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Clé France

The French Property Network

Apr 4

The treatment of trusts under french law

Until the introduction of a French finance law in 2011, there had been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the French treatment of trusts. Since then, a new regime has brought in different rules regarding the inheritance and gift tax, wealth tax and income tax treatment of trusts.

There is now an obligation for trustees to declare the existence of trusts to the French tax authorities if the settlor or any of the beneficiaries are French resident, or if any trust assets are situated in France. Penalties apply if these obligations are not met, and it was announced at the end of 2013 that these are set to increase. The trust declarations must be filed annually during the trust’s lifetime, and further declarations are required if the trust is modified or wound up. 

The new regime has also introduced specific tax rates and rules applying to trusts which vary depending on the circumstances. Discretionary trusts, for example, will be subject to tax at 60% and therefore careful planning is to be advised. 

Tax charges will occur either when assets are transferred to beneficiaries or on the death of a settlor, regardless of whether or not the assets remain in trust. This means that there may be tax charges on the death of each generation of beneficiaries.

Consequently, it is important to think carefully before settling any French property on trust, or before including anyone who is a French resident as a beneficiary. Furthermore, should a beneficiary of a trust move to France, it may be appropriate to think about excluding them. For those already affected, there may be possibilities for reducing the impact of the regime; for example, deciding to wind up the trust. There are many factors that will require consideration, however, such as the inheritance tax and capital gains tax implications in both the UK and France. 

Should you be the settlor, trustee or beneficiary of any trust with a French connection, it is important to be aware of whether these new rules impact on you. It is also likely that your estate will be affected on your death if you or any of your beneficiaries are French resident, or if you own French property. This is because the law has been drafted in a wide reaching manner so that trusts arising on death under a will or intestacy will be included within the new rules.

One of the most important steps to consider is the preparation of a separate French Will, so as to avoid your estate becoming subject to the French trust regime. If your French property passes under your English Will, it is likely that it will be caught by the trust rules simply by virtue of the fact that the assets will come to be under the control of the executors or administrators. By preparing a separate French Will dealing with the French assets you are therefore likely to simplify matters for your executors and beneficiaries.

For individual advice, please contact Matthew Cameron here.

Matthew Cameron

We at Cle France - The French Property Network are proud to work in partnership with Ashton KCJ - Legal services. If we think our clients need further legal advice or have a specific legal question that needs solicitor involvement when buying or selling a property in France we can recommend Matthew Cameron and his team for expert advice.

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Apr 4

Welcome to the Legal Service blog pages

Bienvenu to the first blog from the French Legal Services team at Ashton KCJ.

Our aim is to produce these regularly, keeping you up to date with any important legal developments.

So, whether you already own a house in France, or are currently looking to buy or sell a French property, our aim is to keep you informed about the issues you need to know.

If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, then do please get in touch

You can speak to member of the team: Jean-Paul Vovor, who is a French national and holds notaire’s qualifications; Sarah Walker who is an English solicitor with a specialism in French and English inheritance law and tax matters or myself, a solicitor and head of the French team. We are all, of course, fully bilingual.

I hope you find the information interesting, and look forward to any comments you may have.

A bientôt!

Matthew Cameron

Head of French Legal Services.

 Matthew Cameron and Cle France working together

We at Cle France - The French Property Network are proud to work in partnership with Ashton KCJ - Legal services. If we think our clients need further legal advice or have a specific legal question that needs solicitor involvement when buying or selling a property in France we can recommend Matthew Cameron and his team for expert advice.

 

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Nov 29

Raising funds from your UK property maybe the solution

I was clearing out some images from a very old computer this week when I came across some photos I had stored of the first house I bought in France back in 1991; there were also photos of me with a full head of hair, but we won't go into that!

I always remember when we first saw the property we could not quite afford it BUT it was so 100% right for us we had to find a way of getting the money together.

We did this with a re-mortgage of our UK property and it actually worked out that by changing lender and getting a lower fixed rate deal we were able to buy our house in France and have the monthly repayments reduced.

At the time it felt like we were getting the house for free, of course we weren't but with a lower payment going out of my bank account it certainly felt like it and it turned out that by putting my money into 'bricks and mortar' it was the best deal I ever did.

SO if you are considering borrowing to buy a house in France don't just go down the 'French mortgage' route, contact Tim Durkin and see what options you have closer to home for buying your dream second home in France.

We are proud to work in partnership with STAG Mortgage & Insurance Services. Tim Durkin is your specialist contact in this British owned and managed company.

Whether you have found the perfect French home for sale or still looking at the options for buying French property Cle France and Tim Durkin at Stag Mortgages and Insurance Services can help you to find the best solution to make it happen.

Raising the finance to buy your dream property in France can be achieved from various French and euro loans and mortgages available. However for those of you who would like the added peace of mind to deal with this at home, within the UK and in your own language then Tim at STAG Mortgages could be your best option.

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

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Oct 17

UK Help to buy scheme

The anectodal feedback we getting from the lenders in general is to simply ignore thinking of any of the technical features of the Help to Buy scheme, leave that to them they say, the perspective buyers simply need to concentrate on getting the minimum 5% deposit together and leave the rest to the lenders.

 As the government are underwriting the first of any potential losses they have put a few tighter lending rules in place. It all then gets a bit complicated! so best advice is to speak to our expert Tim Durkin at Stag Mortgages.

Blog submitted by: David at Cle France.

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Oct 16

Help to buy scheme announcement


 

 

David Cameron: "I'm not going to stand back while people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder... are being trashed"

A controversial scheme allowing people across the UK to take out 95% mortgages will be launched next week - three months earlier than planned.

PM David Cameron made the announcement as the Conservatives gathered in Manchester for their annual conference.

He rejected fears the Help to Buy scheme will fuel a housing bubble.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show the market was "recovering from a very low base" and first-time buyers needed help to get on the housing ladder.

"As prime minister I am not going to stand by while people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder are being trashed."

He added: "If we don't do this it will only be people with rich parents to help them who can get on the housing ladder - that is not fair, it is not right."

Blog submitted by: Originally from a BBC news article.

Cle France are proud to work in partnership with STAG Mortgage & Insurance Services. Tim Durkin is your specialist contact in this British owned and managed company. Ask Tim if this news will help you find some extra funding for that property you want.

Whether you have found the perfect French home for sale or still looking at the options for buying French property Cle France and Tim Durkin at Stag Mortgages and Insurance Services can help you to find the best solution to make it happen.

Add CommentViews: 2987

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