Global heritage strategy

La Global heritage strategy ne se résume pas à un portefeuille de investments. Elle désigne l'ensemble des décisions coordonnées — financières, fiscales, juridiques et successorales — qui permettent à un individu ou une famille de constituer, valoriser et transmettre un heritage de manière cohérente dans le temps. Sans cette vision d'ensemble, chaque placement, chaque investissement immobilier, chaque contrat d'assurance-vie fonctionne en silo : les interactions entre ces éléments — souvent déterminantes sur le plan fiscal ou successoral — restent impensées. C'est précisément cette articulation que vise à clarifier ce guide.

Qu'est-ce qu'une Global heritage strategy ?

Une Global heritage strategy est un cadre de décision structuré qui intègre simultanément l'ensemble des dimensions du heritage d'un individu ou d'une famille : actifs financiers, immobiliers, professionnels, droits à retraite, protection des proches, et anticipation de la transmission. Elle est dite "global" précisément parce qu'elle traite ces dimensions non pas isolément, mais dans leurs interactions réciproques.

Definition: beyond investments, a systemic vision

Un placement financier optimal en termes de rendement peut se révéler contre-productif s'il alourdit la taxation global ou complique la transmission successorale. Un bien immobilier détenu en nom propre peut exposer l'ensemble du heritage familial à des risques professionnels. C'est pourquoi la Global heritage strategy raisonne en termes de système : chaque décision est évaluée à l'aune de ses effets sur l'ensemble du heritage, aujourd'hui et dans le futur.

This approach is opposed to the product-by-product logic — often that of banking networks or specialized brokers — which locally optimizes each line of assets without controlling the side effects.

Gross assets, net assets, taxable assets: the right starting indicators

Before any decision, it is imperative to distinguish three fundamental notions.

Example: a couple with gross assets of €1.2 million (main residence: €500 thousand, rental property: €400 thousand, life insurance: €200 thousand, financial savings: €100 thousand) with a residual credit of €150 thousand has a net assets of €1.05 million.

Why “global” changes everything: the interdependence of levers

The global dimension creates leverage effects that no sectoral approach can generate.

Step 1 — Establish a complete assets assessment

The assets assessment is the essential entry point for any strategy.

Map your assets and liabilities

Asset mapping identifies and values ​​all assets (distinguishing their nature – main residence, rental investment, liquid financial assets, non-liquid assets, pension rights, redemption value of contracts) and all liabilities (credits, guarantees given, commitments).

Analyze your matrimonial regime and its implications

The matrimonial regime is one of the most powerful – and most neglected – levers of wealth structuring.

Example: a business manager married under the community who contracts professional debts exposes the joint assets to the risk of seizure.

Evaluate your social protection, coverage and risks

The assets assessment cannot ignore the foresight dimension.

Les quatre piliers d'une Global heritage strategy

Once the assessment has been established, the heritage strategy is structured around four interdependent pillars.

Constitution and precautionary savings

The first pillar is the basis of all assets: liquid precautionary savings covering three to six months of current expenses (generally between €10,000 and €30,000 depending on the standard of living), housed in regulated savings accounts (Livret A, LDDS) without capital risk or taxation.

Beyond this base, the monthly savings effort must be calibrated according to objectives over 5, 10 and 20 years, not on the basis of a theoretical savings rate.

Valuation and long-term investment

The second pillar aims to grow the assets built up over sufficiently long horizons to absorb market volatility.

The fundamental rule is the adequacy between investment horizon and level of risk.

Structural tax optimization

The third pillar is taxation — not as an end in itself, but as a parameter to be systematically integrated into each asset decision.

Please note: aggressive tax optimization — particularly via contribution-transfer type arrangements (article 150-0 B ter of the CGI) or artificial dismemberments — exposes you to the risk of reclassification by the tax administration as an abuse of rights.

Transmission and protection of loved ones

The fourth pillar is often the latest in the heritage reflection - and yet one of the most costly to anticipate in an emergency.

Example: parents transmitting €100,000 to each child every 15 years, from the age of 50, can transmit €200,000 per child before their 65th birthday without any gift tax — while retaining the usufruct of the property transferred in bare ownership, which guarantees them income and use until death.

