Adoption and Succession Rights
French law recognises two forms of adoption with very different succession consequences: full adoption (adoption plénière) and simple adoption (adoption simple), both now reflecting ordonnance 2022-1292 of 5 October 2022.
Effect on filiation: Substitutes entirely for the birth filiation. The adoptive filiation is the only filiation the child has.
Rights in adoptive family: Identical to a biological child in every respect — including reserved share (réserve héréditaire).
Rights in birth family: None — the child ceases to belong to the birth family (C. civ. Art. 356).
Exception: Where the adoption is of a spouse's, PACS partner's, or cohabitant's child, the birth-family filiation towards that parent and their family is preserved (C. civ. Art. 370-1-4).
Effect on filiation: Adds an adoptive filiation alongside the birth filiation, which is preserved.
Rights in adoptive family: Same succession rights as other children (C. civ. Art. 365, al. 1). Exception: not a réservataire of the adoptive grandparents (C. civ. Art. 365, al. 2).
Rights in birth family: Preserved in full — the simply adopted child may inherit in both families simultaneously.
Result: A simply adopted child may receive successions from both birth parents and adoptive parents.
The simply adopted child who dies without descendants
Where the simply adopted child predeceases their adoptive parent and leaves no descendants, assets received by gift or inheritance from the adoptive parent, or from birth parents, revert in specie (if still owned at death) to the source family or their descendants (C. civ. Art. 366). The remaining assets of the estate are divided equally between the birth family and the adoptive family; if one family produces no heir, the other takes the whole. These special rules do not apply where a surviving spouse exists.
The dual-family position of the simply adopted child creates estate planning complexity: assets given by the adoptive parent may ultimately revert to the birth family if the adoptee dies childless and unmarried, rather than passing to the adoptive family's wider relatives. For adoptive parents making significant gifts, the choice between full and simple adoption may have material succession consequences that should be considered at the outset.
PACS Partners: Limited Succession Rights
A PACS creates no statutory succession right between the partners. Unlike a spouse, a PACS partner does not inherit anything from their deceased partner by operation of law (C. civ. Art. 515-6). The principal benefit for the surviving PACS partner is fiscal: they benefit from the same exemption from inheritance tax as a surviving spouse. In succession terms, the surviving PACS partner has two limited protections:
The surviving partner has the free use and enjoyment of the home and furniture for 12 months from death, in the same conditions as a surviving spouse.
Key difference from spouse: This right is not public order. A simple holograph will can deprive the partner of it (C. civ. Art. 515-6, al. 3).
The partner may receive the preferential attribution of the principal residence and its furniture, but only where the deceased has expressly provided for this by will (C. civ. Art. 515-6, al. 2).
Unlike the surviving spouse, the PACS partner's attribution is not de droit: in the case of competing demands, the court has discretion. The partner cannot demand deferred payment of any soulte (C. civ. Art. 832-4, al. 2).
A PACS partner who wishes to inherit must be named in a will. Without a will, they receive nothing from the estate — the estate passes in full to the deceased's blood relatives, or to the surviving spouse if there is one. This is one of the most important practical differences between PACS and marriage in French law. The partner should also be aware that even their 12-month housing right can be removed by a simple holograph will, unlike the spouse's equivalent right which is public order.
Renunciation of a Succession
An heir may formally renounce a succession. Once they do, they are deemed never to have been an heir (C. civ. Art. 805, al. 1). Consequences:
- The renouncing heir takes nothing from the estate.
- They are not bound by the debts of the succession (with the sole exception of funeral expenses if the estate cannot cover them — C. civ. Art. 806).
- If not represented in the succession, their share accrues to their co-heirs at the same degree; if they were the sole heir at that degree, the succession passes to the next degree as if they had never existed (C. civ. Art. 805, al. 2).
- A gift made as an advance on their succession share ceases to be subject to rapport unless the testament or donation deed expressly provided otherwise (C. civ. Art. 805 and 845).
- The renouncing heir is not counted in calculating the global reserved share, subject to limited exceptions.
Representation of the renouncing heir
Although the renouncing heir is treated as never having inherited, their own children are not penalised by that choice. For successions opened since 1 January 2007, the children of the renouncing heir may represent their parent and inherit in their place, provided the renouncing heir's family branch included more than one branch (C. civ. Art. 754, al. 1). Where the children come to the succession by representing their renouncing parent, and are later joined by siblings born after the renunciation, an equalisation obligation arises: those who inherited by representation must bring the inherited assets back into account when their parent's own succession eventually opens (C. civ. Art. 754, al. 2).
