Wills

[L Austin France]

There are a couple of these "expert" Facebook Legal groups, the ones where everyone is a qualified whatever, Strickly Legal France I believe is one of them run by a particularly offensive woman known as Angie Mountford. I can't speculate as to the arrangement but anything and everything was, at one time, referred to this Dutettre chap, and then people on the site, asking advice seemed to cotton on to his status. Personally I do not know if he is permitted to practice, I mean do you have to be a qualified and practicing solicitor to provide a will writing service, instinct tells me you don't. Whether in fact he is doing anything wrong is beyond my understanding, but the allegations levelled at him on said website seem tantamount to libel, and surely any solicitor, or notaire would be liable to instigate legal proceedings in support of his reputation.
Another google search for notaire fees for writing a will produces this statement.

The notaire fee for the preparation of a will is regulated, at €136, including VAT (2024). If the notaire prepares the will no charge is payable for the notaire to keep the will in their possession. The procedure requires either two notaires or one notaire and two witnesses.

If you double that for a joint will then at 272€ it falls well short of 900€

The bill was from a UK company.
Our UK solicitor recently charged us over £1,000 to renew a commercial property lease which was basically a copy of the original with dates & costs changed.

[hughnique]

Oh I thought you were permanently resident in France.

[L Austin France]

Oh I thought you were permanently resident in France.

We are.

[hughnique]

The conversation I had with a member of the Irwin Mitchell team yesterday, was pretty concise that they will only act regarding a will service if you have assets in the UK, and that will only covers such assets that are UK based. Any property you have in France is now dealt with under French succession law, no if's buts or variation. So if your English, French notaire, solicitor has drawn up a will handing out your French estate to various members of your family in varying amounts then tear it up because it appears that it certainly isn't worth the paper it is printed on. Upon death of one, the estate, providing pertinent marriage regimes have been implemented, goes directly to the surviving spouse, albeit sometimes there is a clause including the children at this time. However the surviving spouse does have the benefit of the enjoyment of the estate until such time as they are deceased, it then falls to the children, either from the marriage or prior from 1st marriages. Evidently that is why there are so many derelict properties in France, but that might be another fairy story

[L Austin France]

The conversation I had with a member of the Irwin Mitchell team yesterday, was pretty concise that they will only act regarding a will service if you have assets in the UK, and that will only covers such assets that are UK based. Any property you have in France is now dealt with under French succession law, no if's buts or variation. So if your English, French notaire, solicitor has drawn up a will handing out your French estate to various members of your family in varying amounts then tear it up because it appears that it certainly isn't worth the paper it is printed on. Upon death of one, the estate, providing pertinent marriage regimes have been implemented, goes directly to the surviving spouse, albeit sometimes there is a clause including the children at this time. However the surviving spouse does have the benefit of the enjoyment of the estate until such time as they are deceased, it then falls to the children, either from the marriage or prior from 1st marriages. Evidently that is why there are so many derelict properties in France, but that might be another fairy story

Yeah! Right Oh.
This could go on forever but not by me.
I'm 99% sure we have the correct wills covering both French & English law & have made the necessary adjustments to our French & English assets to ensure the bare minimum of our French assets goes to any children in the event of Sharia Law being applied on one of our deaths. This, by the way, is by no means certain as it's still being challenged in the European courts.
The children, of course, get what's left when were both brown bread.

[hughnique]

Yes probably right LAF might as well let it drift away, I hope some have been enlightened by what this man charges and what, according to other sources, is misrepresented by some notaires in general, it's not only him. I am still in the dark as to the Sharia Law reference and how that is pertinent.

[Sparkle]

www.IrwinMitchell.com

Not sure if this helps but if you're wanting an english will with the EU clause inserted below, from our experience we can recommend Irwin Mitchell and all of it was done online but they will post to you if you prefer.

Declaration
I direct that as far as the EU Regulation 650/2012 applies, that the succession of my estate wheresoever situate is governed by English Law (material law) as that is the Law of the country of my nationality, regardless if it is not coincident with the country where I reside at my death.but if so this is who we used some years ago and updated our Wills in 2016. From our experience we can recommend them.

www.IrwinMitchell.com

Seriously check this out as far as I have been told by several notaires and solicitors this has been halted in 2021 after an challenge/appeal in the courts. Too late when you are six feet under.

It's not over just yet......

https://www.connexionfrance.com/practic ... ion/708905

[hughnique]

That sort of hits it right on the head Sparkle, some good honest info for a change. Like a lot of others we are repatriating, house is on the market, bit dead at the moment though.