Death of a civil partner: what does the law provide for the survivor?

Upon the death of a civil partner, the surviving partner is not an heir. Without a will, they have no rights to the other partner's estate. With a will, they can receive assets, up to the legal limit, and they do not pay inheritance tax on what they receive. They are not entitled to a survivor's pension. Regarding housing, they benefit from certain protections, including one year of occupancy after the death.

This page addresses the rights of a surviving civil partner (PACS) in light of official legislation. It does not cover non-resident partners, assets located abroad, cases of a PACS dissolved before death, or the calculation of a full estate. The detailed rules governing assurance-vie are also not addressed: this page focuses on a specific point, namely the exemption of sums paid to the partner pursuant to a beneficiary clause, as explained by the tax authorities in a response published in the BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances).

The principle: no inheritance rights

Service-public.gouv.fr is clear: upon death, the PACS ends and "you are not an heir." Each partner is considered a stranger to the other's estate.

Without a will, the surviving spouse inherits their own property and their share of any jointly owned property. They have no rights to the remainder of the deceased's estate.

A will changes that. Service-public.gouv.fr reminds you that, in order for your partner to benefit from all or part of your estate, you must write a will.

With a will: how far can you go?

The answer depends on the presence of children.

With children. The children have a reserved share, which cannot be taken from them. The remainder, the disposable portion, can be freely bequeathed to the partner by will.

The example from service-public.gouv.fr: for an inheritance of €200,000 and 3 children, each child receives €50,000 and €50,000 can be bequeathed to the partner.

No children. The deceased can bequeath all or part of their estate to their partner, according to service-public.gouv.fr. The official website does not detail the situation of other heirs here; this information must be verified in your case file.

A will cannot be written by two people. Service-public.gouv.fr prohibits writing a single will for you and your partner. Each partner must write their own.

The will is revoked. This can be revisited until the heir's death. Forced heirs cannot be excluded: an heir who has not received their reserved share can bring an action for reduction.

Fees to be paid: none on what the partner receives

The surviving partner in a civil partnership (PACS) is exempt from inheritance tax. The relevant text is Article 796-0 bis of the French General Tax Code, which the BOFiP (version in force since 30/06/2022) describes as exempting the surviving spouse and the partner linked to the deceased by a civil partnership from inheritance tax.

Two points of clarification from service-public.gouv.fr:

• The survivor must still file a declaration of inheritance.
• An exemption exists if the gross estate assets are less than €50,000 and if the partner only received manual gifts or declared or registered gifts.

Assurance-vie. According to a response from the tax authorities published in the BOFiP (RES no. 2014/03, question asked in the absence of a will), sums paid to the surviving civil partner pursuant to a beneficiary clause in a assurance-vie policy are exempt under Article 796-0 bis of the French General Tax Code (CGI): "it does not matter whether the partner is a legatee of the deceased or not." The complete rules governing assurance-vie upon death are not addressed here: the policy and the beneficiary clause in your case must be verified individually.

The survivor's accommodation

The fate of the accommodation depends on the couple's status within the accommodation.

The right to live in the home for life after death is reserved for spouses. The official information sheet does not mention this for civil partners. When the deceased was the owner, either alone or jointly, the will can also exclude the one-year free occupancy: service-public.gouv.fr explicitly states this.

For social housing, a foreign survivor must have a valid residence permit to obtain the transfer of the lease.

This does not exist for a civil partner.

The survivor's pension. The surviving partner is not entitled to it. It is reserved for the surviving spouse of a married couple.

Giving while you're still alive: the other way

Inheritance is not the only option. Between partners in a civil partnership (PACS), a lifetime gift benefits from a tax allowance of €80,724 (service-public.gouv.fr). According to impots.gouv.fr, this allowance applies to gifts made by the same donor to the same recipient over a 15-year period. Any amount exceeding this allowance is taxed according to a scale ranging from 5% to 45%. The allowance may be revoked if the PACS ends in the year it was entered into or the following year. It remains valid if the PACS is dissolved by marriage between the partners or by the death of one of them.

Unlike a bequest, a gift made during one's lifetime can give rise to rights.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Marc and Hélène are in a civil partnership. Marc has two children. He is the sole owner of his primary residence. His assets to be passed on amount to €600,000 (hypothetical scenario, without any prior gifts). Marc has not written a will.

Issue. If Marc dies now, Hélène has no rights to his estate. She can remain in the main residence for one year, unless a will prohibits it, and she is not entitled to a survivor's pension.

Strategy. Marc can bequeath the disposable portion to Hélène. With two children, this amounts to 1/3. His children retain their reserved share of 2/3.

Result. The maximum bequest to Hélène is €200,000 (one-third of €600,000). The children each receive €400,000, or €200,000. Hélène does not pay inheritance tax on this bequest. For comparison, if Marc had given her the same amount during his lifetime, without using any prior allowances, the taxable base would be €119,276 (€200,000 - €80,724) and the gift tax would be approximately €21,061.75, resulting in a net payment of €178,938.25 for Hélène.

This profile is fictitious. The figures illustrate the calculation. They do not predict your situation.

What changes depending on your situation

• The presence of children, which determines the available share.
• Housing status : tenant, co-owner, sole owner.
• The existence of a will, and its contents.
• The content of assurance-vie contracts and the beneficiary clause.
• Gifts already made between you two.
• A residence or property abroad This page does not deal with them.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.