Answers to the questions we are asked most often

By telephone on +33 1 84 74 19 70, by email at michel.azeroual@notaires.fr or using the form on the Book an appointment page. Tell us what your request is about and when you are available: the office will offer you a time slot, at the office, by telephone or by video call.

The first meeting is used to understand your situation, explain the stages and prepare an estimate of the costs. Where an in-depth legal consultation unrelated to any deed is requested, it gives rise to freely agreed fees, which are announced and agreed in writing before any work begins. Nothing is charged to you without your prior agreement.

Yes. Advisory meetings can be held remotely. Some deeds can also be signed remotely by video call, under the conditions laid down by the regulations; the office will tell you whether your matter is suitable.

An identity document, your family record book (livret de famille) or marriage contract where applicable, and the documents specific to your project: title deed, preliminary sale agreement, death certificate, company articles. The Prepare your appointment page lists the useful documents for your situation.

After your first contact, the office will tell you which documents to provide and how to send them. Please do not attach confidential documents to the website’s contact form. Depending on the matter, you may be asked for the originals at an appointment or at the signing.

Yes, clients are welcomed in French and in English. Authentic deeds are drawn up in French; where a party does not understand French, the law requires an interpreter or a translation, under the conditions it lays down.

At 67 boulevard de Picpus, 75012 Paris, a five-minute walk from Place de la Nation. Picpus metro (line 6) is two minutes away, Nation (lines 1, 2, 6, 9 and RER A), Bel-Air (line 6), buses 29 and 56. Visits by appointment from Monday to Friday.

They consist of duties and taxes paid over to the State and local authorities, disbursements advanced on your behalf and the notary’s regulated fees, set by a regulated tariff that is the same throughout France. When buying a property, duties and taxes account for the vast majority of them.

Yes. The office gives you a detailed estimate from the first meeting, based on the type of property, the price, the financing and your situation. A final statement is sent to you after the formalities.

For deeds covered by the tariff, yes: the regulated fees are set nationally. Only services giving rise to freely agreed fees (consultation, negotiation, certain drafting work) may vary; they are always subject to a prior written agreement.

By bank transfer to the office’s account, whose details are sent to you directly by the office. A payment on account of costs is requested before signing. The office will never ask you to change bank details by email: if in doubt, call us before making any transfer.

The notary checks the position of the property and the parties (ownership, mortgages, planning, co-ownership, technical surveys), drafts the preliminary contract and then the authentic deed, receives the price and pays it to the seller, then registers the sale with the land registry and gives you your title deed.

Yes, at no extra cost. The regulated fees are then shared between the two offices according to the rules of the profession. Each party thus has its own dedicated adviser.

In practice, allow around three months, depending on the specific features of the matter: the time needed to clear the municipality’s pre-emption right, gather the planning and co-ownership documents and obtain the loan offer. It can be shorter when no financing is involved.

Not necessarily: joint ownership (indivision) is the simplest form. An SCI becomes useful when you wish to organise the management of the property, prepare its transfer or allocate powers between partners. The choice is made case by case, taking into account the tax consequences and the management constraints.

The purchase of a new home before it is built: you become the owner of the land and the buildings as they are constructed, paying the price in staged instalments. The contract is governed by specific protective rules, in particular the completion guarantee.

No. Without a contract, spouses are subject to the default regime of community of acquired property. A marriage contract allows you to choose another regime (separation of property, participation in acquired property, universal community) or to adapt the default regime; it is received by the notary before the wedding.

PACS partners are, by default, under separation of property and do not inherit from each other without a will. Spouses have a matrimonial regime and statutory inheritance rights. In both cases, deeds can strengthen the protection of the other.

Yes, by notarial deed, in the interest of the family. Adult children and creditors are informed and may object; court approval is only required in certain cases, in particular where there are minor children under certain conditions or where an objection is made.

Yes. The notary draws up the statement of liquidation of the matrimonial regime and the division of the assets, in particular real estate. In a divorce by mutual consent, the agreement drafted by the lawyers is filed with the notary’s records, which gives it a certain date and makes it enforceable.

It is required in particular when the estate includes real estate, when there is a will or a gift between spouses, or when the value of the estate warrants it. In other cases, it remains strongly recommended to secure dealings with the banks and administrations.

Where it is required, the estate tax return must generally be filed within six months of a death occurring in metropolitan France; the time limit differs in other situations. After the deadline, late payment interest is due on the duties. The office checks the applicable time limit, prepares the return and calculates the duties from the documents gathered.

Yes. Each heir has a choice: accept outright, accept up to the net assets (the debts are then only paid up to the value of the assets received) or renounce. The notary explains the consequences of each choice before any decision.

A gift transfers an asset to one person; a gift-partition divides, during your lifetime, all or part of your assets among your presumptive heirs, with the value of the assets fixed on the date of the deed. It limits disputes when the estate is settled.

In principle, the capital paid to the named beneficiary is not part of the estate under civil law and follows its own tax rules. There are exceptions, in particular where the premiums were manifestly excessive. The notary coordinates the settlement of the estate with the existing policies.

The notary tailors the articles to your project, your family situation and your succession objectives, and secures the contributions, particularly when real estate is contributed. The notary coordinates the formalities and keeps the deed.

Yes. A notarial lease is enforceable and gives landlord and tenant alike a clear framework. The office also acts on renewals, assignments of the leasehold right and professional leases.

Once the price and the assets sold have been agreed, the deed of sale is signed and then published. The price is held in escrow during the legal period for creditors’ objections before being paid to the seller. The office completes all the formalities.