Succession

Asserting your rights requires precisely identifying your status as an heir, the extent of your share and the actual composition of the estate. Difficulties often arise at the time of the inventory, the valuation of assets, the settlement of debts, the distribution or the disclosure of information by the other heirs.

The firm supports you in obtaining the necessary documents, checking your rights, challenging an unfair distribution or unblocking the liquidation and distribution operations.

In particular, we assist with:

• analysing the devolution of the estate, the existing deeds and the asset documents;
• identifying your rights, the points of deadlock and the possible claims;
• dealing with the notary, the co-heirs or their advisers;
• bringing a court action if necessary to have your rights recognised.

Where a will, a gift or a late change to testamentary wishes appears to result from coercion, pressure or the abuse of a vulnerable person, it is possible to seek to have it set aside. These cases do, however, require building a solid evidential argument: a challenge cannot rest on mere suspicion.

The firm analyses the circumstances in which the deed was drawn up, the testator’s state of health, their degree of isolation, the role played by third parties and the indications of abnormal influence.

In particular, we assist with:

• analysing the family, medical, wealth and succession situation;
• identifying the challenged instrument: will, gift, particular advantage or change of beneficiary;
• collecting and organising the relevant evidence;
• bringing or defending a court action concerning the validity of the deceased’s wishes.

Certain sums or assets must sometimes be brought back into the succession operations to restore the balance of the distribution. This may concern manifestly excessive life-insurance premiums, earlier gifts, undervalued or concealed assets, or advantages granted to an heir.

The firm works to analyse the asset flows, characterise the operations in question and determine whether a claim for reporting to the estate, reduction, reinstatement or a sanction for concealment can be brought.

In particular, we assist with:

• analysing the assets, liabilities, gifts, life-insurance contracts and financial movements;
• identifying excessive premiums, reportable gifts, omitted assets or questionable advantages;
• quantifying the stakes and building the evidential file;
• negotiating with the heirs or referring the matter to the court in the event of disagreement.

Joint ownership of an estate (indivision) can become a source of deadlock when the heirs cannot agree on the management, upkeep, sale or allocation of an asset. The law allows this to be ended, either by an amicable distribution or by a judicial distribution where agreement is impossible.

The firm supports you in defining the most suitable strategy: negotiation, sale, allocation, distribution framed by the notary or judicial proceedings to end the joint ownership.

In particular, we assist with:

• analysing the jointly owned assets, the heirs’ rights and the existing deadlocks;
• organising an amicable discussion or a distribution proposal;
• preparing the necessary deeds, claims or formal demands;
• bringing judicial distribution proceedings if the situation remains deadlocked.