Preferential allotment
Lawyer in Bastia, Lawyer in Corsica, Inheritance lawyer
Preferential allotment is a mechanism of the law of succession which allows an heir to be granted full ownership of a property, instead of it being subject to undivided ownership, provided certain requirements are met.
Several conditions must be met:
Some of the conditions relate to the status of the heirs and the property to be sold.preferential allotment.
For the latter, it is mainly a question of the deceased's homes and businesses, or company rights; provided that they form part of the "partitionable estate", i.e. :
-property existing at the time of death,
-values subject to the ratio or reduction,
the debts of the co-sharers to the deceased or to the joint ownership, to which any inheritance liabilities are deducted.
The claimant must have been involved in the farm before the death or must now be effectively involved.
There is a preferential allotment by operation of law, of the principal residence to :
-the surviving spouse
-or the civil union partner designated by will.
This means that the spouse's or partner's claim takes priority over that of the other heirs in respect of the home and the furnishings in it. The spouse or partner has one year from the date on which the estate is opened to make his or her claim.
For the remainder, if the property is a dwelling or business premises, the joint heirs and the spouse may apply for preferential allocation.
If the deceased was the owner :
-They are granted ownership rights,
-In the event of a lease, the right to the lease is transferred to them.
It should be noted that preferential allotment may be requested jointly by several heirs in order to keep the undivided property together.
Formalism :
Preferential allotment is linked to the wishes of one of the heirs.
It is not automatic, except for farms up to a certain size.
An application must therefore be formalised and substantiated. In other words, the person requesting preferential allotment must explain :
-why the property in question is of particular interest to him,
-or even a major utility.
On the other hand, preferential allotment is not free of charge.
It is deducted from the heir's normal share of the estate.
However, if the value of the property he receives in full ownership exceeds his share of the inheritance, he must pay a balance.
In principle, the balance must be paid in one sum at the time of partition. However, the Civil Code allows only the surviving spouse to defer payment:
-Half of the balance is paid on division,
-The remainder can be split over ten years.
Lastly, preferential allotment may be applied for when the estate is opened and until the partition is completed. However, this requires the agreement of all the heirs, in which case the preferential allotment is known as amicable.
Failing agreement, the applicant for preferential allotment :
-may refer the matter to the court,
-The judge will analyse the interests of each heir before making a decision.
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