New Property Protection Mechanism in France

Phillip Jenkinson (partner, Triplet & Associes, Paris) and Alexander Hakopian (of counsel, Triplet & Associes, New York) have published their article Explaining France’s New Mandat de Protection Future, Prob. & Prop., Jan./Feb., at 62.

An excerpt from the introduction to the article is below:

If you live or own property in France and are concerned about the future handling of your affairs on French territory in the event of an accident, illness, or simply old age, you can take comfort in a new procedure called mandat de protection future.  On January 1, 2009, article 477 of the French Civil Code was substantially amended.  The amended article adds a radically new provision enabling you to put in place a mandat de protection future to resolve problems such as paying bills, ensuring handicapped children’s interests are protected, securing representation at building co-ownership meetings, and having papers or other legal documents signed on your behalf in the event that you are not able to do so personally.  The original text of the new Article 477, in French, along with an English translation, appears on Page 63.