Who hasn’t dreamed one day of inheriting a tidy sum of money? Nine out of ten French people leave heritage behind. Each year, nearly 300,000 declarations of succession are registered by notaries. Most often, this happens without any problems, sometimes with good surprises, like the one that Matthieu Andriveau has in store for one or more potential heirs: 400,000 euros! In the report broadcast this Sunday evening in the magazine ”Forbidden Zone” on M6, this genealogist must manage to find at least one living relative up to the sixth degree so that he can receive this small fortune. The search for clues will begin with a visit to the apartment of the deceased. However, the places were undoubtedly ”searched” even before the visit of the experts…
“It’s incredible to have to take out a loan when you have the money”
Because it is a reality: in one out of three cases, inheritance, far from the notion of sharing, triggers disputes, greed and jealousy. The succession can turn out to be an ordeal that crystallizes family resentments. Resentment fuels violent and endless legal battles, to the point that they blow up siblings and put people out of business. The inheritance is then more of a curse than a blessing.
In Charente-Maritime, Jean has been waiting for four years to receive his father’s inheritance, or 400,000 euros, for the time being frozen due to legal proceedings. “There’s this blocked money, which I should legally get, and I don’t have it. Maybe I won’t even have it before I leave this world, and that makes me boil. It is an injustice”.
He is unable to pay for the work on his house, amounting to 30,000 euros, and will have to take out a loan. “It’s amazing to have to take out a loan when you have the money. The money belongs to me, somewhere, to no one but me”. In addition, he has already paid the Public Treasury 50,000 euros for inheritance tax when he has not received a penny.
A real hassle, like that experienced in Brittany by Evelyne, who, at 63, moved from a small village to live two hours away, in a campsite. This former childless social worker had to sell her house after 7 years of proceedings that ruined it. “We are going to count 35,000 euros, roughly, between lawyers, bailiffs, notaries …” she estimates, while she is closer, in reality, to the 40,000 euros in costs, some advice asking up to 300 euros per hour to defend this type of file.
“What do I have left, 5,000 euros? How do I do ? »
Seven years ago, Evelyne married Erwan, a landscaper. The mother of her husband was wealthy, with a heritage amounting to one million euros. But suddenly, in a few months, the mother, then her son, died. She then inherits from her husband, and from his mother, that is 500,000 euros. But other heirs refuse this sharing, and ask for a new calculation: they find it in particular unfair that the sexagenarian receives this money when she was only married for a year with Erwan. The court having dismissed them at first and second instance, they then lodged an appeal in cassation. The retiree, who receives 800 euros per month, must pay a flat rate of 6,000 euros to afford the services of a specialized lawyer. “I don’t have any more money aside, it’s over, what do I have left, 5,000 euros? How do I do ? “.
Selling his property was the only solution. Thanks to this transaction, she was able to buy a mobile home for 25,000 euros, to which will be added a monthly rent of 200 euros: “At least I have a roof,” she says, trying to put on a good face. To obtain a decision at the Court of Cassation, Evelyne will have to wait at least a year in her 44 m² bungalow. Fighting for your share, yes, but at what cost?
”Heritage: gift from heaven or curse”, in ”Forbidden Zone”, a magazine presented by Ophélie Meunier, this Sunday, May 22 from 9:10 p.m. on M6.