1 December 2009 by Clodagh O'Hagan
The French legal system is very different to the law which operates in Ireland. A ‘notaire’ is a public officer responsible for preparing documents for the purchase and sale of property and registering ownership with the state authority. S/He acts for both vendor and purchaser normally. S/He is your legal contact in France. Notaires can also set up companies, deal with family law and draft and register wills.
The Notaire is not obliged to advise the client on the law as it affects Irish people. Therefore, it is advisable to appoint an independent Irish solicitor to advise on the laws as they apply in France. Our office has no qualified French lawyers but has gained an enormous amount of experience advising clients on buying and selling property in France. We have fluent French speakers and are members of a group of Notaire firms throughout France.
We provide a synopsis of the Contract and Commercial lease or the Final Deed in plain English, and advise generally on the procedures involved. We can also liaise with the Notaire and endeavour to ensure that the sale or purchase, is completed as smoothly as possible.
Please contact us for an estimate of our fees.
It generally takes at least 5 working days to review the Contract, Commercial Lease, Final Deed or Power of Attorney and prepare a typed letter of advices to send you, but each case and each client is different. If you require the documents to be reviewed in a shorter timeframe you must let us know. Our letter of advice will include preliminary tax and succession law advices.
In dealing with your property in France you may wish to put a French Will in place. We can put you in contact with people based in Ireland who can arrange to draft and register your French Will.
We can also assist you in liaising with lawyers in France if you are having difficulties with your leaseback property, Management Company, French financial institution, landlord or tenant. We have an association with a Paris law firm. French lawyers (rather than notaires) need to be instructed for contentious matters.
If you wish to proceed with our service or wish to discuss your property in France, kindly contact us. We will require your full details together with documentation to prove your identity to comply with the Money-Laundering Acts for all new clients.
Further Information:
Please contact: Clodagh O'Hagan - cohagan@mckr.ie or Robert Browne – rbrowne@mckr.ie
