Selling in installment sale: secure transmission to your heirs
For an owner focused on transmitting their patrimony, the French installment sale offers a protection that the viager cannot: if the seller dies before the term, remaining instalments are paid to the heirs. Here is why this mechanism makes sense in a family patrimonial logic.
The viager risk: early death depriving the heirs
The viager is by nature an aleatory contract: the annuity is paid to the seller (the credirentier) until their death. If the seller dies shortly after signing, the heirs receive nothing from future payments — the annuity ends with them. Statistically this is the risk every viager seller accepts, but it is precisely what holds back many owners concerned about their family.
The promise of the installment sale: a secured transmission framework
In the installment sale, the contract fixes at signing the total number of instalments (e.g. 180 over 15 years). That number is independent of the seller's lifespan:
- If the seller lives the full term, they receive all instalments.
- If they die before the term, remaining instalments are due and paid to their succession. The heirs receive the balance until the end.
This mechanic transforms the patrimonial perspective. The seller can mobilise the property's value (capital + instalments) while guaranteeing heirs that nothing is lost in case of early death. The installment sale becomes a true transmission tool, articulated with succession law.
Three concrete benefits for a seller focused on family
1. Full visibility for you and your heirs
At signing, everyone knows what the property generates in total, over how long, and who receives what in case of early death. This transparency avoids family discussions that viager can trigger, where the uncertain duration makes the real value of the operation hard to anticipate.
2. Clear transmission taxation
Instalments paid to the succession enter the succession assets under standard rules. The bouquet, received during the seller's lifetime, can be donated to children under the conditions and allowances set by French law (notably the 100,000 € allowance per child every 15 years, article 779 of the French Tax Code). This allows clean transmission planning, ahead of death.
3. A preserved living environment in occupied installment sale
In occupied formula, the seller keeps their home for the duration of the contract while having secured substantial upfront capital and regular income. No move, no rupture, but property already mobilised and transmitted.
For whom is the installment sale particularly suited?
- Owners aged 55–75 who want to anticipate transmission without leaving yet.
- Parents concerned with equality between children: bouquet (given during lifetime) + instalments (paid to succession) allow controlled sharing.
- Sellers in good health but aware of life's fragility who do not want to penalise their heirs in case of accident.
- Families whose property represents most of their patrimony and for whom transmission is central.
References: French Civil Code articles 1583 and following; French Tax Code articles 779 (donation allowances) and 150 U (capital gains). For guidance only, please validate with your French notary and tax adviser.