FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Jennifer Tervil, Romane Lemaitre and Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
• Acquisition of French nationality in the event of simple adoption: (a) when a child is adopted and raised in France. • Acquisition of French nationality by family ties: (a) if the person is the ascendant (parent or grand - parent) of a French national or the sibling of a French national. The naturalisation procedure is a discretionary proce - dure subject to the discretion of the administration. To qualify for naturalisation, foreign nationals who have reached the age of majority must prove that they have been habitually resident in France for the five years preceding the application. In addition to the residence condition, other criteria are required, such as integration into the French Republic, absence of criminal convictions incompatible with the acquisition of French nationality, and financial stability. The naturalisation procedure and the declaration pro - cedure generally take between 12 and 18 months. 8. Planning for Minors, Adults with Disabilities and Elders 8.1 Special Planning Mechanisms In France, there are no special estate planning mecha - nisms for minors or disabled adults. All acts of disposal or administration of their assets are highly regulated: they must be carried out with the assistance or repre - sentation of a guardian, failing which they are null and void. For minors, this means their parents, who are their legal representatives, and for protected adults, the rules vary depending on the type of measure in place (guardianship, curatorship, legal protection). As a result, the transfer of their assets into a fiduciary is very limited. In the case of minors, their assets or rights cannot be transferred to a fiduciary, unless the minor has been emancipated. In the case of protected adults, the regime differs depending on the protection measure ordered. The following may be parties to a fiduciary contract: • an adult under court protection;
• an adult under curatorship with the assistance of their curator; and • an adult under family supervision alone or with the assistance of the authorised person if the act is covered by the protective measure. In the case of guardianship, neither the protected adult nor the guardian may transfer the adult’s rights or wealth into a fiduciary. Lastly, the mandatary for future protection only has the power to create a fiduciary arrangement where the mandate has been executed by private deed (under private seal). 8.2 Appointment of a Guardian The appointment of a tutor or any other similar party as part of a protective measure for a protected adult necessarily requires the involvement of a judge known as a protection litigation judge. By contrast, the proce - dure for establishing a mandate for future protection is not a court process. The protection litigation judge and the public prosecu - tor exercise general supervision of protection meas - ures within their jurisdiction. They may, at any time and regardless of the measure, visit protected adults and summon the persons responsible for their protection. In the case of guardianship and reinforced guardian - ship, the guardian or curator is required to draw up an annual management account for the protected adult. The management accounts are checked and approved, where applicable, by the tutor or subro - gated curator if one has been appointed, the family council or, failing this, by an expert appointed by the judge. 8.3 Elder Law In response to the growing increase in the number of legal protection measures due to the ageing popula - tion, Act No 2007-308 of 5 March 2007 introduced the future protection mandate, which allows the appoint - ment of a trusted person to represent the mandator in the event that they are unable to look after their own interests due to an impairment of their faculties. As indicated in 8.2 Appointment of a Guardian , the pro -
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