Following the death of a parent or loved one, the sharing of inheritance can sometimes cause tension among the different beneficiaries. Hence this recurring question from our readers: how long can the succession remain blocked?
My file has been under investigation for 6 months, what should I do? This question from Dio, asked in February 2024, on the box dedicated to questions from MoneyVox readers, comes up insistently in your testimonies. Rather by the way of a long message detailing the case of an inheritance, and with this recurring question in the middle of multiple questions: How many months can an inheritance file remain pending? Or: How long should it take to receive the balance of the inheritance?
Apart from the 6 months for the payment of taxes, there is no legal deadline
MoneyVox asked the question Nathalie Couzigou-Suhas, the Parisian notary specialist in inheritance issues and lecturer (University of Paris I-Sorbonne and National School of Magistrature). The response was quickly: Aside from the 6 months for paying taxes, there is no legal deadline. Let us therefore remember, when it comes to taxes, that inheritance tax must be paid to the tax authorities within 6 months of deaththese inheritance taxes are most often levied by the notary on the inheritance paid to the beneficiaries.
The notary does not have the right to release the inheritance without the agreement of the other beneficiaries
In the absence of agreement… only justice can resolve the problem
Can a conflicting succession therefore remain blocked for months or even years? Potentially, yes. The notary does not have the right to release the inheritance without the agreement of the other beneficiaries, explains Me Nathalie Couzigou-Suhas. The notary needs unanimity to release. But sometimes the heirs do not get along. In this case, only justice can resolve the problem: If people are impervious to any dialogue, if relations between heirs are full of hatred and suspicion, then the mediation of the notary is not enough. Unfortunately you must then quickly go to court.
Consequently, if a conflicting file approaches 6 months, the heirs must put their hands into their wallets themselves to pay the inheritance tax to the Public Treasury… while waiting for the inheritance to be resolved.
Inheritance: who pays inheritance tax and how much?