If you own a property in the French Alps, or you are thinking of buying one, you may have spent the last few years worrying about what happens to it when you die. Since 2021, a change to French law left many British owners fearing that their English will would effectively be overridden, and that their children could claim a fixed share of their French home regardless of their wishes. A clarification published in June 2026 has gone a long way towards calming those fears.
Here is what changed, why it caused such alarm, and what the latest position means for British owners of Alpine property.
How it is meant to work
Since 2015, cross-border estates within the EU have been governed by the EU Succession Regulation (Regulation 650/2012), often known as Brussels IV. One of its most useful features lets you choose the law of your nationality to govern your entire estate, wherever your assets are located.
For British owners of French property, that choice has been valuable. England and Wales follow testamentary freedom, which means you can broadly leave your assets to whomever you wish. France does not. Under French forced heirship, known as la réserve héréditaire, a fixed portion of your estate is automatically reserved for your children: one child is entitled to half, two children to two thirds between them, and three or more to three quarters between them. Only the remaining slice, the quotité disponible, is yours to leave freely.
By electing English law in their will, many British owners were able to leave their French property to a surviving spouse rather than having a large share locked in for the children.
Why 2021 caused alarm
In 2021, France amended Article 913 of its Civil Code. The amendment, in force from 1 November 2021, created a right for children to claim financial compensation out of French assets where two conditions were met: the person who died, or any of their children, was resident in or a national of an EU country (which can include dual UK and EU citizenship), and the foreign law being applied offered no protective reserve for children.
French notaires widely read this as catching English law, because English law gives children no automatic right to inherit. The practical worry was not that an English will would be invalid in form, but that its substance could be undercut, with children able to claw back a reserved share of the French property even where the owner had clearly chosen English law. Understandably, this prompted a wave of complaints to the European Commission.
The June 2026 clarification
Following the Commission's investigation, the French authorities set out several important points that offer real reassurance.
France confirmed that its forced heirship rules are a matter of national public policy, relying on Article 35 of the Regulation, which lets a member state refuse a foreign law that is manifestly incompatible with its public policy. The Commission appears to have accepted this and concluded that France has not breached EU law.
More importantly for British owners, France clarified that Article 913 was only ever intended to apply where the foreign law provides no protection whatsoever for children. It confirmed that the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, under English law, which allows certain family members to apply to court for reasonable financial provision from an estate, performs an equivalent function to French forced heirship. France stated expressly that French judges should not apply the compensation provisions when English law governs the succession.
In plain terms: choosing English law for your French property should hold up, because English law is now accepted as offering children a protective mechanism of its own.
A note of caution
This is a clarification of how the law should be applied, not a repeal of it, and a few questions remain open. It is not yet settled whether French courts will treat a discretionary, claim-based system like the 1975 Act as truly equivalent to France's automatic entitlement, nor exactly how they will handle cases where a child's reserved share would have been substantial. A ministerial circular is expected to add further detail, and we will only see how the principle works in practice once the French courts apply it. For now, the direction of travel is clearly positive.
What this means if you own an Alpine property
The reassurance is welcome, but it is not a reason to do nothing. A few practical points are worth keeping in mind.
Your English will is not applied to your French property automatically. To rely on English law you need to make the election clearly, ideally in a properly drafted will that works across both countries. It is also worth remembering that this is about who inherits, not about tax: French inheritance tax still applies to your French property, and the rates depend on the relationship between you and the person inheriting. If you put your arrangements in place before the 2021 change, or you have been holding off because of it, now is a sensible time to review them.
As ever, this is general information rather than legal advice. French succession is technical and depends heavily on your family and personal circumstances, so it is well worth speaking to a notaire or a cross-border specialist before making decisions about your estate.
