Famille et héritage: quelle liberté de tester ?

André Masson

Revue Française d'Économie, 2006, vol. 21, issue 2, 75-109

Abstract: [fre] transmission des parents, à évaluer les effets inégalitaires des transferts patrimoniaux, etc. En s'appuyant au passage sur l'expérience américaine (où la succession est libre par testament), on envisage alors la possibilité d'introduire dans notre pays une liberté de tester accrue, qui permettrait de donner davantage à un enfant qu'un autre (celui qui s'est occupé de vous sur vos vieux jours, qui a moins bien réussi. . .) ou, surtout, de léguer une partie substantielle de ses biens hors de la famille (dons caritatifs par exemple) ; le plus surprenant n'est pas que ce « droit » à une plus grande liberté de tester ne soit pas reconnu mais bien que la question semble taboue, ne faisant l'objet d'aucun débat aujourd'hui. [eng] Family and Bequests : is There a Case for Free Will? This paper emphasizes the intergene- rational dimension of the family while focusing on two of its roles : its function of protection and help of the youngest and the oldest, whereas sub- stitutable or complementary to that of the market or the state, which has given rise to lively debates, especially about the relevance of policy measures in favour of « family returns », i.e. inter vivos transfers and bequests towards one's children and grand-children ; its wealth transmission or dynastic role, precisely, which leads to the study of the relations between post-mortem bequests and other transfers to adult children, as well as of parents' transmission motives, unequal effects of wealth transfers, and so on. Using, as a counterfactual, observed transmission behaviour in the U.S. (where there is freedom to bequeath in testate cases), we then consider the pros and cons of increased freedom to bequeath in France, either in favour of one child (who helped you more during your old days, has been less successful...)» or, more importantly, outside the family (e.g. charitable gift giving) ; the most surprising is not that this « right » to freely bequeath is so limited in France but that the issue is not the least debated today, as if it was taboo.

Date: 2006
Note: DOI:10.3406/rfeco.2006.1597
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