Hi everyone
My father has been resident in the Var region of France for 30 years. He is now considering selling up and moving back to the uk. Selling his house may take a while so we were considering taking out a mandat in case he suffers a stroke or becomes unable to deal with his affairs. Does anyone have experience of setting one up? His local notaire is not that familiar with the system
Thanks in advance
Hello Patrick and welcome to the Forum 
Does this Link below help at allā¦lots of info and optionsā¦
I think what you need might have to be done through the Notaireā¦ In the Mise en Oeuvre section, click on the Mandat Notarie button and it opens up a whole new sectionā¦
Canāt help you with doing it in France, but we did it for my mother just in case. And it was a great relief as even thoā it was never needed that fact that it was there helped us all feel confident about what might be ahead of us, including my mother. So well done you for thinking of it. Luckily my mother liked to be prepared for any eventuality - she even had a signed ādo not resuscitateā form on the hall table. Gave visitors a bit of start.
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Same here,ā¦canāt help
with France but my mom in uk has all financial and medical and dnr iās dotted and tās crossed and lodged with her uk solicitorā¦Iām interested to know how that works in France as I would want the same so my kids donāt even have to worry about itā¦they know that if Iām suddenly gone then not to waste any expense on having me hauled back to uk for cremation but the timescale in France from death to disposal seems a bit quickā¦??? Conceivably I could be dead and disposed of before they even knew Iād goneā¦! Maybe I was reading an outdated linkā¦???
Itās only quick here because if you delay the funeral/cremation more than a few days then the person has to be embalmed and stored in a proper morgue. Which is expensive, so people donāt do it. But thereās no law against it.
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According to Service-Public the wait is between 24 hours and 6 working days. Outside of that permission has to be soughtā¦
And, because in Franceā¦ families and friends like to view the dearly departed at the funeral homeā¦ the deceased is beautifully preparedā¦ the whole āeventā is done swiftly and with styleā¦ 
(Brits donāt usually have a āviewingā (not in my area anyway) which does reduce the costs.)
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Interesting Stella. We went to a local funeral home to ask about timing for funerals as we know that it would take a bit of time for the children to get here. Anyway, the funeral parlour told us the requirements for a delayed funeral and that they arrange it all (ie embalming etc) so I guess they must have a hot line to the prefecture as they didnāt mention that we would need to seek permission. I might ask again, as although we have no intention of needing their services for the moment we do like to be prepared.
Janeā¦ as I have saidā¦ if there is sufficient reasonā¦ permission can be obtainedā¦ but it is the exception rather than the ruleā¦
and, YES, the Undertakers DO have excellent connections with all the necessary Officesā¦ that is part of their remit, to ensure that everything goes smoothly, with as little distress for the Client as is humanly possible.
At the time of arranging a Funeral, the Undertakers will ask for all sorts of documents and infoā¦ and the Client will be asked to sign various papers, (as may be necessary)ā¦ in order that the Funeral can be arranged according to the wishes of said Client.
Feel free to discuss everything with your local Undertakerā¦ they are a friendly bunch (in my experience)ā¦
Thanks for the feedback and link. There appears to be different levels of mandat. I have done a bit of research. Iām not sure if itās possible to be acting for my father on a mandat if I do not live in France
Perhaps your father needs to ask the Notaire whether or not you can hold the Mandatā¦
My wife and I both have LPOA (Lasting Power of Attorney) in place so that we can look after each otherās affairs if needs must. Iām now wondering whether these would be recognised in France or whether we should setup the French equivalent?
Hi Nigelā¦ thereās a neighbour who did have that set up for her Mumā¦
They were all Resident here in France and it was done by the Notaireā¦very easy to do, so my neighbour reckonsā¦
Why not ask the Notaire, about your UK one, next time you are in Franceā¦