Adapt your strategy according to life stages

The heritage strategy is not a static state.

Under 40: capitalize on the time effect and lay the legal foundations

This phase is characterized by increasing income, still modest assets, and a maximum investment horizon - which constitutes the decisive advantage of youth in terms of assets.

A young single working person aged 30 who invests €300 per month in PEA with an average return of 6% will have, at age 55, capital of around €208,000 — exempt from capital gains tax (excluding social security contributions).

40-55 years: arbitrate between yield, taxation and real estate

This phase is generally that of increasing wealth: income at peak, credits partially repaid, children growing up.

This is also the phase where the first donations can be organized if the children become adults - the 15-year deadline for recharging the allowances means not waiting until 60 years to initiate the process.

Retirement approach: secure, liquidate and prepare for transfer

From the age of 55-60, priorities shift towards securing the accumulated capital, preparing income flows for retirement, and organizing transmission.

The quasi-usufruct agreement - a mechanism allowing a usufructuary inheriting sums of money to consume them freely while creating a claim for restitution upon their death - is an often overlooked transmission tool, particularly effective in inheritances involving significant liquid assets.

Common mistakes in building a wealth strategy

These errors are systematically identified during asset audits, regardless of the level of assets concerned.

Treating each investment in silos without an overview

This is the most common and most costly mistake.

Neglecting the inheritance dimension until the emergency

The transfer of assets is prepared over 15 to 30 years, not 15 months.

Confusing aggressive tax optimization and sustainable wealth strategy

Tax optimization is legitimate and necessary.

Quand et comment réviser sa Global heritage strategy

The regular review of the heritage strategy is not optional: it is constitutive of the overall approach.

Events triggering a review

Certain events make a review immediately necessary: ​​marriage or divorce (implications for the matrimonial regime and the protection of the spouse), birth (adjustment of beneficiary clauses, opening of accounts for children), death in the family (inheritance received to be integrated into existing assets), sale of business or significant capital gain (tax issue and re-employment of capital), change of professional situation (loss of an employee benefit in terms of welfare or collective retirement).

Indicators to monitor annually

Apart from the triggering events, an annual review must cover: the evolution of the marginal tax bracket (which may justify adjusting the PER payments), the performance of the investment envelopes versus the objectives set, the evolution of the real estate/financial ratio in the total assets, and the updating of the beneficiary clauses of life insurance contracts (often forgotten after a change in family situation).

The benefit of a regular asset audit

A formalized asset audit — ideally carried out every two to three years with an independent asset management advisor (CGP) — makes it possible to recalibrate the strategy with an external and multidisciplinary vision.

Global heritage strategy : faut-il se faire accompagner ?

The increasing complexity of tax and legal systems — and the financial issues involved — make professional support often necessary beyond a certain level of assets or situation.

CGP, notary, tax lawyer, chartered accountant: roles and articulation

Le conseiller en gestion de heritage (CGP) est le chef d'orchestre de la Global heritage strategy : il réalise le bilan, définit les objectifs, propose les orientations et coordonne les différents conseils spécialisés. Le notaire intervient sur les opérations à dimension juridique forte : donations, successions, contrats de mariage, sociétés civiles immobilières (SCI). L'avocat fiscaliste est mobilisé sur les opérations complexes : cessions d'entreprise, montages en holding, contentieux fiscal. L'expert-comptable est incontournable pour les dirigeants d'entreprise, à l'interface entre heritage professionnel et privé.

These councils must work in a coordinated manner.

What a global approach brings vs. product-by-product advice

A banking network or a specialized broker optimizes the marketing of a product.

La Global heritage strategy n'est pas réservée aux grandes fortunes. Elle est pertinente dès lors qu'un foyer dispose d'actifs diversifiés et d'objectifs à long terme — ce qui décrit la situation de la grande majorité des ménages patrimoniaux français. La construire tôt, la piloter régulièrement, et l'adapter aux évolutions de vie : c'est la seule approche qui permette de transformer un heritage constitué en capital transmis.