Notary, lawyer, accountant and wealth management advisor: who does what in an international case?

Written by Alexis Sagnier, financial and real estate investment advisor, insurance broker, AMF certified, founder of Balmont Conseil (Lyon). ORIAS 13003497. Last reviewed: 23/10/2026.

You're preparing for a departure, a business sale, or an inheritance involving multiple countries. Four professionals will be involved. Here's what each one does, what they don't do, and how to get them to work together.

How does a notary or lawyer work with a wealth management advisor on an international case?

They each work in their respective fields: the notary and the lawyer ensure the legal and tax framework is secure, the wealth management advisor handles investments and insurance, and ties everything together. An international case involves documents to be signed, legal matters to be understood in two countries, company accounts, and investments. A single professional rarely covers all four.

In practice, four rules help avoid mistakes:

• Written authorization. You allow everyone to interact with each other.
• A single parts list and a single calendar, shared among everyone.
• A perimeter spoken aloud. Each person indicates what is their responsibility and what they leave to another.
• A written order of operations before the first signature.

A professional from the host country can be added to the file: the law of the host country falls under the jurisdiction of a professional from that country. Balmont Conseil works with a network of international notaries, lawyers, and accountants. We do not name them here. Depending on your destination country, we will direct you to someone familiar with the local law, or we will consult with your own advisors.

Can a chartered accountant advise a client on their expatriation?

Yes, but only as a secondary activity. Article 22 of the ordinance of September 19, 1945, allows chartered accountants to provide legal and tax consultations and conduct studies, subject to three limitations. These activities cannot be the primary focus of their practice. They must work for companies where they already perform accounting services. Alternatively, these consultations must be directly related to the work they are already responsible for.

For a manager, this results in a simple distribution.

• What he does well: the company's accounts and balance sheet, the manager's remuneration based on actual figures, the company's declarations.
• This generally goes beyond its mission: Your tax residence, your private assets, your retirement abroad. His engagement letter concerns the company, not you.
• What he does not do, except for dual status: We recommend investments to you. Investment advice is a regulated profession: financial investment advisors must be registered with ORIAS and belong to a professional association approved by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). Insurance intermediaries are registered in the same register.

Three questions to ask: "Does your services cover my personal situation?", "Who verifies my tax residency?", "Are you registered with ORIAS?". An accountant who answers "no" to the first question and refers you to a specialist is doing their job correctly.

How can I prepare to sell my business before moving abroad?

First, establish the order of operations (sale, departure, method of holding the securities) with a lawyer specializing in tax law, then allocate each party their share. The sale date and the departure date are considered together, because the departure itself can trigger taxation (the exit tax, see below).

• The chartered accountant prepares up-to-date accounts and figures to be submitted to the buyer.
• The lawyer drafts or reviews the transfer contract and calculates the taxes on the sale and departure.
• The notary intervenes if the private assets follow: gift, real estate transaction.
• The advisor prepare what will happen to the proceeds of the sale (investments, insurance), before the signing and not after.

Three key points need to be checked before signing.

• The date of sale and the departure date, set together.
• The exit tax (Article 167 bis of the French General Tax Code). The instructions for form 2074-ETD, for departures in 2025, describe it as follows: it concerns individuals who have been tax residents of France for at least six of the ten years preceding their departure, and who, together with their household, hold either at least 50% of the profits from a company or a securities portfolio worth more than €800,000. To request an optional deferral of payment, the declaration must be filed within 90 days of departure. Check these points in the instructions for the year of your departure.
• The contribution of securities to a holding company (Article 150-0 B ter of the General Tax Code), which places the taxation of capital gains on deferral. For sales carried out since February 21, 2026, the reinvestment threshold increases from 60 % to 70 % and the reinvestment period from two to three years (Finance Law for 2026, Article 11).

The choice between selling before leaving, contributing to a holding company, or leaving first is made with supporting figures, in consultation with a lawyer and accountant. We detail the three scenarios in our guide to the transfer of ownership into exile and that of the’contribution-sale to a holding company.

What we do

Alexis Sagnier, founder of Balmont Conseil (Lyon, for nearly 14 years), is a financial investment advisor and member of ANACOFI, an insurance broker (ORIAS registration number 13003497). The firm is not independent and receives commissions on contracts underwritten. We handle the investment and insurance aspects of your case, working in conjunction with your notary, lawyer, and accountant. If you wish to discuss your situation with us, the first step is an initial consultation: you tell us your current situation, and we explain how and where we can help.

Sources

• notaires.fr, "The role of the notary"«
• Ministry of Justice, "The Lawyer"«
• National Assembly, response from the Keeper of the Seals dated 27/10/2003 citing Article 22 of the Ordinance of 19 September 1945
• INPI, "Professional in accounting expertise"«
• AMF, "Choosing a professional: financial investment advisors"«
• ORIAS, register of intermediaries in insurance, banking and finance
• impots.gouv.fr, instructions for declaration 2074-ETD (unrealized capital gains, departures from 2025)
• BOFiP, news on article 150-0 B ter of the CGI (law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, article 11)