You are very lucky to be the position you are in.
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Nothing new there then.
Just for you I have now edited the original post.
Gosh!
Where can I read about this, please?
My neighbour is adament that we could gift our house to anybody we like! Is this a thing?
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Anyone who is not actual family has to pay 60% tax on any willed gift above 1594€.
This also applies to step-children - they are treated as just any other person.
The tax free amount also diminishes within famly circles depending on the relationship.
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/particuliers/droits-succession-simulateur#Abattement
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France has forced heirship which means you cannot disinherit children. In most cases this is not an issue of course as that’s what people want. If either you or your partner have children and you die in France the in settling the estate the notaire is obliged to consider the rights of the children. So in.my case my partner has children and I don’t. If he dies first then 2/3rd of his estate will go to his children who we have no contact with.
And yes you can gift your house as part of succession but the giftee will have to pay 60% tax! And that has to be paid before the succession is completed.
If your situation is at all non-standard talk to a notaire now.
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Still confused, as no one has ever spoken to me in anything other than English in the UK.
With the caveat that I come from the west of Scotland so it can only really be described as an approximation of English.
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His estate? I presume Tontine kicks in until second person dies?
Sorry, 
I will read the link
You didn’t mention the tontine! Yes that trumps reserved heritors.
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The languages that are spoken by the populous in England (not the UK ) are in many areas not English.
That was another reason for us always knowing we’d be moving back before we got too old, I have four stepchildren so if their mother died first the IHT bill would be insane.
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I must be moving in more sophisticated circles, too. N. Ireland might be less populous than England but certainly the populace there speaks English. Some of them can even spell.
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Good for you.
Yes that is true, those that I have met in the North always seem quite affable but in the Republic (Ireland proper ) where I have family (on my mothers side ) not some colonial outpost:joy:
they are much more friendly its a bit wet though
Maybe their affalability is tested by your spelling.
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It’s about language, isn’t it, as long as you don’t fall for the GB News view of how the UK has gone to the dogs?
I’ve become aware how much I miss being able to converse at a native speaker level. I think when my French has improved it will be easier. But, if I were the one left, would I go back to the UK (we are in the fortunate position of that being practicable, and we have modest needs) as, say, a 70-year-old (initially I wrote “70yo”, which looked uncomfortably prophetic)? I have a friend in the same position, and he returned - but he has children, whereas we don’t.
I’d expect some clear guidance one way or the other, just as when we moved here.
Good question, @Stella !
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It’s true that the NHS has excessively long waiting lists for what they call “non-urgent” operations, but this is due to many years of NHS underfunding and mismanagement which will take time to correct. Without getting into politics too much, the current Government are at least trying to find solutions rather than looking for ways to privatise everything. But it’s not going to be fixed overnight, and is still far better than (say) the US healthcare system where unless you have employer-provided health insurance you can be bankrupted by any serious illness.
As for the Royal Surrey in Guildford, it is a fantastic hospital - the staff are amazing and do great work despite limits to their resources. I live about 4 miles away and I have had excellent treatment there on several occasions. I also do photography work for the Royal Surrey Hospital Charity that provides extra amenities for patients there.
The NHS has its troubles, but if you are in need of any kind of urgent care you will get it.
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For some of us, as we age, language does become a real issue and can impact on the decision to go back to the UK. OH’s mother (who was Polish) developed dementia and lost all her English (she’d lived and worked in the UK for 40 years). In the end she had no communication with anyone in the home where she lived and she was very isolated.
I worry that OH would become a hermit if he stayed in France whereas I know speaking English all the time will keep him connected and engaged.-
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Agreed. Its failures are not of It’s own making. Its demise is being orchestrated by politicians, particularly those with £££ signs in their eyes. Too many have links to health care companies that will benefit from the privatisation of services.
In answer to the title question, emphatically, no.
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One of my friends was widowed last year. She and her husband had lived in their French home since the 1990s. After her husband’s death a lot of people asked her if she was going to stay and her standard reply was,
Why would I want to leave my home, my closest friends and my long time neighbours?
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