It will be deducted from the estate assets

An error is already made by millions of French on life when they see it as their preferred placement. While it is that of une envelope! Interested in an empty container has no great sense, the core is located inside. And, many surprises can wait for the investor who has not been sighted!

A second misunderstanding may now grow. It originates in the vote on the financing of the Social Security Act. Millions of French believe that life insurance is the preferred means to transmit without tax assets to their families. Since January 1, that is so true. The amounts that they thought they give, should now remove 12.1. Indeed, when a life is breaking by the death of the policyholder, social levies on earnings are due by the beneficiary. And this, as soon as the first euro!

Until then, the tax changes were not retroactive. They were the new subscriptions. This time, the reform strikes already existing contracts, and sometimes, for a very long. That is, if it drives a serious knife in the contract between the State and the French. However, the provision is generally ignored.

Perhaps this is because there are two families of contracts: contracts in euros, so-called, mono-support and those in units of account so-called mpt. For the first, which is nine-tenths of the subscribed products, interests are already subject to social security payments each year. Therefore, the year of the outcome, only the interests of the year will bear the taxation of 12.1. The novelty is not spectacular. But it is for the latter! As they may be invested in unit trusts of all kinds or shares held live in management terms, they represent very high stock. Until December 31, they could remain indefinitely exempt of levies. Since that date, each found death, the entire of the interest in the contract is subject to levies.

The quasi-usufruit parade

Is this to say that life has now lost its usefulness Still not. "It remains despite any good support for the rights of succession", relativizes may Trinh-Brunswick, Director of heritage engineering to Credit Switzerland in Paris. And to take the example of a contract agreed for an amount of EUR 1 million and that gives a yield of 4. The recipient is an only child. At its denouement after ten years, with compound interest, it is a capital of 1.480.244 euros.

Of this total, the overall taxation will be 323.658 euros. It is the sum of the amount of the rights of succession and social security payments. It must indeed take account of the legislation already in force. It said that beyond an allowance of 152.500 euros, succession rights are due to 20 of the amount of the payments made before the age of seventy. Then, for premiums paid after seventy years, the allowance stops at 30,500 euros. In this case, with this contract, succession rights would amount to 265.548 euros, which should be added now levies social, or 58.110 euros. If the same amount had been detained in direct, it would result in a tax of 362.472 euros. The fiscal envelope therefore provides a gain of 32.658 euros.

Make donations

However, this 12.1 puncture is far from negligible. And as it is impossible to avoid, it incites to action, as far as possible, on the rights of succession. So a solution exists. It was made possible by Act Tepa of August 2007. "This text, says may Trinh-Brunswick, provides relief to rights of succession to the survivor as the beneficiary, if it is referred to as life tenant. With this precaution, continued in substance, the beneficiary of the contract will have the same prerogatives as full owner. His death, his children, as nus-propriétaires, can exercise their claim. It will be deducted from the estate assets. Thus, the heirs will suffer no right to additional estate.

Another strategy is to make donations. Donors receive the nue-propriété. The Subscriber can thus retain usufruct and the management of the assets. In this case, in addition to the enhancement allowance of 156.974 euros, the gift will benefit from a reduction of 30 if donation the donor is less than seventy years, and 10 if between seventy and eighty years. "At the end of the gift, dismembered liquidity could be reinvested in a contract of capitalization dismembered", continues may Trinh-Brunswick. By taking the example of the contract of 1 million euros, the rights of donation would be 127.863 euros. On the death of the life tenant, his heir will become full owner of the contract of capitalization, and without additional taxation.