For many people moving to France, leaving elderly parents behind can be a worry, and their choice of location is often based on how easy it is to travel to and from the UK. One couple we helped chose a part of south-western France which has a number of airports within reasonable driving distance, and were expecting to have to do a lot of flying.

However, after two years, the parents decided to move out and join them. They had visited a few times, and realised the French lifestyle was for them too. An outbuilding in the grounds of their son’s house was converted into a small cottage, and now they couldn’t be happier.

Of course, this created more work for Siddalls. We had already advised the first couple on a number of issues. In their late 40s, they had wanted to live off a redundancy package and the proceeds from the sale of their house in England, so we’d helped them choose appropriate investments to provide a good income. We’d also guided them through the intricacies of French forced succession laws – which were particularly complex for them as this was the husband’s second marriage and he had two children from his first.

For the parents, we gave general tax planning advice, including ways to minimise income tax and inheritance tax. Both couples are still enjoying their life in France, and say they wouldn’t dream of moving back to the UK. As with all our clients, we keep in touch with them regularly, looking after their affairs from our Bordeaux office.

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