What to ask of your French lawyer

The legal process of a property purchase does of course involve conveyancing lawyers called notaires.

Their intervention is compulsory in the conveyance or inheritance process of a property sale as they are mandatory legal officers, writes Fabien Cordiez.

They are responsible for drafting deeds, obtaining certificates and statements with regard to charges on the property with the land registry, as well as for collecting any stamp duty and the registry fee for the French Inland Revenue.

Notaires usually do not act specifically for the buyer or the purchaser therefore it is advisable to get independent, impartial advice from a French lawyer who will protect your sole interests.

Independent French property lawyers can help purchasers through the different stages of the transaction, explaining the conveyance procedure and its implications.

Not only is an independent lawyer obliged to comply with strict professional standards, they will get paid regardless of where and from whom the buyer purchases.

Conversely, the seller of the property will only receive their money if the buyer purchases the property and will therefore be unconcerned about what happens next.

Here are a few questions one should consider when instructing a lawyer to help with French property matters:

1. Is he/she a qualified French lawyer or a French Avocat qualified to practise French law, or a lawyer who qualified in another jurisdiction, a non-qualified lawyer/paralegal or someone who merely holds a law degree? Obviously, a trained, qualified French lawyer is much better equipped to represent you.

2. Is this lawyer registered in France with a local Law Society, the Ordre des Avocats? Registration is indeed compulsory to practise French law as a French lawyer, but some people purporting to be ‘French lawyers’ aren’t registered anywhere at all.

3. If the lawyer is going to advise you in English, using English legal terms, does this lawyer hold a dual qualification; are they a French lawyer and UK solicitor for example? There are very few lawyers claiming to be ‘French law specialists’ who actually hold such a dual qualification.

4. Does this lawyer hold professional indemnity insurance specifically covering advice on French law?

5. Is the lawyer based in France? Will they be able to efficiently represent you if something goes wrong?

A qualified French lawyer established in France can officially act for you when corresponding with French notaires, local authorities, banks, etc. whereas correspondence from a UK-based French property ‘specialist’ does not usually bear the same weight.

French avocat Fabien Cordiez is based in Nice but he has also trained as a solicitor in the UK. In the past he has written a Guide to buying property in France for the site.