Pacs and wills: The winning couple.

Anticipate with a PACS before you buy

If you're planning to buy a property as a couple, signing a PACS agreement in advance can be a wise precaution to avoid problems linked to the death of one of the partners. There are many advantages to being PACS partners when buying a property as a couple. But it's important to consider what can make all the difference in the event of the death of one of the partners: the will. The question is: when you buy an apartment, house or building plot, who will own it if Mr. or Mrs. dies? If you have no children, your heirs will be your parents and siblings, to whom the deceased's share will revert. So there's a risk that the cohabitee will be thrown out of his or her home. But when you enter into a civil partnership, your partner is not the heir either. A will must be drawn up and signed. Only then will the surviving spouse have, at the very least, the usufruct of the property if there are descendants, or even the entire estate if there are no children.

Anticipating the death of one of the partners

In the event ofthe death of a partner who was the sole owner of the property, the transfer of ownership of the property to the surviving partner is not automatic. This is where the problems can start! The surviving partner could be forced by the deceased partner's heirs to leave the house or apartment. Drawing up a will can help the partner out of this predicament. If the deceased was the sole owner of the main residence, a will can be used to bequeath the usufruct of the property to the surviving PACS partner, enabling the latter to remain in the home for the rest of his or her life. As the heirs are then only bare owners of the property, they can only reclaim it in full on the death of the surviving partner.
If thepartners have bought the house or apartmentin joint ownership (they each own a share in the property, in proportion to the financing), the surviving partner will find himself or herself in a joint ownership situation with the deceased's reserved heirs at the time of inheritance. He or she may nevertheless be entitled to what is known as preferential allocation of the property at the time of inheritance. However, this preferential allocation of the principal residence is not automatic!
Once again, in the absence of a will specifying it: no preferential allocation. It must in fact be provided for in advance in the deceased's will in order to be claimed by the surviving partner at the time of inheritance. For the surviving partner, this means priority purchase of the home at the time of inheritance.

This preferential allocation is not a gift, and does not represent a donation made by the deceased. The surviving partner will have to buy back the share in the property that belonged to his or her deceased partner, from the heirs with right to reserve. The problem is that the surviving partner does not always have the financial means to buy back half the property, for example, and is therefore obliged to sell it.

In short, as soon as the civil partnership is signed, make a will.

What about second homes and leases?

Only the principal residence is protected. The surviving partner has no rights to any second home.

In the case of a rental property, the death of a civil union partner results in the transfer of the lease to the surviving partner.

Stéphanie Swiklinski