Estate of Jean Paul Riopelle | More shadows on the tables

The death of Jean Paul Riopelle, on March 12, 2002, had quickly rekindled the tensions between his children and his last companion. So at stake: an estate of tens of millions of dollars and an invaluable pictorial imprint. Twenty years after the start of the first dispute, which ended in an amicable settlement, the dispute continues within the siblings themselves, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Charles-Eric Blais-Poulin
The press

On the eve of the 100^e birthday of Jean Paul Riopelle, October 7, 2023, new legal developments related to his succession play the spoilsport. The son of the famous painter, sculptor and engraver asks the Quebec courts to recognize and execute a French decision which grants him an inheritance equivalent to that of each of his two half-sisters. Many works by the Montreal artist could thus take their way to Europe, where Yann Fravalo-Riopelle lives.

The request “for recognition and execution of a foreign judgment” was filed on September 6 at the Montreal courthouse. Its outcome divides the jurists consulted by The Press.

Jean Paul Riopelle’s will does not mention his son, born out of wedlock. His two daughters, Yseult and Sylvie, as well as his last companion, Huguette Vachon, are the only three heirs.

However, it is an agreement signed by the three children of the painter, on October 5, 2002 in Paris, which is at the heart of the dispute. “I, the undersigned, certify that my will is that the estate assets collected by me in the estate of my father Jean Paul [Riopelle] be divided by thirds in equal shares between my brother Yann, my sister and me”, both declared Yseult Riopelle and Sylvie Riopelle-Gamet, according to a French court document consulted by The Press.

In December 2015, Yann Fravalo-Riopelle asked the court of Auxerre, south of Paris, to enforce these commitments. The judge then accepted the arguments of his two half-sisters, who argued that it was a donation “void for defect of form, for lack of having been made by authentic deed”.

The Paris Court of Appeal, on June 19, 2016, revoked this decision, mentioning that the “natural obligations” (or morals) of the time have become “civil obligations”. Finally, on October 11, 2017, the Court of Cassation rejected a request for review by the Riopelle sisters. This court decision has become “enforceable”, therefore applicable immediately… on French territory.

The judgments order the two women to cede to their half-brother “a third of the assets [qu’elles ont] collected in the estate of the late Jean Paul Riopelle”. Sylvie Riopelle-Gamet, who resides in France, handed over “certain property” to her half-brother in October 2018, but the latter “denies however that they constitute a third of his share of the assets”.

Turning to the Superior Court, Mr. Fravalo-Riopelle now wants to get his hands on works of great value held by his half-sisters in Quebec, where the largest part of the legacy of the “superior trapper” is located.

“I did what was necessary almost three years ago to respond to French decisions,” said Yseult Riopelle, eldest daughter of Jean Paul Riopelle, in an email sent to The Press.

Yseult Riopelle indicates that she will not grant any interview “considering the procedures in progress”. “French judgments having been rendered in 2016 and 2017 in France, I am surprised by Mr. Fravalo’s decision to undertake these new procedures in Canada today”, however indicated to us the co-founder of the Riopelle Foundation and the director from Recieved catalog devoted to his father.

Riopelle Space

These developments come as the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec (MNBAQ) has just announced the architecture firm selected for its long-awaited Espace Riopelle, in Quebec. Works donated by Yseult Riopelle will be exhibited there, underlines the request filed with the court.

“The defendants have disposed of certain assets for the benefit of third parties, if not since the judgment of the Court of Appeal, at least since that of the Court of Cassation, probably against payment in money, tax advantage or otherwise”, reads- one in the lawsuit.

According to a press release from the MNBAQ dated December 2, 2021, Yseult Riopelle donated two paintings by his father to the museum, Crazy weathervanes – night – day (1984) and Bestiary (1989).

“For all donations of works, the MNBAQ rigorously applies the acquisition process which provides, among other things, for a donation agreement”, declared to The Press Jean-Luc Murray, general manager of the museum. “We will let justice take its course. The MNBAQ will follow the recommendations at the end of the legal process by respecting the final decision, especially if it has an impact on the works in its collection. »

The Quebec lawyers of Mr. Fravalo-Riopelle, from the firm Lavery, do not wish to comment on the file for the moment.

A question of “competence”

What are the chances that Riopelle’s works will change hands after his son’s legal action? The experts consulted by The Press express differing opinions.

Article 3155 of the Civil Code of Quebec provides that “any decision rendered outside Quebec is recognized and, where applicable, declared enforceable by the authority of Quebec”, except in six cases, including the following: “The authority of the State in which the decision was made did not have jurisdiction. »

It is this point which should occupy a large part of the debate. “The first objection that the lawyer for the Riopelle girls will make, I am convinced, is to say that the French court did not have jurisdiction”, underlines Michel Beauchamp, notary emeritus and lecturer at the faculty in law from the University of Montreal.

One exception: immovable property, which is subject to the jurisdiction of the country where it is located. As a result of this rule, Mr. Fravalo-Riopelle, as a “reserved heir”, obtained accommodation in France after the death of his father.

What about the document signed in Paris by the three children, which also concerned property located between our borders? “Under Quebec law, the agreement is not worth more than the paper on which it was written, according to Mr.^e Beauchamp. The Quebec rules must apply to that succession. This is a donation and, according to the Civil Code, it must be made by notarial deed en minute, unless it is a manual donation. [remis en main propre]. »

In interview with The Press, Sylvette Guillemard, professor at the Faculty of Law at Laval University, has a completely different opinion. The decision of the French justice ticks all the boxes provided for in the Civil Code to be recognized and enforced in Quebec, according to the specialist in private international law.

Jurisdiction does not concern “the law that the court will apply” but rather “the court that will decide”. “These are two completely different things,” she says.

So yes, insist M^me Guillemard, canvases by the late Riopelle could soon take the direction of France or be sold in Quebec thanks to his son.

Redo the inventory?

After a first legal battle with Jean Paul Riopelle’s companion, Huguette Vachon, the daughters of the late painter received their first works in 2004, and shared them for good in 2009.

Mr. Fravalo-Riopelle regrets in his legal request that he “received neither an inventory nor a complete rendering of account from anyone at the time of the liquidation of the estate”, both with regard to the works and the transactions of which they have is about.

He himself sold works that he had had given to him by his half-sisters.

According to the application filed at the courthouse, the inventory of Riopelle’s estate showed a net value of 37 million in March 2002. The painter’s son maintains that the census made at the time was inaccurate and incomplete. He asks the Superior Court of Quebec to be able to “know the property he should have received and what has happened to it since”.

Based on this inventory, Mr. Fravalo-Riopelle suggests that an expert compose three lots of “equal and balanced” assets in value and quality. Each would then be assigned to a child by drawing lots.

Legal proceedings are expected to continue in the coming months.