I'm organizing my estate

Verified 02 February 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

I want my property to be managed according to my wishes after my death. To do this, I must first determine the value of my estate. Then, I decide who to pass on my property to, during my lifetime or upon my death, in accordance with the rules of succession.

I determine the value of the assets I own.

They will constitute inheritance gross assets entering the estate after my death.

I include the following in this calculation:

  • Real Property
  • Furniture, jewelry and vehicles

Conversely, I exclude the following from this calculation:

I deduct debts for which I am solely responsible and which are not guaranteed to be repaid by an insurance company in the event of death. I can therefore deduct the following from the estate's assets:

I also deduct cost of my funeral.

I then obtain the foreseeable value of the net assets of the estate.

I can decide, in a will, to whom my property will be transferred at the time of my death.

I can also pass on, in my lifetime, the assets of my heritage to the person of my choice by doing a donation.

Will

I determine the share of the net assets of the estate which I can pass on freely.

The rules are different in presence or in the absence of descendants (children, grandchildren...).

I have children and/or grandchildren

The share of inheritance reserved for children is as follows:

  • Half of the property if there is 1 child
  • 2/3 of the property if there are 2 children
  • 3/4 of the property if there are 3 children and more

A grandchild will inherit instead of his or her parents in the following 3 cases:

  • Sound parent has died
  • His parent relinquishes the estate of his own parent
  • His parent is unworthy to succeed

The part of my estate that I can allocate freely, called available quota, therefore depends on the number of children.

Example :

I have a heritage of €200,000 and three children. My children will share 75% of that heritage, or €150,000 in equal parts. Each child will therefore receive €50,000. I can attribute the 25% remaining, or €50,000 to persons of my choice (heirs or third parties).

I don't have one

I can freely assign my estate unless I am married. In this case, I have to reserve 1/4 of my assets to my husband.

Donation

I determine how much of my wealth I can give freely.

The heirs reserving cannot be excluded from my estate.

So I can freely give the part that exceeds the hereditary reserve. This part is called the available quota.

You have children

Tableau - Quota available in the presence of children

Number of children

Available Quota

1

1/2

2

1/3

3 or more

1/4

FYI  

the heir making the reservation may waive in advance the right to contest a donation which would deprive him of his share of the inheritance. It must express this will in a succession pact.

You have no children

Tableau - Quota available in the absence of children

Marital status

Available Quota

Married

3/4

Unmarried

All

if you are married, 1/4 goes to your spouse.

FYI  

the heir making the reservation may waive in advance the right to contest a donation which would deprive him of his share of the inheritance. It must express this will in a succession pact.

I assess the taxation of my estate.

It depends on the value and nature of the assets constituting the estate.

It also depends on the ties that bind me to my heirs.

I am therefore inquiring about the following rules:

If I am married under the separation of property or under the community reduced to acquisitionsWell, I can change it to go under the universal community system.

In order to enforce my wishes, I can designate a person to manage my estate (executor of a will or agent with posthumous effect).

If I am the only parent of a minor child, I can also officially indicate who will be responsible for this after my death.

If I'm an individual entrepreneur or a farmer, I can do the transmission of my company or my farm.