Bonjour les tous
Can I sort out Tontine in retrospect?
I bought my house five years ago when I was single.
I am now married.
I am concerned that if I fall off the Novid perch my darling hubbie might find himself homeless.
I made my will in the UK (leaving the house to him) which is valid until the UK leaves Brexit but not at all sure it will be when we are no longer EU citizens.
I will contact the Notaire I used when buying the property but am quaking at the possible fees so thought I would throw it out there first.
best to all -
Brexit won’t change that.
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Pamela - If you do not have any children, either from a previous relationship or from your current marriage, then your husband would be considered your total heir (as long as you are legally married). The Will you have made under English law won’t be affected when the transition period ends and Britain is totally divorced from the EU. You can make a French Will stating that you want your estate to be dealt with according to your English Will. Any Notaire should give you advice on these issues free of charge. This is my understanding and I hope it helps put your mind at rest a little. Kind regards, Joyce.
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Agree with the others. Brexit doesn’t alter the Brussels IV opt out that the UK agreed. And a tontine is not appropriate to you I wouldn’t have thought anyway.
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Hope you are right. Comforting. Thank you for replying
Hello Joyce
thank you for as americans say ‘reaching out’ 
I have two middle aged sons in the UK who do not want the house
A French will would cost
I contacted the Notaire
He has asked for a copy of my marriage certificate etc., he hasn’t mentioned fees though
Hi Jane
I thought Tontine meant your children could not make a claim on the property - not that they want to -
thank you for your interest SF is the go to site for stuff like this
best Pamela
Perhaps you should have stated from the outset that you had children as this is very relevant when considering a Tontine. As far as I’m aware a Tontine clause can only be included at the point of purchase of the property, which obviously was not a factor when you bought your property as a single person.
However, you have an English Will which should suffice especially as your children probably won’t exercise their right to a share in your estate.
My Notaire did my Will free of charge but even if you have to spend a few hundred euros, surely this is worth it to give you peace of mind?
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Ah, you didn’t say you had children! But anyway a legally married husband and english will trumps the children. You could just handwrite a french will that just says you want english law and your english will to apply to all your worldwide assets. But 98-99% of people service Covid-19 so don’t panic too much.