On the death of its holder, the equity savings plan (PEA) is closed, because it is attached to the person of the subscriber. The securities are not sold but transferred to a securities account, if it was a bank PEA (or kept on the capitalization contract, for an insurance PEA).
Under no circumstances can the securities be transferred directly to the PEA of the heirs: a PEA can only be funded in cash.
Upon death, unrealized capital gains are not subject to income tax, whether the PEA is more than five years old or not. But social contributions remain due, regardless of the duration of the plan. The amount must be entered in the liabilities of the estate. It is therefore the net value of the PEA that is taxed with inheritance tax.
The heirs can then keep or sell the securities (or proceed to a redemption on the capitalization contract). Taxation will be determined according to the holding period, calculated from the date of death and not from the date of subscription by the deceased.
In a particular case, the bank PEA differs from the ordinary securities account: if the asset is not included in the succession by the play of a matrimonial advantage, such as a full attribution clause, which allows the surviving spouse to recover all assets.
With a classic portfolio, the capital gain is calculated taking into account the acquisition price and the original acquisition date, while with a PEA, the counters are reset to zero at the estate, subsequent capital gain and length of detention are calculated since death.