Question to an expert
The property that I received as a donation has depreciated, unlike those received by my brothers and sisters, will this situation have an impact when settling the estate of our parents?
There are two categories of donation. The simple donation, which allows you to give what you wish to the heir of your choice (without disinheriting your children), and the donation-partition, which is both a donation and a sharing. The latter applies only to your presumptive heirs, generally your children. You can favor one of them, taking care to respect the reserve of the others.
At the time of inheritance, the simple gift involves a revaluation of the property given, unlike the gift-partition. This mechanism applies regardless of the nature of the good given. In the event of valuation of the property, its beneficiary may be forced, on the death of the donor, to pay a cash payment if the donation reaches the reserve and cannot be compensated by other property.
Conversely, if the property given has deteriorated, the calculation will be made on the value at the time of the division of the estate, ie a value lower than that recorded at the time of the donation. This situation can lead to conflicts between heirs. One of them may feel aggrieved, if the management of his brother or sister has led to a devaluation of the property received, to see his share diminished, at the time of the distribution of the estate. In the presence of several children, it is therefore preferable to favor the donation-sharing