FAMILY & WEALTH · ADVISORY & LITIGATION

French Family & Inheritance Lawyers

Law that rises to your ambitions.

Marriage contracts, divorce, children, inheritance: all our expertise, serving your personal and financial life — in English, from Lyon.

Your first consultation, refunded*
+33 9 83 68 80 80 (standard rate)
* The first consultation costs a flat €69 excl. VAT (€82.80 incl. VAT). If you then entrust your case to MUSE, it is automatically credited against your first invoice. For a one-off consultation, you receive clear oral advice and/or a written summary, depending on how we meet.
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The collective in family law

A collective of independent family lawyers in Lyon

We are a collective of independent lawyers, skilled across many fields and united around a fully independent online platform. You get the expertise you are looking for, real-time follow-up of your case, and direct contact with your lawyer — no intermediaries.

Independence Expertise Confidentiality
120,000
divorces granted in France every year
60%
settled by mutual consent — the amicable route
€100,000
tax-free allowance per child, per parent, renewed every 15 years
What we handle

From marriage to inheritance, union to division

Matrimonial regimes

Community of property, separation of assets, participation in acquisitions, universal community: lay the foundations of your shared estate.

Divorce

By mutual consent or before the judge (accepted, irretrievable breakdown, fault), through to the liquidation of your regime.

Children & parental authority

Parental authority, visiting and residence rights, child support, court-approved parenting agreements.

Protected adults & minors

Court protection, curatorship, guardianship: tailored support for the most vulnerable.

Inheritance

Wills, estate planning, accepting or renouncing an estate, and settling disputes between heirs.

Liquidation & division

Joint ownership between partners, civil partners or heirs: proper accounting and a fair division.

Family property companies (SCI)

Hold, manage and pass on family real estate, flexibly and tax-efficiently.

Decisions we've obtained

Proof in the rulings: see the decisions obtained by the collective in family & wealth cases — division between former partners, post-separation claims.

Where your shared estate begins

Matrimonial regimes

Choosing a matrimonial regime is a cornerstone of planning your married and financial life. Community of acquisitions, separation of assets, participation in acquisitions, universal community: each carries distinct legal and financial consequences. Understanding the nuances lets you decide with clear eyes, in line with your personal and family goals.

The collective guides you through this process and helps you choose the regime best suited to your situation, protect your interests and build a solid future with your spouse — where useful, through a bespoke marriage contract.

The collective's advice

An entrepreneur, or a property owner? Your regime commits your entire estate. A tailored marriage contract upstream beats a change of regime — possible, but costlier — once married.

Amicably, or before the judge

Divorce

Divorce by mutual consent — amicable, quick and confidential — is handled entirely by the lawyers, without a family judge, when the spouses agree on the divorce and on all its consequences (children, assets). Each spouse has their own lawyer, a guarantee of independence; once the agreement is signed, we handle its registration with the civil registry.

Court divorce: your lawyer takes stock of the family situation and your wishes, drafts the writ before the competent family judge and stands with you at the interim-measures hearing, then throughout the proceedings. Several legal grounds exist — accepted divorce, irretrievable breakdown, fault — and whichever applies, we defend your interests through to the liquidation of your matrimonial regime.

Divorce by mutual consent, step by step
01One lawyer per spouse
02Drafting the agreement
0315-day reflection period
04Signature & filing with the notaire
The child's best interests, first

Children & parental authority

Separating parents must organise the consequences for their children: parental authority, visiting and residence rights, the amount of child support, sharing the holidays. Your lawyer assesses precisely the support due for your children's upbringing.

Where parents agree, a parenting agreement approved by the family judge acquires the force of a judgment. Even when the separation goes smoothly, a purely informal arrangement offers no protection against future disputes (relocation, a new partner, schooling, support reviews): an approved agreement frames the separation and defuses disagreements.

The collective's advice

A verbal agreement about the children does not protect you: have your parenting agreement court-approved. It gains the force of a judgment — and spares you litigation the day positions harden.

Protect without dispossessing

Protected adults & minors

Everyone, minor or adult, is entitled to legal security of person and status. Whether protecting a minor in an emergency or watching over an adult under temporary or permanent incapacity, we support you at every step, with sensitivity and professionalism. To organise an adult's protection, we petition the public prosecutor or assist you before the guardianship judge, seeking court protection (sauvegarde de justice), curatorship or guardianship.

Pass on, inherit, appease

Inheritance

French inheritance law governs the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next — and it is full of subtleties. Whether you plan to draft a will, to organise the distribution of your assets, or to take a position on an estate (acceptance, acceptance up to net assets, renunciation), the collective supports you at every stage.

Our daily litigation practice is also an asset when heirs fall out: we untangle inheritance disputes.

