The reserve hereditaire -- children reserved, spouse generally not
France's Civil Code sets out a reserve hereditaire (forced-heirship) system that reserves a fixed
fraction of an estate for children regardless of what a will provides: one-half of the estate with one
child, two-thirds with two children, and three-quarters with three or more children, with the remaining
freely disposable portion available for the deceased to distribute as they choose. Notably, a surviving
spouse has no reserved share at all where descendants survive -- retaining only ordinary inheritance
rights and specific protections over the family home -- and gains a one-quarter reserved share only
where there are no descendants at all.
The 2021 compensatory levy -- a real risk for NRI families settled in France
A significant 2021 amendment to Article 913 of the Civil Code, applicable to estates opened after 1
November 2021, lets a child claim a “prelevement compensatoire” (compensatory levy) against
French-situated assets, restoring the reserved share that child would have received under French law.
This levy applies whenever the deceased or at least one child holds EU nationality or EU habitual
residence, and the foreign law that actually governs the succession does not itself provide forced
heirship. Indian succession law generally lacks a directly equivalent reserved-share concept for most
personal-law regimes, so an NRI family with French-situated assets and an EU connection (French
citizenship, or simply long-term habitual residence in France) should treat this as a genuine, current
risk rather than a hypothetical one, and take specific advice on French-situated assets.
Why French succession law does not touch assets located in India
France's reserve hereditaire and the compensatory levy apply to assets situated in France; they have
no bearing on immovable or movable property located in India. For a France-based person of Indian origin
(or an Indian citizen resident in France) who dies owning property in India, the applicable Indian
succession law depends on personal law exactly as it would for anyone else -- the Hindu Succession Act,
1956 for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists; Muslim personal law for Muslims; and the Indian Succession
Act, 1925 for Christians, Parsis, and those who die leaving a valid will governing testamentary
succession generally. Heirs based in France seeking to access a deceased relative's Indian bank accounts,
securities, or movable assets typically need a Succession Certificate from the relevant Indian court (or
Letters of Administration/Probate where a will exists), and can pursue this through a Power of Attorney
authorizing a representative in India, avoiding the need to travel to India for most stages of the
process.
Common mistakes NRIs in France make with succession matters:
- Assuming Indian succession planning is unaffected by French law simply because the deceased was
an Indian citizen -- the 2021 compensatory levy can still reach French-situated assets where an EU
connection exists.
- Assuming France's own reserve hereditaire or the compensatory levy automatically governs assets
located in India -- they do not; Indian assets follow Indian succession law.
- Delaying the Succession Certificate/Probate application, which can hold up access to Indian bank
accounts and securities for an extended period.
