Peter Harris

PETER HARRIS considers the effects of the French legislative change in the rights of the surviving spouse over French property.

THERE HAS BEEN a long debate in France over the status of the surviving spouse in relation to a deceased's estate, and this has resulted in a recent legislative change. The French régime uses the notion of forced heirship rights and reserves to protect the children and family of the deceased, and only gave a limited minimum legal right to the surviving spouse, who could even be entirely disinherited.

PETER HARRIS discusses the notion of abus de droit and its potential application in fiscal matters within the European Union legal order.