French inheritance and Notaire

thebathhouse

Hi.  My Dad passed away January 2022 in France, with no Will. The Notaire was instructed by us when my Dad passed, even though Covid restrictions were still in place and we weren't able to get out there until the March.  It's been 14 months now and we don't seem to be very far forward. We thought that, considering the time deadlines the French seem to have, we'd be a lot further forward than we are now.  
What we want to know, and the Notaire isn't very forthcoming (I know there's the language barrier, but we have had translations done), is where do we stand?
My Dads assets are less than £40,000, the Notaire has found debts, which will be taken out of his half of the sale of the property.  My mother, who was divorced from my Dad when he died, is still on the deeds for the property, so technically owns half. She wants to sell, so that isn't a problem.
Should we get the help of an English lawyer? We'd have to pay for this, I know, and funds are very limited, but we want this all done with now and not hanging over our heads. 
Are we then liable for my Dads debts, should they uncover more? We are not expecting anything from my Dads estate, we just want to know that what IS there will cover the debts and the Notaires fees...which are very high already, and like I said, we're not very far along!
Sorry for the ramble. I hope someone can make sense of this!

user1977

Is there an English aspect to the estate you haven't mentioned? Which country is the property in? If the whole estate is French then I don't see how an English lawyer can assist. A French lawyer might be more useful, though whether that's worthwhile I don't know.

thebathhouse

Hi user1977. Thanks for the response. The property is in France. The only English aspect was a small bank account he had, which didn't have much in it. We used what was there for the funeral etc. 
We just want this sorted, but the French Notaire is dragging their heels! I assume it's because there's no real value to the estate? 
We won't bother with the English Lawyer then. Thank you for your help.

Savvy_Sue

Are you clear about French succession laws? I'd be looking for an expat forum where people might be able to help you work things out.

As I understand it, children can't be disinherited. Your parents divorce might complicate things.

Once you know what the succession route is, you may find it easier to press the notaire

troubleinparadise

Try taking a look at the Facebook group “Strictly Legal France” which helps people with legal issues arising with French property, inheritance etc, which are very different to UK law.

Your type of question is not unusual on there.

French Notaires seem to work at a slower pace than you might hope for, and do not seem to use email very much, so often don’t respond to such enquiries.  Yes, that’s a generalisation, but seems to often be the case.  Good luck!

thebathhouse

Savvy-Sue, thank you. Yes, we've looked into the succession laws now. We want to just renounce succession, but aren't sure how that then leaves my Mum. They were married and divorced in England. We can't seem to find a direct answer as to how her owning half the property will be affected when we renounce.
troubleinparadise, thank you for that. I have signed up to join that Facebook group. Will put the question on there and see if anyone knows. It's so frustrating that it's so slow, but glad it is a common thing !

ian16527

Try Complete France expat forum if its still going, or Angloinfo