France - The Law Society

France
This glossary has been prepared for the purposes of the International Private Client Section
conference March 2015.
A
à titre gracieux: a gift
à titre onéreux: a transaction for consideration (ie a sale)
abattement: “nil-rate band” or tax free allowance
acheteur/acheteuse: buyer
acquéreur: buyer
acte de décès: death certificate
acte de notoriété: a deed prepared by the Notaire which sets out the family of the deceased
and the beneficiaries of the estate
acte de vente: contract of sale
action en réduction: right for a reserved heir to bring an action when the deceased has
gifted more than his quotité disponible
action en retranchement: right for a child of a previous marriage or relationship to make a
claim against the share of the deceased’s estate being received by the surviving spouse
under the matrimonial property regime, if this share exceeds the spousal quotité disponible
administrateur du trust: trust administrator
agent immobilier: estate agent
apostille/apostil: legalisation certificate, required on documents signed in the presence of
an English Notary Public
assurance vie: life insurance
attestation immobilère: notarial document confirming to the Land Registry in France the
passage of ownership of a property belonging to a deceased person
B
bénéficiaire: beneficiary
bien meuble: movable item
bureau des hypothèques: French Land Registry
C
capacité: capacity
clause d’attribution intégrale de la communauté au conjoint survivant: a clause whereby
the “community” assets from a communauté regime are transferred to the surviving spouse
on death
clause pénale: penalty clause in sale agreement
clause suspensive: condition included in sale agreement
code civil: the French Civil Code
code général des impôts: the French Tax Code
communauté: any type of matrimonial property regime whereby there are assets held for
the “community” of the couple
communauté universelle: the most community based matrimonial property regime
whereby all the assets are held for the “community” of the couple
compromis de vente: sale agreement (equivalent to an English contract for sale; signing this
is roughly equivalent to exchange in England)
compte bancaire: bank account
consitutant: the settlor of a trust
contrat de mariage: marriage contract
copropriétaire: member of a copropriété ; the copropriété is the way the common parts of a
building such as an apartment block are held
D
déclaration de succession: inheritance tax form
délai de rétractation/délai de réflexion: cooling-off period
démembrement de propriété: division of full property ownership (pleine propriété) into the
strands of usus (use), fructus (fruit) and abusus (abuse – ability to sell or mortgage);
normally represented by usufruit and nue-propriété
dépôt de garantie: deposit payment
domicile: residence
don manuel: a “hand to hand” gift, such as a gift of cash
donation: a lifetime gift
donation entre epoux: gift between spouses
dossier diagnostique technique: set of technical reports on the property produced by
experts for the seller prior to sale
droit de préemption: pre-emption right
droits d’enregistrement: registration tax
droits de succession: inheritance tax
E
émoluments: notarial fees which are fixed by legislation
état civil: civil status
état hypothécaire: French land registry search
exécuteur testamentaire: person nominated to oversee the administration of an estate
(this is not the same as an English executor)
F
forfait mobilier: a value attributed to furniture and furnishings in the deceased’s estate (5%
of the rest of the gross estate) where there has not been an inventory or a public sale
frais: costs
H
héritier: heir
héritier réservataire: protected or reserved heirs; i.e. a portion of the estate is reserved to
them
honoraires: fees for a professional; for a notaire those fees which are freely fixed
hypothèque: mortgage
I
immeuble: immoveable asset, i.e. real estate
împôt: tax
incapable: someone lacking in capacity
indivision: property held as tenants in common
L
légataire: legatee
légataire à titre universel: legatee of a percentage of the estate, or all or a percentage of
one type of asset (moveable or immoveable)
légataire particulier: specific legatee (including a cash legacy)
légataire universel: legatee of the universality of the estate (can be more than one such)
legs: legacy
M
mairie: town hall or municipal offices
majeur(e): an adult
mandataire: attorney, appointed under a power of attorney
meuble: moveable asset
meubles meublants: furniture and furnishings
mineur: a minor
N
notaire: French notary (lawyer qualified to deal with property transactions and inheritance
matters)
nue-propriété: bare or underlying interest in property, similar to an interest in remainder;
the combination of the nue-propriété and the usufruit combine to make up the pleine
propriété
P
pleine propriété: full ownership
plus-value: capital gain
police d’assurance: insurance policy
prêt: loan
prix: price
procuration: power of attorney
promesse de vente: preliminary contract or sale agreement can be unilatérale or
synallagmatique (rare); see compromis de vente
propriétaire: owner
Q
quotité disponible: portion of a deceased’s estate over which he has freedom to distribute
as he wishes
R
régime matrimonial: matrimonial property regime; basis on which the property of a married
person is held
rente viagère: an annuity
réserve: portion of deceased’s estate which is reserved for inheritance by certain family
members
S
salaire du conservateur: literally the salary of the Conservateur (the person running the
relevant land registry), but in fact a land registry tax
séparation de biens: the matrimonial property regime whereby assets held in one spouse’s
name belong only to that spouse
séquestre: money held in escrow, normally by the cashier at a notarial firm
société civile immobilière (SCI): French property owning company
T
taxe à la valeur ajoutée (TVA): value added tax
taxe d’habitation: annual tax payable by the person in occupation of a property on 1st
January
taxe de publicité foncière: land registry tax
taxe foncière: annual tax payable by the owner who owns the relevant land on 1st January
testament: Will
testament authentique: Will in notarial form
testament holographe: handwritten Will
titre de propriété: title deed
tontine: clause giving rise to property being held by the owners as joint tenants
tutelle: a regime protecting a minor or an incapable adult (this is one of a variety of
protection regimes)
U
urbanisme: local planning matters
usufruit: the right granted to someone to occupy a property ‘usus’ and receive the rents
from it ‘fructus’. Similar, but not identical, to a life interest under English law
V
vendeur/vendeuse: seller
vente:sale
vente en viager: a sale where the buyer pays the seller a lump sum and the remainder of
the purchase price is paid by a monthly sum (known as a rent – a rente viagère) for the
seller’s lifetime. There are two main types of viager, namely viager occupé and viager libre.
The former is where the seller remains in the property for their lifetime (or can be let out
and the seller receive the income) and the latter is where the seller vacates the property on
completion.
March 2015
David Anderson
Solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser
Sykes Anderson LLP
9 Devonshire Square
London EC2M 4YF
Telephone 020 3178 3770
[email protected]
www.sykesanderson.com