Unworthiness (Indignité Successorale)
Unworthiness is the loss of succession rights by an heir who has committed particularly serious acts against the deceased. French law distinguishes between automatic unworthiness and declaratory unworthiness.
Automatic unworthiness
Under C. civ. Art. 726, a person is automatically unworthy if convicted, as principal or accomplice, of a criminal (criminelle) sentence for: wilfully causing or attempting to cause the death of the deceased; or wilfully causing physical harm that resulted in the deceased's death without intent to kill. The exclusion is automatic — no court proceeding specific to the succession is required. Criminal irresponsibility prevents unworthiness even where the acts were committed (Cass. 1ère civ. 28-3-2012 n° 11-10.393).
Declaratory unworthiness — six grounds
| Ground (C. civ. Art. 727) | Condition |
|---|---|
| Attempted homicide (correctionnelle) | Convicted as principal or accomplice of wilfully causing or attempting to cause death (correctional, not criminal, penalty) |
| Unintentional homicide (correctionnelle) | Convicted of wilfully causing physical harm resulting in death without intent to kill (correctional penalty) |
| Torture, barbarity, sexual violence | Convicted (criminal or correctional) of torture, barbarity, wilful physical violence, rape or sexual assault against the deceased |
| False testimony | Convicted of false testimony brought against the deceased in criminal proceedings |
| Failure to prevent | Convicted of deliberately failing to prevent a crime against the physical integrity of the deceased from which death resulted, where they could have done so without risk |
| Calumnious denunciation | Convicted of calumnious denunciation of the deceased in circumstances where a criminal penalty was at stake |
The court application must be brought within six months of the death if the conviction pre-dates the death, or within six months of the conviction if it post-dates the death (C. civ. Art. 727-1). The deceased may pardon the unworthy person by will or by granting them a universal or à titre universel liberality (C. civ. Art. 728). The unworthy heir's children may come to the succession both in their own right and by representing the unworthy heir (C. civ. Art. 729-1 and 755). The unworthy heir may not exercise the right of jouissance légale over what their minor children received from the deceased — preventing indirect benefit from the estate they were excluded from (C. civ. Art. 729-1).
Statutory Rights of Return
Parents' right of return over gifted assets (Art. 738-2)
Where a parent has made a gift to their child, and that child subsequently dies without descendants (or leaving only descendants who renounce the succession), the parent benefits from a droit de retour légal over the gifted assets (C. civ. Art. 738-2) — even where the surviving spouse would otherwise take the entire estate. The mechanism:
- Each parent's right of return is capped in value at one-quarter of the succession per parent.
- The value of the returned assets is imputed against the parent's ordinary succession share (C. civ. Art. 738-2, al. 2).
- The right operates preferentially in specie; where the asset was disposed of, it operates in value, limited to the net succession assets (C. civ. Art. 738-2, al. 3).
- The right is public order: it cannot be excluded by the donation deed; parents cannot waive it before the succession opens (Cass. 1ère civ. 21-10-2015 n° 14-21.337). An authentic will leaving the estate to the surviving spouse does not prevent it.
- The return is exempt from inheritance tax (CGI Art. 763 bis). Gift duty previously paid by either party is reimbursed on request within two years of the child's death.
The deceased leaves their mother and surviving spouse. The estate is worth €1,000, including a property worth €100 that the mother had given to the deceased. The mother's ordinary succession share would be €250 (one-quarter). She exercises the right of return over the property worth €100 and takes an additional €150 from the general estate assets. The surviving spouse receives the balance.
In a variant where the deceased left all assets to their spouse by testament: the mother still exercises the right of return over the gifted property (or its value if sold), and the spouse takes the rest.
Siblings' right of return over family property (Art. 757-3)
Where the surviving spouse would otherwise take the entire estate — no descendants, both parents predeceased — assets received by the deceased from any ascendant by gift or inheritance, and still existing in specie in the estate at death, pass as to one-half to the siblings of the deceased (or their descendants), and as to the other half to the surviving spouse (C. civ. Art. 757-3). These biens de famille are carved out of the otherwise complete succession of the surviving spouse. Key limits:
- Only applies to assets still existing in specie at death. Sold or disposed-of assets are not covered.
- Applies only to assets received à titre gratuit (gift or inheritance), not assets acquired at market value.
- Creates an indivision between the surviving spouse (half) and the siblings or their descendants (half).
- May be displaced by the deceased's will (siblings are not réservataires), or absorbed by a conventional community clause attributing community assets to the surviving spouse.
- Compatible with the surviving spouse's lifetime housing rights: even where the principal home constitutes biens de famille, the spouse may still exercise their right of habitation over it.
