This text could have been titled Chances and inheritances. Extremely rare these days, a letter landed in my dovecote. A mother recounted that her ex-partner disinherited their child “out of revenge”, after a stormy divorce, because she demanded alimony. The man would rather favor the children of his new partner, a situation that she finds very unfair.
Is it permitted in Quebec to disinherit your own children? Marielle asked me.
The question is far from being far-fetched when we know that in France, it is obligatory to bequeath part of one’s heritage to one’s descendants. It’s called the principle of hereditary reserve. Only a small proportion of the deceased’s assets can be paid to the people of their choice, according to fixed rules written in the law.
Moreover, the bitter dispute in the clan of singer Johnny Hallyday, after his death in 2017, emanated from this law. Since he lived between France and the United States, could he legally disinherit two of his four children as permitted by American law? The entire legal debate revolved around the question of the habitual residence of the deceased. A court ruled that it was France.
I had read about this affair by chance, coming across a magazine in the library in which two philosophers shared their contradictory opinions on financial freedom, parental duty and moral obligations. This reading then provoked a lively discussion with my office colleagues.
And here I come across, years later, the researcher Hélène Belleau, professor at INRS and holder of the Money, Inequalities and Society Chair. What does she spontaneously talk to me about while we’re having a bite to eat? Heirlooms. How women and men share their heritage differently.
Because Quebecers have been free to bequeath their heritage to the people or organizations of their choice since 1774. When the British arrived here, they removed the restrictions brought by the French to protect descendants. Since then, you can give all your money to a charity, your best friend, your church, or your new flame.
Hélène Belleau’s research revealed that 30% of Quebec fathers who remarried leave nothing to the children born from their first union. Like the ex of this woman who wrote to me. And like Johnny Hallyday.
Her co-researcher Maude Pugliese simply couldn’t believe the numbers in front of her. “You had to see my face!” I thought I was wrong,” she told me. She recalculated everything.
Some women also do it, but to a much lesser extent (12%). In short, inheritance is a gendered thing in many respects.
Basically, for mothers, it symbolizes love. The pressure to leave something and especially the concern to distribute the amount equally between each of the children is therefore very strong. Men do not want to hurt their children, but they more often adopt a provider logic, which encourages them to want to financially protect their “new family,” the two scientists noted.
“Men are more open to distributing their assets according to the needs of each child and to having a discussion with them to justify their choices,” adds Camille Biron-Boileau, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Chicago. who is interested in testamentary practices.
The reality is undoubtedly much more nuanced and the explanations (biological, psychological, sociological) very numerous, but the question has not yet been, unfortunately, very in-depth.
As for Marielle’s son, legally disinherited by his father, his recourse is almost nil.
The only disinherited people who could obtain an amount from the inheritance are those who lack the resources to meet their basic needs. “Since 1989, we have introduced an indirect restriction on the freedom to testate, via the survival of the maintenance obligation,” Christine Morin, full professor at the faculty of law at Laval University and emeritus notary, explained to me.
A child who received alimony could therefore claim an amount from the estate to cover his or her needs. An adult descendant in a particularly precarious situation could also, in theory, if a disability prevents them from earning a living, for example.
What is particular is that certain provinces are more “French” than Quebec, because they have introduced moral obligations towards children into their laws.
We therefore find ourselves, in Quebec, with the most “English” rules in the country.
Reading the complex inheritance rules in Quebec also reveals that certain children would be better protected if their parents did not have a will. If a married person dies, all children share two thirds (2/3) of the assets equally. If the deceased has children, but no spouse with whom he is married or in a civil union, his entire estate goes to his children.
Without a will, nothing is left to chance.
Discover the division of inheritances made without a will (de facto spouses are not heirs, regardless of the duration of the union and the presence or absence of children):
Consult the page “Are your legal documents up to date?” » from the National Bank Financial website