The collective's advice

Plan the transfer early: each parent can give each child up to €100,000 free of tax, renewed every 15 years. Well orchestrated, lifetime gifts sharply cut the inheritance bill for your loved ones.

The final — and most delicate — stage

Liquidation & division

The liquidation of a matrimonial regime or an estate is the last, crucial stage of managing family wealth. It involves the accounting, then the division of assets — movable and real estate — between former spouses after a divorce, or between heirs after a death. Joint ownership between unmarried partners, civil partners, married couples or heirs: these questions, legally and financially delicate, demand rigour to guarantee a division that is fair and lawful. Since its creation, the collective has worked hand in hand with several partner notaires to reach a just outcome.

Build and pass on, as a family

Family property companies (SCI)

The French SCI (family property company) and the family SARL are favoured structures for managing wealth within a family. An SCI lets you hold, manage and pass on real estate flexibly and tax-efficiently; a family SARL can carry a profit-making rental investment, taxed at corporate rates. After studying your project and your goals, the collective drafts the articles, recommends an accountant versed in these companies if needed, and organises your family company's life.

Frequently asked questions

Your family & wealth questions

How long does a French divorce by mutual consent take?
Often a few weeks to a few months, provided the spouses agree on everything. Once the agreement is drafted by the two lawyers, a non-negotiable fifteen-day reflection period runs before signature; the agreement is then filed with a notaire, which gives it a certain date and enforceable force. Most of the time goes into agreeing on the division of assets and the children's arrangements — which is where our role is decisive.
Amicable or court divorce — what is the difference?
Divorce by mutual consent requires full agreement, is settled between lawyers without a judge, and stays confidential. Court divorce applies where spouses disagree: it goes before the family judge on one of the legal grounds (accepted divorce, irretrievable breakdown, fault) and leads to interim measures, then a judgment. Choosing the route — and the ground — is a strategic decision we take with you.
How is child support calculated in France?
It depends on each parent's resources, the child's needs and the residence arrangements. The Ministry of Justice publishes an indicative reference table, but it is only a starting point: the judge — like the parents in an agreement — may depart from it in light of the real situation (school fees, health, dual residence). A careful assessment avoids contentious reviews later.
Can child support or visiting rights be revised once set?
Yes, where circumstances change materially (income, relocation, the child's needs). The revision is requested from the family judge, or formalised in a new court-approved agreement if the parents concur. Until a decision or agreement in force has been modified, it remains fully applicable: far better to act than to stop paying unilaterally.
What share of my estate must go to my children under French law?
Children are protected heirs under French forced-heirship rules: the law guarantees them a reserved portion, and you may freely dispose only of the disposable portion. With one child, the reserve is one half; with two, two thirds; with three or more, three quarters, shared between them. Any excessive gift can be clawed back at the heirs' request. This is precisely the mechanism that planning — gifts, a will, life insurance — can optimise within the limits of the law.
How can I reduce French inheritance tax for my family?
Several legal levers combine: the €100,000 allowance per child and per parent, renewed every fifteen years; family gifts of money; life insurance (with its own tax regime); splitting ownership (gifting the bare ownership); or the Dutreil Pact for a business. Planned early, a transfer costs far less: we build a tailored strategy with you, alongside your notaire.
Unmarried or in a civil partnership: how do we protect each other — and exit joint ownership?
Outside marriage, French law gives the survivor little protection: an unmarried partner does not inherit, a civil partner only by will. Hence the importance of planning ahead (a will, a tontine clause, life insurance, an SCI). On separation, property bought together falls into joint ownership: since no one is bound to remain in it, either partner can demand a division, in court if necessary. We secure the purchase upstream and, at separation, organise a fair exit.
Why set up a family SCI?
A family SCI makes it easier to hold property together, manage it and, above all, pass it on gradually: you transfer shares rather than the property itself, using the tax allowances in stages and avoiding the deadlocks of joint ownership. It does involve real formalities (articles, accounts, meetings) and a structuring tax choice (income or corporate tax). Well built, it is a powerful wealth tool; poorly calibrated, a burden — hence the value of advice from the drafting of the articles.
What is "indivision" (joint ownership), and how do you exit it?
Indivision is the situation where several people — heirs, former spouses, former partners — own the same asset together, each for a share. It can be suffered (when an estate opens) or organised through a joint-ownership agreement. Since no one is bound to remain in it (Article 815 of the Civil Code), any co-owner can force a division: amicable where everyone agrees, judicial in case of deadlock. We secure the agreement upstream and, on exit, organise a fair division with proper accounting.

A family or inheritance question?

Our lawyers reply promptly — and in English.

+33 9 83 68 80 80
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