Estates spanning China and France
French succession gives children a reserved share that overrides the will, and an assurance-vie sits outside the estate altogether.
A deceased with children in China left French assets, intending to favour one child. The French position is not what the will suggests.
Establish the reserved share position and identify any assets that sit outside the estate before proposing a distribution.
The position in one paragraph
French succession gives children a reserved share that overrides the will, and an assurance-vie sits outside the estate altogether.
French law reserves a portion of the estate for children, which the will cannot override, and separately allows certain assets to pass outside the estate altogether. A plan that looks effective on the face of the will can therefore be substantially undone.
A typical situation
A deceased with children in China left French assets, intending to favour one child. The French position is not what the will suggests.
Drafting around the reserved share through the will. The reserved share is a legal minimum rather than a default, and it prevails.
What distinguishes this from a purely domestic case
The default regime is community of acquisitions, but a prenuptial agreement can switch the couple to separation of property — which changes everything.
On the China side, the connecting factor has to be established on the documents: A Chinese court deals with China-situated estate assets. Assets abroad are governed by the law of the place where they sit, with China's conflict rules determining which law applies to succession.
The practical sequence in a France-connected matter
- Separate the question of who inherits from the question of how the assets are actually transferred
- Establish the applicable law for succession, which can differ between movables and immovables
- Authenticate the death certificate, the will and the relationship documents
- Address the practical release of each asset with the institution holding it
Certification differs between judicial documents and notarial documents, so the document type has to be identified first.
How France documents are handled
Apostille from the court or chamber of notaries for judicial documents, or the prefecture.
France uses a communauté system with a well-developed prenuptial agreement practice, and the chosen regime governs the division.
The default community-of-acquisitions regime applies only if no registered agreement displaced it.
What has to be decided before filing
Establish the reserved share position and identify any assets that sit outside the estate before proposing a distribution.
The boundary to plan around is this: Agreeing the shares and realising the assets are two separate problems; both need to be planned, and the second is usually harder. Where value sits in France — typically property, company equity, assurance-vie policies — it is handled by agreement or by a separate route there, not by an order the Chinese court could enforce directly.
If your situation has a France element
Inheritance cases stall when the evidence of the family relationship is incomplete. Send us the family tree and where each asset is held, and we will set out the route.
Frequently asked questions
Free initial review of jurisdiction, documents and enforceability — before any cost is committed.