Buying Property through a Real Estate Company (SCI) to Optimize Inheritance and Wealth Transfer
Creating a French real estate company (SCI – Société Civile Immobilière) offers significant advantages for those who wish to purchase and manage property efficiently while preparing for long-term wealth transfer.
Unlike direct ownership, an SCI provides flexibility, tax efficiency, and simplified inheritance management, making it a key tool for wealth structuring in France.
Simplifying Inheritance Management through an SCI
In traditional inheritance, heirs become joint owners of the property, a situation known as indivision.
This can often lead to administrative complications or family disagreements, as:
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Everyday management decisions (such as signing a lease) require two-thirds of the heirs’ approval,
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Major decisions (sale, donation, or mortgage) require unanimous consent.
By purchasing and holding the property through an SCI, heirs inherit shares in a company rather than indivisible portions of the property itself.
This allows greater freedom in defining management rules: governance, voting rights, transfer of shares, and succession mechanisms can all be precisely detailed in the company’s statutes.
The result: smoother management, fewer conflicts, and a more organized estate structure.
Optimizing Tax Benefits with an SCI
An SCI structure also allows for a progressive and tax-efficient transfer of assets.
Parents can gradually gift company shares to their children while taking advantage of donation allowances:
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€100,000 per child every 15 years,
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€31,865 per grandchild.
Further optimization is possible through usufruct and bare ownership separation (démembrement de propriété).
By transferring only the bare ownership of the shares while retaining usufruct, the donor keeps the right to use or receive income from the property.
Upon the donor’s death, heirs recover full ownership without paying additional inheritance tax — an elegant way to anticipate transmission while maintaining control.
Maintaining Control of Your Real Estate Assets
A major advantage of buying through an SCI is the ability for the founder to retain full decision-making power.
The statutes can specify that the founder remains manager for life, allowing them to make key strategic choices (sales, acquisitions, leases) without requiring approval from other shareholders.
For tailor-made legal protection and optimal flexibility, it is strongly advised to have the company statutes drafted by a notary or specialized attorney.
The Family SCI – A Flexible and Strategic Structure
A family SCI — established between relatives up to the fourth degree — offers additional advantages for managing family-owned rental properties.
This structure allows:
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The signing of three-year residential leases (like private landlords),
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The right for partners to reclaim the property to live in it or house a family member,
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Easier property management and decision-making within the family.
The family SCI is therefore an essential tool for those seeking to combine heritage protection, tax efficiency, and flexible management across generations.
Vaneau Patrimoine – Your Expert Partner in Real Estate Structuring and Inheritance Planning
With over 50 years of expertise in luxury real estate and wealth management, Vaneau Patrimoine assists both French and international clients in the creation, structuring, and transfer of their real estate companies (SCI).
Our multilingual advisors provide tailor-made guidance to:
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Determine the most suitable corporate structure,
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Draft custom legal statutes,
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Optimize inheritance and tax planning,
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And ensure the long-term preservation of your family assets.
📞 Vaneau Real Estate
Tel: +33 (0)1 48 00 88 75
📧 contact@vaneau.fr
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