by Matthew Cameron
The implications on a married couple’s estate of different matrimonial regimes in France are often not well understood by British nationals. When couples marry in France – as in other jurisdictions around the world – they can choose what matrimonial rules apply to their estate. This can affect what will happen to their assets on death.
There are different types of regime, grouped mainly into ‘separation of assets’ and ‘community of assets’ regimes. As the name may suggest, in a ‘separation of assets’ regime, each spouse will be deemed to have their own share, capable of passing independently on their death. In a ‘community’ regime, neither party will be treated as having a specific share: rather it is the marriage itself that owns all of the couple’s assets.
Everyone married under English law is subject to the same matrimonial regime, which is a ‘separation of assets’ regime. While the concept of pre-nuptial agreements (‘pre-nups’) may be increasingly recognised in England and Wales, these tend to establish how a couple’s estate would be split on an eventual divorce rather than on death.
There are different forms of community regime, including ‘Universal Community’, or ‘Community limited to assets acquired since marriage’. This latter form is the default in France.
Applying a Community regime can be a good way of planning one’s estate, especially when adding a declaration that everything passes to the survivor. There are limitations on this, that we will review in a later article.