Upon the disappearance of a loved one, having carried out an estate inventory may prove useful and in some cases it is mandatory. It is a question of inventorying all the furniture, decorative objects, paintings, jewelry and other personal objects of the deceased. Service-public.fr explains.
An inventory that is sometimes mandatory
Inheritance inventory is mandatory in the following cases:
where one of the heirs is legally protected as a minor child or an adult under guardianship or guardianship;
in the absence of an heir who could not be contacted at the time of the succession;
when you accept the estate up to the amount of net assets, that is, you do not pay debts that exceed the value of the property of the inheritance, thus protecting your personal wealth;
where one of the heirs retains the usufruct, i.e. enjoyment, of
furniture
(i.e. furnishings and decorative items) of the deceased, his jewelry and other personal items.
Why can it be useful to have an inventory drawn up?
Even when it is not mandatory, it can be useful for the following reasons:
carrying out an inventory makes it possible to limit the risk of disputes between heirs, by facilitating the equitable sharing of the assets of the deceased;
the real value of the movable property in the principal residence of the deceased may be less than the lump sum of 5% applicable in the absence of an inventory.
Example: if the estate includes only one property valued at €600,000, the movable property of this residence will be assessed according to the flat-rate scale of 5%, up to €30,000. By having an inventory carried out, it is found that all the movable property of the residence has a market value of €6,000. Thus, instead of paying inheritance tax on the lump-sum value of €30,000, heirs shall pay it on the value actually recorded during the inventory: €6,000, thus reducing the taxable base by €24,000.
FYI
In the absence of an inventory, the lump sum of 5% applies to all securities and immovable property of the estate, i.e. to all the assets of the deceased.
How's it going?
The notary goes to the deceased's home accompanied by an auctioneer. The heirs are generally present or represented. They must have been warned of the operation.
The auctioneer proceeds piece by piece, has the cabinets, drawers or other chests opened, and examines each object one after the other, awarding him a prize. This estimate is called
prized
. Once the inventory has been completed, it is annexed to the notarial act.
FYI
The amount of an inventory for an estate completed by December 31, 2020 is €92.31 TTC (€90.55 TTC from 1er January 2021). Registration rights have been removed since 1er January 2020 by the 2020 budget law.
