Legal Advice - daughter cheats mother out of home in France

July1962

Thanks for all of your comments and advice. I will pass on all of the suggestions to my friend.
Many thanks, you've all been a great help.

pinkshoes

I think she should get some legal help, as although it will cost, she has a lot to gain.

I'd get some sort of official letter sent out to the bad sister stating that she has 3 months to repay the sum of £X (cost of house), otherwise legal action will be taken to retrieve the funds, and she will be charged with fraud and deception.

January20

puddy wrote: »

Unlike the UK, you do not have complete freedom in terms of whom you leave your French property and other assets to. French inheritance law specifies that your relatives have rights to a certain proportion of your estate. The proportion that is due to your legal relatives is known as the Reserve Legale, while the proportion that you can freely give away is known as the Quotit Disponible.

To illustrate this, consider the case where you are survived by one child. This child would be entitled to half your estate. If you had two children they would be entitled to one-third each; with three children they would be entitled to one-quarter each. If you have no children that survive you, other members of your family (e.g. surviving parents) may qualify as legal heirs and therefore are entitle to a share of your estate. This is based on the French legal principle that property should be preserved within the bloodline.

A husband or wife is not a legal heir and therefore has no legal entitlement to a share of your estate.

http://www.france-property-and-information.com/inheritance_tax.htm

This information is a little out of date (and it's "Quotite Disponible"). The laws have been changed so that a husband/ wife has more right to a property. It's all very complicated and takes into consideration whether people are married, have children or not, have deceased children and whether these have children themselves or not, etc.

As ever, always better to make a will.

ETA: under French law, unless she has made a will, if the sister dies, her mother and siblings are in line to inherit a share each of the property.

onlyroz

The "fraud" is the renege on the promise to let mum live in the house. Is there anything in writing that states the mother will be living in the house with her daughter?

July1962

I'm sure that the law-savvy bad sister is very likely to have made a will.
I'm not at all certain what paperwork there is regarding the French property (bad sister would probably have made sure that there were no 'loose ends').
First port of call I think will be CAB, and then take things from there...
Many thanks to everyone for comments / suggestions.

DCFC79

How disgusting(not disgusting as such but wrong all the same.), how on earth can a daughter do this to theyre mother, to theyre own flesh and blood. I could never bring myself to do this to family or even friends or had a vast amount of cash.