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09.1
🇫🇷 France 🇲🇦 Morocco 🇩🇿 Algeria

France’s art.913: the inheritance rule that created conflict with Islamic succession

The 2021 amendment allowing children to claim French reserved shares from French assets -- even where foreign law was elected -- was designed for Islamic succession but has hit Anglo-Saxon estates hardest.

High Exposure Legal Concepts Africa Europe Last updated May 2026 Educational only · Not advice
⚠ EDUCATIONAL CONTENT ONLY This article explains general principles only. It does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Last updated May 2026. Always consult a qualified cross-border estate specialist before making decisions. Terms of Use →

In November 2021, France added a new mechanism to art.913 of the Civil Code: children of a deceased can claim compensation from French-situs assets to restore their French reserve hereditaire — even where a foreign succession law without equivalent reserved shares was elected under the EU Succession Regulation.

What was designed
Protect daughters from Islamic succession rules that favour sons
The amendment was introduced to address situations where French-resident daughters faced inheritance under Islamic succession laws — particularly Moroccan and Algerian systems where sons receive double daughters’ shares. France’s Justice Ministry stated the rule aimed to prevent women losing out due to “certain legal systems based on Sharia law.”
Who it affected most
Anglo-Saxon property owners who elected UK/US/Australian law
The French Senate noted the rule has “mostly affected people of Anglo-Saxon origin, including Britons, Americans, Australians” — whose testamentary freedom under UK/US/Australian law allowed children to be excluded or receive smaller shares. Reports emerged of foreign property owners selling French homes specifically to escape the reach of art.913.
The mechanism
Compensation from French-situs assets regardless of applicable law
A child who receives less under the elected foreign law than they would under the French reserve hereditaire can claim the difference from French-situs assets (real estate, French accounts, French securities). The election of foreign law under EU Succession Regulation art.22 does not prevent this claim. The French assets become the guarantee fund for the reserved share.
Practical effect: A British national living in France who elected UK law in their will, and whose French property was intended to pass entirely to their surviving spouse, may find that children can claim their reserved share from that French property — overriding both the UK law election and the spousal inheritance intention.

Status as of 2026

An EU Commission ruling on the rule’s compatibility with EU law (specifically the EU Succession Regulation) was awaited but had not arrived. The legal uncertainty is live. France was authorised by the EU in 2023 to negotiate a bilateral family law agreement with Algeria that may address the Islamic succession dimension — but no agreement was in force as of May 2026.

Art.913 makes the EU Succession Regulation election significantly less useful for non-EU nationals with French property. Any estate planning involving French real estate and a non-French succession law election needs specialist French notarial advice. The election alone is not sufficient.

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