Even if your children from a first union to agree with their step-parent, the risk of conflict at the opening of your estate are not excluded. In order to avoid them, it is important to plan everything in advance. Our trails to protect both your spouse and your descendants.

The expression is not a happy one, but the entry in the current language, it illustrates perfectly a situation that is more common. The families say “blended”, where coexist two adults who are married and a child or children born of the previous union of one or both spouses, multiply.

According to the statistics of the Insee, near a home on ten belongs to this category. This would account 945.000 minor children living with their parents, and a father-or a mother-in-law. If the daily is not always easy and requires on the part of all capacity for adaptation and a sense of compromise, that when it comes to organizing the transmission of the heritage in a way that does infringe a person, because any relationship is not binding on children and parents-in-law ?

various Situations and issues variables

However, family patterns are changing much faster than our good old civil Code. Which does not contain provisions specific to the stepfamily, except the donation-sharing conjunctiva that was extended. Even if the perfect understanding seems to reign, it is necessary to anticipate potential conflicts to accommodate the interests of each. The problem seems to be insoluble as they are antagonistic. The surviving spouse is only partially protected. What are the common children if there are and those of the first union of the deceased, who inherit the bulk of the heritage. The latter have no obligation to provide assistance to their step-parent in life. In addition, they may be at a disadvantage because they have no statutory relationship with the step-parent if s / he inherits.

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after his death, they receive nothing and lose the share of the goods of their parent acquired by their father-or mother-in-law. And if it leaves this part, it is taxed at 60 %. In other words, it is especially the tax man who preys on and takes advantage of transmissions between the members of a blended family. Fortunately, to avoid such a “bag of nodes”, there are several solutions. But their implementation requires to think in a upstream to what we really want.

The situations are very diverse and the interests are very variable. A couple where each one possesses a large heritage, and has children from a first union does not have the same concerns and protection needs than the one in which one has significant assets and children from a first bed. Therefore, it is imperative to consult a professional of family law, preferably a notary public, before any decision is taken. Because for these households, it should be of the lace and use the many intricacies of the civil Code : marital regime suitable, a gift between spouses, donation-sharing conjunctiva, donation or bequest gradual, simple adoption. Everything is possible, you just have to make the right choice.

Your goal : to shelter the surviving spouse

If the deceased leaves children from another union, the spouse has no right to usufruct and receives only a fixed portion in full ownership of the deceased’s estate. This is why, even more than in a conventional family, it is essential to take steps to protect it. The choice of matrimonial regime is essential. Get married under the legal community, that is to say, the community reduced to acquests, without contract, is a good solution if one has little personal wealth and low incomes. In fact, all of the assets purchased during the marriage with the income of the couple, regardless of the disparity of resources, are common.

Thus, in the case of death of the husband the more easy, the survivor will automatically be entitled to half of such property even if he had contributed less to their acquisition, and if the deceased had children from a first union. On the other half and the own assets, the survivor is entitled to one-fourth in full ownership. There are two legal provisions, which neither the couple’s children nor those of first union, may not object. As for the remaining three quarters, they come back to all the children. It is necessary to proceed to a split between them and the spouse, and find a common ground on the distribution. This can quickly turn the battle row with the step-children who see it as a part of the heritage of their parent in their escape. In these conditions, the donation to the last living, already strongly recommended to the whole family classic, is required.

It replaces the rule of attribution of the “one-quarter of the full property,” and gives the widow the choice between the rights of full ownership or in usufruct. He can opt between a portion in full ownership, the usufruct of the entire estate or a joint (one-quarter of property in full ownership and three-quarters in usufruct). It is advisable to provide the option in the donation. In almost all cases, the usufruct on the entire estate, is the best solution. For a simple reason : it is favorable to all parties involved. Retaining the usufruct during his life, the spouse is guaranteed to keep up his lifestyle in the past and, at her death, the children of the first bed will not be affected since they recover the heritage of their parent, without any right to pay.

It is possible to go further with a classic of the transmission : the case of life insurance. If it is the bénéficiaire, the surviving spouse will receive a capital without taxation. The idea is to feed it with money (income, for example) from the community, which will return in full. These amounts are not subject to the rules of the reserve (the rights of children on your estate), the children of the insured, the first and second bed, will not be able to support that life insurance has started their part. Provided, of course, that the premiums paid are not exaggerated.

Your goal : to protect children

Your spouse becoming legally one-quarter of your estate in full ownership, or more if you have it planned, its part definitively escape to your children from a previous union because they have no relationship. Only his children, those born of your marriage and another relationship, will inherit when he died to his tower. To avoid this situation, it is then possible to transmit to him, as we have discussed, the usufruct of the estate. It is also possible to use the technique of the bequest gradual. It is a legacy for the benefit of beneficiaries in succession, the second is intended to receive the property on the death of the first.

For example, you leave the main residence, which is your property, to your wife, primary beneficiary, and you designate as the second beneficiary, to his or her death, those of your children of which she is not the mother. Your wife will need to retain the property during his or her lifetime and may not sell or assign, in order to guarantee its transmission. The legacy of gradual, promotes children born out of torque by compensating for the fact that they will not receive the share of the community belonging to their mother-in-law. In addition, this solution is fiscally interesting. Your death, your spouse will not have the right to pay and the latter beneficiaries will not need anything. When their mother-in-law will die, your children will be expected to inherit from you. Therefore, they will benefit from the reductions, and the schedule of succession in the direct line. Thus, the interests of each are perfectly preserved.

You may also wish to ensure all children are treated as favourably as possible : common, born of your first marriage and your spouse. To do this, you must anticipate and consider the donation-sharing conjunctiva. It allows you to have two parents that have assets in common, and own to distribute all or part of their assets in their lifetime with great flexibility. They can assign them to children without taking into account the origin of the mother or father of the property concerned. Since 2007, the donation-sharing conjunctiva may be granted to all children born of different unions, provided that there is at least one common child (article 1076-1 of the civil Code). In this case, only the children of the couple may receive common goods and personal property of each of their parents. As to the children not common, they can avail the personal property of only their parent and the couple’s property, provided that the mother-in-law or father-in-law gives its consent. But the latter cannot transmit property.

The advantage of the donation-sharing conjunctiva is attached to the children, not the common property of the couple with a favorable tax as it is considered that the donation, although performed by both spouses, is made only by the biological parent. They are therefore entitled to an allowance of eur 100 000 and the progressive scale on all of the property transferred whereas in the case of common goods, they would normally have to pay 60 % tax on the part from their mother-in-law or father-in-law.

Finally, if you really want perfect equality between all the children, that can provide a donation-sharing conjunctiva, it is necessary to consider the simple adoption of the child of your spouse. It is possible even if both parents are alive. To adopt, you must have at least ten years older than him, obtain the consent of his biological parents if he is a minor and his if he is over the age of 13 years. Your children, on the other hand, do not have to give their acceptance. The tribunal de grande instance checks that this adoption is based on emotional ties real and that it is not based on a single financial interest or tax. Once adopted, the child of your spouse will be considered yours without losing the links and the rights that it has with its biological parents.

It will automatically inherit you with the taxation reserved to the descendants in a direct line. Of course, the revocation of such a simple adoption being difficult, it requires a good deal of agreement between all the members of the stepfamily.

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