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Inheritances do not always end when the money is distributed among the heirs, sometimes a forgotten will It can reopen a family conflict years later and put even properties already purchased with that money at risk. That’s what happened to a French family after discovering a hidden old will that could force one of the children to return part of the inheritance and even sell the apartment they bought with it.
It all started in 2021, after the 82-year-old mother. The inheritance, as collected from the media Figaro Immobilerwas distributed among his three children after no officially registered will appeared. The family home, a house located on the outskirts of Paris, was sold for 455,000 euros and another 120,000 euros in cash were also distributed.
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Once the debts and taxes were paid, each heir received approximately 150,000 euros. One of the sons used his share to buy a 45 square meter apartment valued at 220,000 euros. For two years everything seemed closed and resolved, until one of the sisters found an unexpected document among her mother’s belongings: a handwritten letter dated 2019 in which the deceased left the house solely to her “for the services provided during her illness” and also granted 50,000 euros to the other sister.
The brother could be forced to return part of the inheritance
The discovery of the document completely reopened the family conflict. As Coralie Daven, former notary initially in charge of the inheritance, explained in the media, the will apparently met all the legal requirements to be considered valid despite not having been officially registered.
This means that the distribution made in 2021 could be canceled and redone taking into account the new wishes of the deceased. The two sisters then demanded to recalculate the inheritance, while the most affected son flatly refused.
If the judge considers the will valid, each heir must return any extra amount received and the son “cannot hide behind the purchase of his apartment to claim that he has already spent the money. If he owes his sister money and does not have the funds, he will have to take out a loan or sell the property,” explained the former notary.
The Court must decide if the will is valid
Now it will be the judge who determines if the document found can really modify the inheritance already distributed. To do this, the court will have to analyze several key aspects: whether the handwriting really belongs to the deceased, whether in 2019 she had sufficient mental capacity to write the will and whether there was any type of pressure or manipulation by any of the children.
In addition, the judge will have to verify that the document meets all legal requirements, such as being completely handwritten, dated and signed correctly. Even so, even if the will is considered valid, French law prevents one of the children from receiving less than the minimum share reserved by law in an inheritance.
For this reason, the court could choose not to completely annul the initial distribution, but to make financial compensation between the heirs to correct the differences.