Glossary

In order to be able to move around abroad, the French public documents must initially be the subject, except in the case of an exemption, of an apostille or legalization, to confirm the veracity of the signature and the quality of the signatory.

The apostille, provided for by the Hague Convention dated October 5, 1961, is a unique simplified formality: it consists, after verification of the quality of the seal and the signature of the author of the document, in the affixing on the act itself of a stamp, conforming to a model annexed to the aforementioned convention. The issuance of apostilles (and legalizations) has been profoundly modified to relieve the general prosecutors of the courts of this formality for the benefit of the notary (with some exceptions) and to dematerialize the procedure.

A writing established by a public official (a notary for example), on paper or electronic medium and whose affirmations are authentic until registration of forgery, which means that the act is authentic until proof of the contrary to facts which have not been personally observed by the public officer. The other feature of the authentic act is that it is automatically enforceable.

A deed received by two notaries or a notary and two witnesses. It is dictated by the testator, written by the notary, then read to the testator. People who cannot express themselves in French, or who can write French but cannot speak, or who can neither speak nor hear, nor read nor write, can use this type of will, with the help of an interpreter and the notary.

It is one of the elements of the right of ownership of an asset, the complement of which is the usufruct. This right allows its holder to legally dispose of the good (for example to sell) but does not confer on it either use or enjoyment, which are the prerogatives of the usufructuary over this same good. For tax purposes, the value of the bare ownership corresponds to a portion of the value of the full ownership fixed according to a scale, which is established by reference to the age of the usufructuary.

This applies to spouses married under a community of property regime. It is a payment owed by one spouse to the community, or by the community to one spouse, upon the dissolution of the matrimonial regime (divorce, death, change of regime). It is intended to compensate for the enrichment or impoverishment of one spouse’s assets at the expense of the other, where one spouse’s assets (separate or joint) have financed an expense that should have been borne by the other.

Retention of the remuneration due to the notary as part of his judicial mission. Payment by clients of this advance on the notary’s remuneration, the amount of which is set by the court, enables the notary to begin legal proceedings. This sum can be deposited either in the notary’s office account or directly with the court.

For example, when an expert notary is appointed by a family court judge for the liquidation and division of a matrimonial property regime, the sums required for his expert report will be deposited before he can begin his mission.

Determine which heirs or legatees will inherit the estate. After the probate certificate (acte de notoriété) has been signed, the notary issues a devolution certificate to the heirs. This document is required by banks to release funds.

Full adoption is a form of adoption that establishes a new parent-child legal relationship for the adoptee, completely and irrevocably replacing their original parent-child legal relationship. It integrates the adoptee into the adoptive parent’s family as if they had been born into it, granting them all the rights and obligations of a child whose parentage is legally established, and severing all legal ties with their birth family.

A gift between spouses is a legal arrangement whereby one spouse agrees to bequeath to the other, upon their death, all or part of their future assets, in addition to the statutory inheritance rights. It can be established regardless of the spouses’ matrimonial property regime and is beneficial even in the absence of children. This gift takes effect upon the donor’s death and may be revoked under the conditions provided by law. It offers the surviving spouse several estate planning options, subject to compliance with the statutory share and the provisions of the french Civil Code regarding special disposable portions between spouses.

A document written in full, dated and signed by the testator. The signature must follow the content of the will, otherwise it is invalid.

Legalisation is a procedure for the prior authentication of the signature of the authority that issued a public document intended for presentation to a foreign authority. It is the formality by which the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory of the document acted and, where applicable, the identity of the seal or stamp affixed to the document are certified. Unless otherwise provided for by an international agreement, any French public document intended for use abroad must be legalised.

Is a right which retains the possession during his life, but the benefit of which does not pass to the heirs (a life pension for example).

Original copy of a judgment or notarial deed, which must be kept by the authority that received the deed.

A mortgage statement is an official document issued by the Land Registry Office that sets forth the legal status of a property as of a specific date. It serves as a record of the entries and publications in the real estate registry and lists all encumbrances, mortgages, liens, easements, foreclosures, and other real property security interests encumbering the property, as well as, where applicable, the history of title transfers. The mortgage statement thus makes it possible to identify the real rights and security interests attached to the property.

Measure put in place to counter the debtor’s resistance to the execution of a sentence (L.131-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). A debtor who refuses to fulfill his obligations may be ordered by the judge to pay a certain sum of money until he does so. The amount of the penalty payment will increase progressively, according to the pace decided by the judge. The penalty payment can also be imposed as a preventive measure.

A key principle of legal procedure, guaranteeing that the parties to a lawsuit cannot be judged without having had the opportunity to put forward their arguments in support of their claims, both among themselves and before the judge, and to know the legal claim of their adversary.

Act which is only composed of the signature of the parties to the contract, and, where applicable, of their advisors. It opposes the authentic deed received and signed by a public officer.

A deed drawn up by a notary to establish the existence of a right (often in the presence of witnesses attesting to well-known facts). In inheritance cases, this is generally the first deed signed to establish the devolution of the estate, i.e. who the heirs are.

This designates the portion that belongs to a person while distributing a whole (real estate or capital for example).

A form of French company constituted for the management of real property brought to the company by the partners or bought by the company itself. The company has to be composed of at least two partners.

Simple adoption is a form of adoption that establishes a new parent-child legal relationship for the adoptee in addition to their original parent-child legal relationship, without terminating the latter. It results in the coexistence of two parent-child relationships, with the adoptee retaining their rights within their birth family while being treated, in their relationship with the adoptive parent, as a child with a legally established parent-child relationship.

A lump-sum payment intended to compensate, as far as possible, the disparity in everyday life conditions created by the breakdown of the marriage between the divorced spouses. Payment is made either in the form of a sum of money, by the allocation of property or by a temporary or lifetime right of use, habitation or usufruct.

In some cases, where the creditor’s age or state of health prevents them from providing for their own needs, the judge may award compensation in the form of a life annuity.

Pension paid to the spouse and/or ex-spouse of a person who had acquired rights to a pension or to a benefit from old-age insurance during his lifetime.

A reduction in the tax base, so that only a reduced amount is taxed. The result would be the same if the tax rate had been reduced directly.

It is one of the elements of the right of ownership of a good, the complement of which is bare ownership.

The holding of the usufruct confers on its holder the right to use a good owned by another person and to reap the fruits (to receive rents for example), but not to dispose of it (for example to sell), which belongs to the bare owner. On the other hand, the usufructuary can dispose of his own right, i.e., he can assign his usufruct or renounce it.