritance has an international aspect. So there will be an international estate if the deceased held an asset in at least one country other than that of his nationality or residence, or if the deceased dies in a country other than that of his nationality or residence.