Do You Need a French Will? Wills and the Notaire Process Explained

• A UK will doesn't automatically fail in France, but France applies its own rules about who administers the process and how — a French will (or at least French-side planning) avoids friction your UK will was never designed to handle
• Under EU Regulation 650/2012, UK nationals can choose to have UK law govern their entire estate instead of French forced heirship — even though the UK itself never joined the regulation
• A 2021 French law threatened to undermine this election for children with EU ties, but France confirmed to the European Commission in June 2026 that English-law wills are exempt — Scottish nationals should get this checked specifically, since Scots law works differently
• Choosing UK law changes who inherits, not how much tax they pay — a non-relative or unmarried partner still faces French rates as high as 60%
• A PACS partner inherits nothing without a will naming them, unlike a spouse who inherits automatically by law
• Heirs have a real, time-limited choice about whether to accept or refuse (renoncer à) a succession, including its debts

This article explains what that actually involves — what a French will costs, why a UK will alone often isn't enough, and what accepting or refusing a succession actually means for an heir.

Does a UK will work in France?

This is the question that causes the most confusion, and the honest answer is: it depends on what you mean by "work."

The UK never joined EU Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV), the framework that harmonises which country's inheritance law applies across the EU. But the regulation is designed to apply universally on the French side — a French court or notaire administering a French estate follows it regardless of whether the deceased was from a participating country. In practice, that means:

• By default, the law of your habitual residence at death governs your estate. If you're a French resident, that's French law — including forced heirship — even if you're a UK national with a UK will.
• You can override this by explicitly electing, in a will, for the law of your nationality to apply instead (Article 22 of the regulation, the professio juris). A UK national resident in France can elect for UK law to govern their whole estate.

So a UK will isn't invalid in France. But unless it contains an explicit, correctly worded law election, French default rules — forced heirship, the réserve héréditaire covered in our general guide to how inheritance tax works in France — apply regardless of what the UK will says about who gets what. A will drafted by a UK solicitor with no knowledge of this election is a common and avoidable gap.

The 2021 claw-back threat, and why it's mostly resolved for English law

In November 2021, France added a third paragraph to Article 913 of the Civil Code specifically to blunt the effect of choosing a foreign law. Where the deceased or at least one child was an EU national or EU resident, and the foreign law chosen (such as UK law) provided no mechanism at all protecting children, disinherited children could claim a prélèvement compensatoire — a compensatory levy — against the estate's French-situs assets, to top themselves up to what French law would have given them. Notaires were required to actively contact any child who appeared to have been left out, to tell them about this right.

This left UK nationals who'd made a Brussels IV election in a genuinely uncertain position for years: would English law, which has no fixed réserve héréditaire, be treated as offering "no protective mechanism" — meaning a disinherited child could claim the compensatory levy against the estate's French assets?

In June 2026, France formally clarified this to the European Commission. English-law wills are exempt from the Article 913 §3 claw-back — not because English law grants testamentary freedom, but because English law has its own child-protection mechanism of a different kind: a disinherited child can bring a "family provision" claim in an English court asking for financial provision if they've been left in genuine need. France confirmed that having any protective mechanism — even a discretionary, court-based one like this, rather than a fixed guaranteed share — is enough to fall outside the 2021 rule.

This does not automatically extend to Scotland. Scots law has its own forced-heirship-style protection for children, called legal rights, which works differently from both the French réserve héréditaire and the English family-provision system. Because the June 2026 clarification was reasoned specifically around English law's mechanism, it is unclear whether it applies in the same way to a will electing Scots law. Worth taking the time to explicitly raise this with a notaire when estate planning.

Choosing UK law changes who inherits, not what they pay

This distinction is easy to lose sight of, and it matters. A successful Brussels IV election changes who is entitled to inherit — it can let you leave your estate to whoever you choose, sidestepping the réserve héréditaire. It does not change French inheritance tax.

If UK testamentary freedom is used to leave assets to an unmarried partner, a friend, or another non-relative — someone who wouldn't inherit favourably under France's own rules either — French succession tax still applies to what they receive, at the same rates covered in our general guide: up to 60% for an unrelated person. A spouse or PACS partner remains fully exempt regardless of which law governs the estate. Using a Brussels IV election to redirect assets away from children and toward a non-relative means the recipient gains the legal right to inherit but still faces a very large tax bill — which is why this decision needs careful planning.

This is not a DIY decision. Getting the election wording right, and making sure it's valid on both the UK and French sides, is exactly the kind of question to bring to a notaire before finalising a will. A notaire can also draft the will as a testament authentique and register it in the FCDDV (the French national register of wills), so it's reliably found and acted on — and can help coordinate this alongside other tools covered elsewhere in this category, such as a French marriage regime (communauté universelle), an SCI, or assurance-vie.

If you're not a French resident yourself but own French property, see our guide to inheritance tax on a French holiday home.

The three types of French will

If you do want a French will — either instead of, or alongside, a UK one — there are three recognised forms, each with a different process and cost.

A holographic will costs nothing to write but is the most fragile — it can be lost, contested more easily, or simply never found. It also generates its own costs at death: it must be formally deposited and processed by a notaire before the estate can be administered, which can add several hundred euros in fees at exactly the point your heirs are trying to settle things.

A notarised (authentic) will costs more upfront but is harder to contest and doesn't need the same deposit process at death, since the notaire already holds a copy. For anyone with cross-border assets, a blended family, or a law election to make under Brussels IV, this is generally the more reliable route — worth the modest upfront cost.

