Usually people looking to buy or sell will hire a French lawyer and try to understand French legal terms and procedures. But the conveyancing process in France is very different from the UK. Stone King has particular expertise in navigating French law and making it as straightforward as possible for UK clients. Now the firm has launched a comprehensive service to act as a single point of contact for buyers and sellers, whilst carrying out the leg work, managing the project and working closely with an experienced and trusted French notaire.
Dan Harris, Head of Stone King’s International & Cross-Border Team, says: “We have been helping clients and their families navigate foreign legal systems for many years, by drafting wills to cover their overseas property, or supporting the families of those who have died owning assets abroad. We were receiving increasing levels of enquiries about buying and selling in France, particularly from clients wishing to complete their transaction ahead of 29 March 2019 to beat Brexit. We saw the demand for a firm to act as a single point of contact for anyone buying or selling a property in France, to guide them through what can be an extremely complicated process. With the expertise and contacts we have in France we can help people from the ‘bon de visit’ to the ‘compromis de vente’, through all the searches and surveys and all the way to the ‘acte de vente’.”
Stone King’s specialist International & Cross-Border Team is based in Bath, however the service is available to anyone, wherever they are situated in the world. The firm also provides advice on cross-border tax and succession (who gets what when you die). Unusually this includes drafting wills to cover a person’s worldwide estate, including any French assets. The firm also specialises in helping people who are executors of wills, particularly where international assets are involved.