Where family property is returned to the siblings, any improvements made to the property by the deceased during their lifetime give rise to no compensation in favour of the ordinary succession (Cass. 1ère civ. 28-2-2018 n° 17-12.040). Symmetrically, any deteriorations of the property during the deceased's ownership give rise to no indemnity either.
Our guides cover cross-border succession matters including estates involving adoption, PACS, or contested inheritance rights under French law.
Book a ConsultationThis article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. French succession law is complex and its application depends on the specific facts of each situation. The rules on adoption described here reflect the French Civil Code as amended by ordonnance 2022-1292 of 5 October 2022. Cross-border estates may additionally be subject to EU Succession Regulation No. 650/2012. Readers should consult a qualified French lawyer before taking any steps in connection with a French succession.
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Key Legal References
Full adoption (adoption plénière): substitutes entirely for birth filiation; child is assimilated to biological child in adoptive family in every respect including reserved share; ceases to belong to birth family. Exception: where adoption is of a spouse’s, PACS partner’s, or cohabitant’s child, birth-family filiation towards that parent and their family is preserved
Simple adoption (adoption simple): adds adoptive filiation alongside preserved birth filiation. Rights in adoptive family: same succession rights as other children; exception: not a réservataire of the adoptive grandparents. Rights in birth family: preserved in full — may inherit in both families simultaneously. Estate of simply adopted child who dies without descendants and no surviving spouse: assets received by gift or inheritance from each source family revert in specie to that family; remaining assets divided equally between birth and adoptive families
PACS: no statutory succession right. The surviving PACS partner has: (1) 12-month temporary housing right (free use and enjoyment of home and furniture) — NOT public order: a simple holograph will can deprive the partner of it. (2) Preferential attribution of principal residence only where deceased expressly provided for it by will — not de droit; no deferred payment of soulte. Fiscal benefit: surviving PACS partner exempt from inheritance tax (same as surviving spouse)
Automatic unworthiness: a person is automatically excluded from the succession if convicted as principal or accomplice of a criminal (criminelle) sentence for: wilfully causing or attempting to cause the death of the deceased; OR wilfully causing physical harm resulting in death without intent to kill. Criminal irresponsibility prevents unworthiness
Declaratory unworthiness: six grounds on which a person MAY be declared unworthy by tribunal judiciaire: (1) attempted homicide (correctional penalty); (2) unintentional homicide (correctional penalty); (3) torture, barbarity, wilful physical violence, rape or sexual assault against the deceased; (4) false testimony brought against the deceased in criminal proceedings; (5) deliberately failing to prevent a crime against the physical integrity of the deceased from which death resulted; (6) calumnious denunciation. Court application: within 6 months of death if conviction pre-dates death; within 6 months of conviction if post-dates death. The deceased may pardon the unworthy person by will or by universal liberality
Representation of unworthy heir: unworthy heir’s children may come to the succession both in their own right and by representing the unworthy heir. Unworthy heir may not exercise right of jouissance légale over what their minor children received from the deceased (prevents indirect benefit from excluded estate)
Effects of renunciation: renouncing heir treated as never having been an heir; takes nothing from estate; not bound by succession debts (except funeral expenses if estate insufficient); share accrues to co-heirs or passes to next degree; gift as advance on succession share ceases to be subject to rapport unless expressly required. Renouncing heir’s children may represent their parent in the succession; representation requires plurality of souches. Equalisation obligation: those who inherited by representation must bring inherited assets back into account when the renouncing parent’s own succession opens
Parents’ statutory right of return over gifted assets: where a parent gifted assets to their child and the child dies without descendants, the parent benefits from a droit de retour légal over the gifted assets — even where the surviving spouse would otherwise take the entire estate. Cap: value of return capped at one-quarter of the succession per parent. Priority: in specie (actual asset) where still owned; in value (limited to net succession assets) where disposed of. Public order: cannot be excluded by donation deed; parents cannot waive it before succession opens. Exempt from inheritance tax (CGI Art. 763 bis); gift duty previously paid reimbursed on request within 2 years of child’s death
Siblings’ right of return over family property (biens de famille): where the surviving spouse would otherwise take the entire estate (no descendants, both parents predeceased), assets received by the deceased from any ascendant by gift or inheritance AND still existing in specie in the estate at death pass as to one-half to siblings (or their descendants) and as to the other half to the surviving spouse. Only assets received à titre gratuit (not assets acquired at market value). Applies only to assets still in specie (sold or disposed-of assets not covered). May be displaced by the deceased’s will (siblings are not réservataires). Compatible with surviving spouse’s lifetime housing rights