PACS partners: the gap a will actually closes

This deserves particular attention because it's easy to miss. As covered in our general inheritance tax guide, a PACS partner pays 0% inheritance tax — but that exemption only applies to what they're actually left. Unlike a spouse, who automatically inherits a share of the estate under French law even with no will at all, a PACS partner has no automatic inheritance entitlement whatsoever. Legally, without a will, they're treated as having no claim on the estate — the same position as a stranger.

If you're PACSed and want your partner to inherit anything, naming them in a will isn't a nice-to-have. It's the only way they inherit at all.

Accepting or refusing a succession

Being named an heir doesn't obligate you to accept. French law gives heirs a genuine choice, because an estate can carry debts as well as assets, and accepting it in full means accepting the debts along with everything else.

The reflection period. For the first four months after the death, no other heir or creditor can force you to decide. After that, if someone formally presses you for an answer, you generally have a further two months to respond.

Refusing (renonciation). This is done via a declaration to the court or through a notaire, and costs relatively little — roughly €60 to €120 for a straightforward refusal. An heir who refuses is treated as if they had never been an heir at all: no assets, but also no responsibility for the estate's debts.

Why this matters practically: for a blended cross-border estate — a UK asset with unclear value, a French property with a mortgage, or simply an estate where the numbers aren't yet clear — refusing outright, or accepting only "up to the value of the assets" (acceptation à concurrence de l'actif net, a middle option that caps your exposure to any debts), can be the right call rather than a default full acceptance. This is a decision worth making with a notaire's guidance rather than under time pressure from other heirs.

Common mistakes

1. Assuming a UK will automatically works the way it's written. Without an explicit Brussels IV law election, French forced heirship rules apply by default to a French resident's estate, regardless of what a UK-drafted will says.

2. Assuming a Brussels IV election reduces inheritance tax. It changes who is legally entitled to inherit, not the tax they pay. A non-relative or unmarried partner inheriting under a UK-law election still faces standard French succession rates, up to 60%.

3. Assuming the 2021 claw-back rule still threatens every UK-law election. France clarified in June 2026 that English-law wills are exempt, because English law has its own child-protection mechanism (family provision claims). This is genuinely settled for English law now — but shouldn't be assumed to extend automatically to a Scots-law election without checking, since Scots law's own child-protection mechanism (legal rights) is different.

4. Believing PACS is equivalent to marriage for inheritance purposes. The 0% tax rate is real, but a PACS partner inherits nothing without a will naming them — a spouse inherits automatically; a PACS partner does not.

5. Writing a holographic will and never telling anyone where it is. A will that can't be found is, practically speaking, no will at all.

6. Accepting a succession automatically without checking for debts. Heirs have a real window to investigate before deciding, and options short of full acceptance exist if the estate's finances are unclear.

7. Treating the will as a one-off task. A will drafted years ago, before a PACS, marriage, divorce, or a move to France, may no longer reflect your actual situation or intentions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a UK will valid in France?

It isn't invalid, but it doesn't automatically override French forced heirship rules either. Unless it contains an explicit law election under EU Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV) for UK law to apply to your whole estate, French default rules apply to a French resident's estate regardless of what a UK will states.

Can a UK national avoid French forced heirship?

Yes, in principle, by explicitly electing for the law of their nationality (UK law) to govern their estate, under Article 22 of EU Regulation 650/2012. This applies even though the UK itself never joined the regulation, because it applies universally on the French administering side. The wording needs to be correct and is worth getting drafted by a notaire.

Does choosing UK law mean I avoid French inheritance tax too?

No. A Brussels IV election changes who is legally entitled to inherit your estate, not what French inheritance tax they owe. Someone who wouldn't inherit favourably under French rules — a non-relative or unmarried partner, for example — still faces standard French succession tax rates, up to 60%, on what they receive, even if UK law gave them the legal right to inherit it.

Is there still a risk that France will override an English-law will to protect my children?

Largely resolved as of June 2026. A 2021 French law (Article 913 §3 of the Civil Code) allowed disinherited children with EU ties to claim a compensatory levy against French assets if the foreign law governing the estate had no child-protection mechanism at all. France has now formally confirmed to the European Commission that English law is exempt from this, because it has its own protective mechanism — family provision claims — even though it isn't a fixed guaranteed share like the French réserve héréditaire. This confirmation is specific to English law; a Scots-law election should be checked separately with a notaire, since Scots law's own child-protection mechanism works differently.

Does my PACS partner automatically inherit if I die without a will?

No. Unlike a spouse, a PACS partner has no automatic entitlement to any part of your estate under French law. Without a will naming them, they inherit nothing, regardless of the length of the relationship or the 0% tax rate that would apply to whatever they were left.

How much does a French will cost?

A holographic will (handwritten by you) costs nothing to create, though it generates deposit and processing costs at death, sometimes several hundred euros. A notarised (authentic) will costs around €136 to create but is more secure and doesn't require the same processing at death.

Do I have to accept an inheritance in France?

No. You can accept it in full, refuse it entirely (renonciation, costing roughly €60–120), or accept it only up to the value of its assets, capping your exposure to any debts. You generally have at least four months after the death before anyone can force a decision.

If your will includes a bequest to a charity, see our guide on leaving a legs to charity in France for the full tax exemption rules and drafting requirements.

For more on this topic, browse our Inheritance & Succession Tax category.

Sources: Article 970, Code civil (holographic will requirements) · Article 971, Code civil (authentic will requirements) · Article 771, Code civil and Article 772, Code civil (succession acceptance/refusal timelines) · Article 913, Code civil (compensatory levy, prélèvement compensatoire, added November 2021) · Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, Article 22 (professio juris — choice of national law) · European Commission — pre-closure letter, multiple complaint CPLT(2022)03325, 1 June 2026 (confirms Article 913 §3 applies only where the chosen foreign law lacks any child-protection mechanism; English family provision claims are sufficient to fall outside it)