FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Jennifer Tervil, Romane Lemaitre and Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
tection measure has the advantage of being subject to an out-of-court procedure. In addition, descendants and ascendants are bound by a reciprocal maintenance obligation. As this obli - gation is legal, the assistance provided to parents is deductible from taxable income, with no ceiling. In addition, Act No 2006-728 of 23 June 2006 intro - duced a right of return for fathers and mothers in respect of wealth they have passed on to their pre - deceased child by way of a gift, up to a limit of one quarter of the estate. However, this right is limited in that it does not apply where there are descendants, so that its application is restricted to cases where there are only collaterals and/or a surviving spouse. Lastly, in France, there are several benefits paid to elderly people with limited resources to help them at the end of their lives. However, some of these allow - ances are advances and can therefore be recovered from the net assets of the estate. This is particularly the case with social assistance for the elderly and social assistance for accommodation. In the event of an action for recovery by the State, the claim may be deferred, and, in some cases, the heirs may be exempt if they can prove that they were effectively and continuously dependent on the deceased. 9. Planning for Non-Traditional Families 9.1 Children In France, since 2004, all the children for whom paren - tal rights are established have equal inheritance rights. Regardless of whether a child was born out of a wed - lock, in an extra-marital relationship or was adopted, they are entitled to the same share of the forced heir - ship as children born within a marriage. The only key requirement is the establishment of a parental link. It is possible to establish parentage after the death of the parent, but this remains very limited. In civil mat - ters, identification by genetic fingerprinting can only be carried out after the death of the person if they gave their express consent during their lifetime (Civil Code, Article 16-11). In the absence of such consent,
parentage can only be established through posses - sion of status, which is subject to strict time limits. Surrogacy is prohibited both legally and ethically in France (Civil Code, Article 16-7) This means that: • it is illegal to enter into a contract with a woman to carry a child for someone else; • surrogacy is considered contrary to public policy because it undermines the dignity of women and children; and • a surrogacy agreement has no effect under French law. However, there has been an evolution under the influ - ence of the European court of Human Rights, which has condemned France for refusing to recognise the parentage of children born through surrogacy abroad, ruling that this violated the children’s right to a normal family life. In 2024, the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court in France) issued a number of very important decisions in 2024 concerning the issue of surrogacy. The Court ruled on the recognition of parentage of a child born abroad through surrogacy with respect to a parent with no biological link to the child. The Court also clari - fied the practical arrangements for transcribing foreign judgments that establish the parentage of children born through surrogacy. In conclusion, French law now provides for: • the recognition of paternal parentage if the father is the biological father; and • the possibility for the other parent (usually the father’s partner) to adopt the child, under certain conditions, including in same-sex couples. 9.2 Same-Sex Marriage French jurisdiction has recognise same-sex marriage since Law No 2013-404 of 17 May 2013, (Article 143 of the French Civil Code) and domestic partnerships since Law 99-944 of 15 November 1999). Domestic partnerships have been open to same-sex persons since their inception.
167 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook