French law firm with an international focus.

We assist Anglophone clients with French property transactions and cross-border estate and probate matters across France.

Fabien Cordiez is senior dual-qualified lawyer in both England & Wales and France. He is duly registered as an Avocat (French lawyer) with the Aix-en-Provence Bar Council, as well as the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales.

Buying / selling real-estate in France

We specialise in representing and advising English-speaking clients in relation to the legal process of buying or selling French property, including:

- Pre-purchase advice and legal documents review: Let us talk you through the French legal paperwork, suggest amendments and flag-up any issues;
- Review of French Estate Agents' marketing contracts;
- Legal representation and assistance through property conveyancing in France;
- French Title Deed Transfer e.g. following a divorce;
- Advice and help with off-plan property purchases;
- Dealing with latent defects ('vices cachés') issues;
- Can you cancel French property transactions before completion and, if so, how?
- Co-ownership issues;
- Common pitfalls oveseas-based buyers or sellers should avoid.

French leaseback issues

Commercial Leases termination rules and timing.

Compensation due tenant i.e. the leaseback company - how is it assessed, can it be avoided and/or negotiated?

Indexation of rents. What can you claim and how? Which time-limits apply?

Service of statutory payment demand or 'Commandement de Payer' (CDP) on French leaseback companies.

How to cancel a leaseback agreement for unpaid rents?

Mortgage foreclosure and repossession of French leaseback properties - why can't can one just hand-over the keys to the bank?

Sale of French leaseback properties in negative equity, on a no-recourse basis, with lender's approval.

Cross-border successions, French Wills and Inheritance

Expert legal advice on French inheritance and succession laws.

Probate in France: What steps must be taken following death?

Legal assistance over French succession procedures.

French Wills drafting. Should you make a French Will, or one in your home Country covering your French property?

Making foreign Wills compliant with EC Regulation 650/2012.

French inheritance tax, gift tax and civil partnerships (PACS).

Joint ownership, 'tontine' clauses, ownership in common and French Matrimonial Agreements.

French Will searches - let us find out whether a deceased person e.g. a relative made and recorded a Will in France.

French mortgage matters

Buying French property subject to mortgage? The do's and don't of the mortgage application process in France.

Looking for an English-speaking French solicitor to try and negotiate a repayment holiday with French lenders?

How to avoid mortgage foreclosure?

Privately selling French property whilst repossession proceedings are pending.

Can French banks chase you in Ireland or the UK after your French property has been repossessed and sold by the Court?

French Land Registry Searches

We help provide answers to questions such as:
- Who owns this specific building or land?
- Assets-tracing: Does this given individual or company own real-estate in France?

Order an official copy of the register to prove property ownership, for a court case for example.

We can help you retrieve a copy of your French property's title deeds.

Being dual-qualified Franco-British lawyers, we issue reports in English which include ownership history, property transaction values, records of any encumbrances, whether title been transferred and - if so - to whom and when.

Process service in France

We are one of the few firms of French lawyers that handle international service of process in France.

Our job is to cut through the bureaucracy and red tape to get service of legal documents in France completed with as little delay as possible.

Rather than using the Central Authority system, we arrange formal service via carefully selected judicial officers (bailiffs).

We ensure that judicial documents originating from overseas get served in France through licensed bailiffs, in compliance with the French CPR and - as applicable - the Hague Convention or EC Regulations.

Dual-qualified Franco-British lawyer

I am Fabien Cordiez, a qualified French lawyer in legal practice since 1994.

Having gained valuable experience practising in major law firms and banks in the UK, I re-qualified as Solicitor of England and Wales in 2000 and set up my own practice in Southern France in 2002.

Cordiez Avocats & Solicitors is a niche, client-focused law firm which specialises in French property law and cross-border succession matters. We make French property law and inheritance matters understandable to English-speaking clients.

Fabien Cordiez, French Lawyer and Solicitor

News & Insights

2 April 2024

Hidden real-estate assets searches in France

We help overseas-based clients unearth hidden French real-estate assets, by undertaking property ownership Searches through the French land registry's records.

Our French property asset searches are conducted by a qualified French lawyer to ensure accurate ownership data is obtained. We provide our clients with a comprehensive analysis of the information obtained, along with clear and decisive recommendations for next steps.

30 March 2023

Order an official copy of your French property's title deeds

Where is my French property's title deeds stored and how can I get a copy?

6 December 2022

How does the new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) impact on the sale of my French property?

The reform of the Energy Performance Diagnostic (DPE), the French Residential Energy Performance Certificate, which aims to put an end to thermal flaws, does change the situation in terms of property sales.

Compromis de Vente, French Lawyer and Solicitor in France

5 December 2022

Handing over the keys before completion of a property sale: what are the risks?

Handing-over your French property’s keys before completion is possible, but what are the potential consequences and which precautions buyer and seller should take?

solicitor.fr is a domain name and trade mark registered to, and the property of,
Fabien Cordiez Avocat & Solicitor, a qualified French lawyer in legal practice, member of the Aix-en-Provence Law Bar Council. Mr Cordiez also is a qualified, admitted, Solicitor of England and Wales, registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (solely practising as French lawyer).

Fabien Cordiez

Buying / selling real-estate in France

French leaseback issues

Cross-border successions, French Wills and Inheritance

French mortgage matters

French Land Registry Searches

Process service in France

Cordiez Avocats & Solicitors

CONTACT US

News & Insights

2 April 2024

Hidden real-estate assets searches in France

30 March 2023

Order an official copy of your French property's title deeds

6 December 2022

How does the new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) impact on the sale of my French property?

5 December 2022

Handing over the keys before completion of a property sale: what are the risks?

5 December 2022

Handing over the keys before completion of a property sale: what are the risks?