The case centers around a French woman who passed away in Morocco in August 2017, where she had established her primary residence. She left behind her husband, a son from a previous marriage, and two children from her current union. Following her death, her son initiated legal proceedings in France to request a division of her estate. However, a significant complication arose: the deceased had been living in Morocco, and a legal document signed in 1988 stipulated that in the event of her death prior to her husband, all of her assets would be transferred to him.
The drafting of this particular document was crucial. It stated that any assets still owned by the wife at the time of her death would be transferred to her husband with an effect set to occur "one hour before her death." The Paris Court of Appeal drew a radical conclusion from this stipulation: legally, the deceased would not have owned any assets at the time of her death, including those in France. Consequently, French courts were deemed incompetent to manage her estate.
However, the Court of Cassation recently dismissed this reasoning. According to a ruling issued on May 20, 2026, when an individual passes away while having their habitual residence in a country outside the European Union, such as Morocco, French courts can still become competent to handle the entire estate if two conditions are met: the deceased held French nationality and had estate assets located in France at the time of their passing.
Impact of Assets in France on Succession
To determine this jurisdiction, it is essential to examine where the assets were situated at the time of death. The Court of Cassation asserted that the document stipulating the retroactive transfer of assets to the husband did not allow for the assumption that the deceased no longer possessed anything at that moment. The document itself was only meant to take effect in the presence of assets existing at the time of death.
As a result, the decision made by the Court of Appeal has been partially overturned, and the case has been remanded to the Court of Appeal in Versailles. This legal ruling extends beyond the immediate family involved. A French citizen may have left France long ago, settled in Morocco, and passed away, yet their estate does not necessarily escape the jurisdiction of French courts. If they still possess estate assets in France at the time of their death, French courts may have the authority to rule not only on those assets but on the overall estate.
As reported by bladi.net.
This judicial competence should not be confused with inheritance taxation; it determines which court can resolve disputes among heirs, rather than solely dictating in which country inheritance rights must be paid.
