2025 - French Inheritance Law - International Will, Do you need an interpreter?

On 17 January 2025, the Plenary Assembly of the Court of Cassation handed down an important ruling on inheritance law.

The case began in 2002, when an Italian woman drew up a Will intended to reflect her last  wishes. She decided to have the document drawn up in French by a French notary, with  the assistance of an Italian interpreter to compensate for her lack of understanding of the  language. However, at that time, the French law of 29 April 1994 governing the provisions  relating to the drafting of a Will was silent on the use of an interpreter. 

It was only the national law of 16 February 2015 that amended Article 972, paragraph 4, of the Civil Code and relaxed the formal requirements surrounding this document, authorising the use of an interpreter chosen from the national list of experts for the drafting of Wills, but only for authentic Wills. 

On 28 February 2015, the woman passed away, and the Will is open. Only three of her daughters inherited her property. Her grandson, heir by representation of his mother, the fourth daughter who died in 1994, contested the Will, citing linguistic incomprehension of her grandmother.  Her son did not intervene in the case.

This sparked a significant legal debate about the validity of an international Will whose  drafting required the intervention of an interpreter. On 16 June 2020, the Grenoble Court  of Appeal ruled that the Will was valid as an international Will, although it was invalid as an  authentic Will. The judges relied on the 1973 Washington Convention, which authorises  the drafting of an international Will in any language, even if it is not understood by the  testator.

The grandson appealed to the Court of Cassation, arguing that the Will, which was drafted  without a sworn interpreter, did not guarantee the testator's free and informed will.  Although in 2022 the First Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled in his favour, in  2023 the Lyon Court of Appeal once again validated the Will, arguing that there is no rule  requiring the testator to understand the language used.

A second appeal is lodged, and the case is referred to the Plenary Assembly. In 2025, it overturns the Lyon ruling, pointing out that the Washington Convention refers to national laws to regulate the use of interpreters. The case is then referred to the Chambéry Court  of Appeal, which will rule on it shortly.

The debate therefore centres on the compatibility between the linguistic freedom of the international Will and the silence of national law on the involvement of interpreters. In the absence of clear provisions at the time, the sincerity of the testator's wishes is being  questioned by her grandson, whose challenge has delayed the settlement of the Estate for more than ten years already.

Paula OSSET,
Bachelor's degree in International and European Law, Catholic University of Lille, Lille


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