November 2026
Joint ownership often begins on good terms: two people buy a property together, or a family inherits a property. The difficulties arise later.
When purchasing a property, setting up a French Société civile immobilière allows you to avoid joint ownership. The articles of association appoint a manager, set out the management rules and the conditions for future partners to join.
When it comes to passing on property, a ‘donation-partage’ (shared gift) allows you to allocate separate lots to your children while you are still alive: the house to one, other properties to the others, with a cash adjustment if the values differ.
A will may also provide for the allocation of one or more specific properties, while respecting the rights of each beneficiary.
Where joint ownership is unavoidable, an agreement drawn up by a notary can set out how it is to be managed. It appoints a manager, specifies who may manage the property, how decisions on works are to be made, and how costs are to be shared. Keeping invoices for building work and maintenance costs will help avoid disputes when the joint ownership is dissolved. It is best to discuss the dissolution while everyone is still on good terms: planning ahead also means considering how to wind up the arrangement.
Althémis Paris
Muriel CARPON is a partner Civil Law notary in Paris.
With a dual degree in notarial law and wealth management, she specializes in wealth management advice for families -particularly in the areas of inheritance, matrimonial property regimes, divorce and estate panning- as well as business transfers.
She is co-author of a book on estate engineering in a Franco-Belgian context published by Éditions Larcier. She also writes studies for the Ingénierie du Patrimoine collection published by LexisNexis, for Lamy Patrimoine, and contributes to the Mémento Patrimoine for Éditions Francis Lefebvre.
Stéphanie BOHUON
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