Société Civile immobilière

The aim of the web portal is to bring to the notice of interested parties, who may be interested in purchasing French property, the existence of a legal entity frequently used in France for the acquisition of real estate – Société Civile immobilière – or SCI – is widely used throughout France by families and by groups of people to acquire property. It is essentially a property management company, a separate legal entity, to the shareholders and is incorporated for the sole purpose of the management of acquired property. There can be considerable tax benefits in using this type of company, especially in connection with inheritance issues in France and in particular for those people who have been divorced and are in extended family situations. The draconian inheritance laws in France declare that upon your death, your share in a property is distributed amongst your children, as French inheritance law does not recognise a husband or wife as a legal heir and therefore does not allow for them to receive an automatic entitlement to your estate – it does however allow for children to have automatic rights to a certain portion of your estate that portion is called Reserve Legale, this percentage varies depending upon the number of children in the family:

• one child could be entitled to one half the estate
• two children could be entitled to one third each
• three children could be entitled to one quarter each
• no children – but surviving parents could qualify as heirs and therefore may be entitled to claim against your estate

The proportion of your estate that you can bequeath is termed Quotit Disponible. With such stringent restrictions upon whom you can bequeath your estate to –  and the prospect of inheritance tax rates of up to 60%, the situation appears utterly draconian but fortunately there are steps that you can take to minimise (not avoid)  such liability -  Société Civile immobilière is one such management tool.

There are several types of Société Civile immobilière, the most favourable is a Variable Société Civile immobilière; if you currently own a property in France you can also avail of this type of company, tomanage your property – however, you should always seek independent advice before embarking on such project. If you do intend to sell your current property to a Société Civile immobilière, of which you intend to be a shareholder, it may be prudent to ensure that you own less than 50% of the shares to ensure that there is agenuine change of ownership. The additional shares can be redistributed amongst your heirs.

Email us: info@societecivileimmobiliere.org

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