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4th July 2009
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French Law ZoneWelcome to the French Law Zone. The French legal system is very different from that in the UK, especially when it comes to buying a house. The aim of this law zone is to explain how French law works, including buying property in France, the work of the French legal officials the notaires, the planning process, divorce and property, and inheritance law. For information about the French tax system please visit our tax zone.The FrenchEntrée team More from FrenchEntrée Property....Looking for a property in France? Visit our Property search. Are you already living in France? Sorted out you tax returns? Visit our guide to French tax or our top French tax tips.Or perhaps you want to know whether your British pension will be taxed in France? Or, maybe you want to find out how other people have found the process of buying a house in France? Key French legal vocabularyAn avocat combines some of the functions of both a barrister and a solicitor and is best translated as lawyer. The French word for a court of law is un tribunal. Un testament is a will. The deed of sale in a property transaction is the acte de vente. A speeding ticket is une contravention pour excès de vitesse while une amende is a fine.Tax and Law UpdateGet the latest information on French law and tax sent to you each quarter by signing up for our regular newsletterTax and Law UpdateTax and Law Newsletter ArchiveAre you looking to buy a new property in France? Keep up to date with all the latest french tax and laws news. Sign-up for our free newsletter or visit our newsletter archive to view previous newsletters. |
Latest French Law articles
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Solicitor Marie Antoinette Bassini of Kingsfords, looks at the fees involved in using an estate agent, notaire and UK solicitor when buying French property.
There are a few simple steps you can take before you become the owner of French property and sometimes afterwards, to ensure that your French estate is dealt with in the way you wish during your lifetime and after death, explains lawyer Sue Busby of France Legal...
Sarah Bogard, Associate Senior Solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser with the law firm Furley Page, explains the key similarities and differences between probate England and Wales, and France.
There are three types of conditions in a purchase contract. If you want to make changes to them or add other conditions into a contract, it is important to understand their effect and the difference between them.
Julia Jones, of French-based law firm Bright Jones, highlights the tax considerations linked with certain aspects of Divorce, including capital gains tax, the split of assets and child support.
At The France Show the FrenchEntrée team decided to film some of the companies who were exhibiting. Solicitor Sarah Bogard, of Furley Page, was only too pleased to show us around the Furley Page stand. The Furley Page team are looking forward to helping their clients with the buying and selling of French property during 2009.
Hélène Mézin, a French qualified notaire at Sykes Anderson solicitors LLP in London, discusses the implications of purchasing a building that does not comply with French planning regulations.
A trust is a good way to protect your estate during your life and after you pass away. It can provide financial security for your children and your spouse. It can also be used in the business world to provide security of 
If you own a property in France, you need to be aware that the inheritance of that property is subject to French law. In other words, French succession rules dictate to whom the property will be passed. An important question is whether your UK Will is valid under French law as explains French advocat Indra Balassoupramaniane.
If you're hiring an artisan or builder in France do as the French do and keep it official. Anne-Marie Gordon of Anglo-French Lawyers advises on what to do - and not do - to ensure you're legally protected when getting work done on your French home
Insolvency status has always existed. Nowadays an increasing number of businesses are becoming bankrupt due notably to the current economic crisis. Michel Attal of Bright Jones law firm discusses what to do if your French contractor goes into bankruptcy...
Finding your way around French legal terminology is not always easy. Here is a glossary of some of the most commonly used phrases and terms...
Michel Attal, of Bright Jones Law Firm, explains how you can anticipate and solve some of the difficulties occasionally encountered by foreign owners, including the difficulties in obtaining information from French Banks, what to do in a forced sale procedure and if you are charged for the early reimbursement of a mortgage...
Experts from the International Law Partnership explain why the use of the Notaire is no substitute for your own independent legal advice on interbnational aspects when buying a property in France...
If you have a UK civil partnership (CP) and are planning to move to France, this is not recognised in France, and, on top of this, you will not be able to enter into the French equivalent known as PACS (Pacte Civil de Solidarité) unless the UK CP is dissolved first...
The concept of a marriage contract is not known to English or Common Law jurisdictions for the most part. The French, however, from the Civil Code of 1804 onwards have a system of marriage contracts...
French-based avocat Julia Jones, left, takes a close look at the divorce law in France and also examines how it can affect property and other financial issues for both parties
If building a new home in France or renovating an existing one it is important to make sure what planning permission, if any, is needed. We get specialists from the International Law Partnership to explain how the planning process works...
France and Britain may be close neighbours separated by just a narrow stretch of water. But their approaches to the law and their respective legal systems are very different, and it is a good idea to understand those differences...
The Entente Cordiale is alive and well between lawyers from the UK and notaires in France. They have met in the Dordogne to discuss the purchase process, including the possibility of sterling transactions where both the buyers and sellers are British
Families can be quite complicated these days, especially when people remarry and there are children involved. Lawyer Sue Busby gives some advice on how to deal with complex arrangements when it comes to French law
he market in France can offer a good chance for first time buyers to get into property where prices are often much lower than in Britain. But as lawyer Graham Platt from The International Law Partnership illustrates, you have to be careful how you go about it...
It is a good idea to seek independent and impartial advice from a lawyer who will protect your sole interests and, says French Advocate and UK solicitor Fabien Cordiez, it is perfectly possible to use a French lawyer...
Sarah Bright Thomas of French-based law firm Bright Jones looks at the new laws brought in by President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 and how they might affect Britons living in or owning property in France
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Unlike in the UK for example, having your property surveyed is not compulsory with French banks and building societies, and only a very small minority of property buyers in France get a survey carried out on their house. 
Whether you are becoming self-employed or setting up a small business in France, it pays to understand the laws about social and employee contributions says lawyer Julia Jones – otherwise you could end up being prosecuted
Most purchases of French property usually go off with barely a hitch. But Barbara Heslop of law firm Fox Hayes and French lawyer Paul Salvisberg highlight one case where buying new homes off–plan didn’t quite go to plan
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