13 things you can do through a french notaire apart from buy a house

France has around 17,000 notaires who, as well as dealing with property transactions – they also sell property (see immonot.com) – offer a range of other services and advice. Some families

use the same notaire for everything, including inheritance, marriage contracts, business set-up, property sales/purchases and gifting property. As public servants, most of their fees are

fixed but some services are free, especially for long-standing clients. Here are more key services they can help with. 1. DRAW UP MARRIAGE OR PACS CONTRACTS Notaires can draw up marriage

and_ pacte civil de solidarité_ (Pacs) contracts, which are common in France, and advise couples what type of clauses to insert according to their circumstances and wishes. They advise how

to draw up contracts relating to how property will be shared during the marriage, and how it would be divided in the case of divorce or the dissolution of a Pacs. It is obligatory to use a

notaire to draw up a marriage contract. Notaires can also register Pacs contracts. READ MORE: WILLS, ASSETS: UK COUPLES AND FRANCE’S THREE MAIN MARRIAGE REGIME 2. GIVE FAMILY LEGAL ADVICE

Notaires are bound by professional confidentiality so can be trusted to give legal advice about delicate family matters. 3. DRAW UP PATERNITY PAPERS A notaire can draw up papers establishing

a man’s paternity of a non-related child he is parenting if the child has not been legally acknowledged by their biological father. Establishing a lien de filiation by formally

‘recognising’ a child gives both parties legal rights and responsibilities. 4. OFFER BUSINESS SUPPORT When setting up a business, notaires can advise on which kind of legal structure is best

and draw up the correct paperwork. They can help with drafting the statutes. 5. GIVE MERGER AND TAKEOVER ADVICE In the case of a business merger or takeover, a notaire can offer legal

advice and draw up the most appropriate contracts for it. 6. MAKE A WILL Notaires can advise which type of will to choose and help to draft it. In some instances, a will might not be needed

at all, in which case they will be able to tell you. Sometimes, when a simple will is drawn up during a property transaction, this might even be a free service. Conversely, if a person who

would normally inherit part of an estate wishes to renounce their inheritance rights in favour of a third party, a notaire can organise this too. READ MORE: WHAT HAPPENS TO MY FRENCH FAMILY

HOME IF I DO NOT MAKE A WILL? 7. ISSUE AN _ACTE DE NOTORIÉTÉ_ After a death, the notaire issues an _acte de notoriété_ as proof that a person is an inheritor. This document allows the holder

to access the deceased’s bank account, change the ownership of their car, etc. The document costs €69.23 including tax. READ MORE: HOW DO I RECOVER FUNDS FROM MY LATE FATHER’S FRENCH BANK

ACCOUNT? 8. HELP UNTANGLE INHERITANCE ISSUES In the case of several people inheriting shares in the same property, a notaire can sort out exactly who owns what. This can be done with the

agreement of all parties or legally imposed if agreement is not reached. 9. PROTECT AGAINST LEGAL CLAUSES Notaires must be impartial and are legally required to prevent illegal clauses being

added to documents such as marriage contracts and wills. 10. VERIFY SOMEONE’S ID AND CAPACITY Notaires check the identity and civil capacity of everyone who signs a legal document in their

office. 11. GIVE FREE CONSULTATIONS Notaires offer free and anonymous consultations via the Conseil Départemental de l’Accès du Droit (CDAD) in each department (CDAD01 would be Ain, for

example). Look on your department’s CDAD website for p_ermanences gratuites_ to make an appointment. 12. PROVIDE A COPY OF A MISSING DOCUMENT Notaires maintain archives of all the documents

officially signed before them, including deeds of property ownership, wills, gifts and acknowledgements of debts. This storage of original documents is free. It means that if new copies are

ever needed, they can be obtained from the notaire (for a fee of €6 to €30). 13. ARRANGE A PROXY If you cannot get to their office to sign something, a notaire can draw up a procuration à

distance so a third party (often a notaire employee) can sign as a proxy. They can also offer remote electronic signatures. READ MORE: CAN A PROXY SIGN ACTE DE VENTE FOR FRENCH PROPERTY

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