FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
assets and living conditions” (Article 1075-2 of the Civil Procedure Code). Additionally, when a compensatory allowance is requested, they must provide a sworn state - ment to the judge certifying the accuracy of their resources, income, assets and living conditions (Article 272 of the Civil Code). Judges typically draw all consequences from the failure to produce necessary information. Concealment of communal property by one of the spouses in a community regime is penal - ised, and the spouse is deprived of all rights over the concealed property (Article 1477 of the Civil Code). Information collection through third parties or experts The judge can request information, without the ability to claim professional secrecy, from third parties such as banking institutions and other fund and asset depositaries, as well as the debt - ors of each spouse (Article 259-3 of the Civil Code). When the financial situation of the spouses is difficult to understand, the judge may seek help from an expert – that is: • from a qualified professional, “to draw up an estimated inventory or make proposals regarding the settlement of the spouses’ financial interests” (Article 255, 9° of the Civil Code); or • from a notary for the purpose of “elaborating a plan for the liquidation of the matrimonial regime and, incidentally, the division of the lots to be shared” (Article 255, 10° of the Civil Code).
The designated expert enjoys the same inves - tigatory powers as the judge in executing their mission, as per Article 259-3 of the Civil Code. Various asset identification tools Multiple tools for identifying assets can be used. • FICOBA ( fichier des comptes bancaires file of bank accounts and similar) records all bank accounts held by an individual or corpora - tion in France or abroad. It involves account opening, modification and closure operations but does not include actual transactions or the account balance. • FICOVIE ( fichier des contrats d’assurance vie file of life insurance contracts and capitalisa - tion contracts) references all life insurance and capitalisation contracts with insurance companies established in France. A notary, authorised by a court decision, can access these files, especially within the scope of their expertise mission (based on Articles 255, 10° and 255, 9° of the Civil Code), from: • the land registry, which centralises and publishes information regarding property ownership and cadastres – any individual can request a copy of ongoing entries by filling in a form and providing specific information (cadastral references, owner’s name, etc); and • the trade and companies register, which com - piles all individuals and legal entities engaged in commercial activities. Recognition of Foreign Trusts France does not recognise, within its domestic law, the mechanism of trusts and has not ratified the Hague Convention of 1 July 1985 concerning the law applicable to trusts and their recognition.
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