Indivision

   legal term defining the status of property, notably land and buildings, owned jointly by the heirs of a deceased owner. French inheritance laws provide for the obligatory sharing of the estate of a deceased person among his or her direct descendants (children). When, as often, a person does not formally divide up their property among their heirs before death, all their estate passes jointly to their children or nearest family. Until such time as these heirs agree on how the estate will be divided among them, the estate remains in "indivision"; this means that no property can be sold off without the agreement of all the heirs. When one or more of these heirs is out of contact, or deliberately uncooperative, this can lead to a situation where property, notably buildings, remain empty and unsaleable for years on end. However, since 2007, the law has been modified to allow heirs representing at least 2/3 of the rights of ownership to apply to the courts for permission to sell a property; in other words, if two out of three children wish to sell a property, and the third does not, the courts can now prevent the third one from blocking the sale. The heir who does not wish to sell retains the right to buy out the shares of the other heirs. Note that property for which a surviving spouse has a right of usufruct cannot be sold off.

   Shares in an undivided estate can be sold by any heir who wishes to do so; but the purchaser remains bound by the rules of indivision.