That day, Annie Pelata and Grégory Lagardère had an appointment with the locksmith in front of a small neighborhood house with closed blue shutters in Graulhet, in the Tarn. These two agents of public finances of Toulouse, in charge of the files of vacant successions, have hardly set foot out of their car when a neighbor asks them about the future of this property, abandoned for ten years. The young woman does not hide the fact that each time she sees movement on that side of the street, she takes a look for fear of seeing squatters settling in.
“That’s often what local residents tell us. They also ask us if the property is for sale, ”notes Grégory Lagardère, one of the agents of the private wealth management division, a service often unknown to the general public. Recently, he can give the address of a dedicated free site to vacant successions, which explains their role but above all informs heirs and potential creditors about the progress of a case. No need to go through legal notices anymore
Last year, the courts mandated “Le Domaine” 637 times to manage inheritance cases in seven departments of the former Midi-Pyrénées region. “We are appointed when there is no heir, either because those known have renounced or refused the succession after a period of six months from the opening of the succession, or because they do not have not been found,” explains Annie Pelata.
More and more rejection of inheritance
In Graulhet, the owner, who spent a few years in a retirement home, died a long time ago and her descendants refused the inheritance, which came with debts. This is often what motivates relatives not to accept it, for fear of having to take money out rather than benefit from it when retirement home bills or tax liabilities are settled. “The elderly are staying longer and longer in nursing homes, there are social assistance claims to be paid that cannot be covered by assets or cash and there are thus more and more heirs who refuse the succession. A few years ago, we knew his cousin in the fourth degree, today the links are more distended and it is more difficult to locate, ”continues Annie Pelata.
Except that the receivables are still running. Sometimes it is a domestic employee who has not received his salary, consumer loans in progress. Or, as happened once in the service of the “Domaine” of Toulouse, a person who had been seriously injured by the deceased and who had not received all the damages following the accident. It also happens that the mayor, who is worried about seeing vacant accommodation in his municipality, takes legal action.
While the management of inheritances is most often the responsibility of notaries, the files of vacant inheritances are entrusted to the agents of this specific public finance department. And they rarely come across cases of millionaires without cousins in America. To see more clearly, they will carry out investigative work, administrative at first, but also on the ground when there is real estate. Like in this little house where the traces of a past life are sometimes reduced to a minimum.
Once the file is closed, the heir can still come forward
Armed with gloves and a flashlight, Grégory Lagardère and Annie Pelata open the doors one after the other in search of papers and perhaps a holographic will or any paper that could tell them a little more about the heritage of the former occupant. A clock here, a buffet there, they photograph everything and send the images live to an app that will estimate the value of these goods. Upstairs, opening a window in an isolated room, they come across the remains of a mummified cat, installed on a bed, certainly for years. With a strong heart, they continue to do their inventory.
This time, nothing valuable is found that could increase the balance of estate assets. It is certainly a junk dealer who will come to collect the furniture. The house will eventually be sold and the file will be closed once the creditors have been compensated. “At the end, if no one comes forward within a reasonable time, we can go before the judge and ask him, if there is a remainder, that it go to the patrimony of the State. Of this amount, 75% will be devoted to the Heritage Foundation. But if an heir manifests within the ten-year period of limitation, his inheritance will be returned to him, ”assures Annie Pelata who generally counts on the fingers of one hand the “beneficiary” files at the end of the procedure. Her service has already handled 580 so far this year and she expects that number to climb 30% over the next decade.
With its share of stories, not always rosy. Like these houses of people who are victims of Diogenes syndrome that have to be managed or these intra-family dramas that have ended in murder. Or that emotional moment when they were able to allow a 7-year-old girl to collect her toys and her deceased mother’s belongings. These slices of life, these public finance officers sometimes end up initialing the last lines. “You have to show humanity and in my team there are really passionate people. We have the feeling of doing something useful”, concludes Annie Pelata.