JemimaWinder

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and would value any advice on how to prepare for a move to France in February as our situation is quite complicated. I have a full-time job in the UK which is home based, but I am currently on maternity leave, having given birth to twins last week. I am hoping that I would be able to keep my job as other colleagues do similar work from abroad but I haven't talked to my employer about this yet. I have just applied for child benefit in the UK.

I live with my partner (father of the twins), but we are not married. He is self-employed and runs a holiday letting business in the UK. He is in the process of buying a farm house with gites in the haut languedoc national park and we plan to move there with the babies in February. We plan to take over the existing gite business and work on refurbishing out buildings to expand it. He will therefore have a French business as well as a British one.

I assume that my partner will be eligible for healthcare (CPAM?) as he will be paying tax in France and that the babies and I will be too as we are his dependents but how do we go about registering? As the babies will be less than 3 months old when we move I am keen that we get into the french system asap so as to ensure continuity of care etc. so any advice would be much appreciated. Also, can anyone recommend the best place to get personalised tax advice?

Many thanks in advance, Jemima

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
As you say, you've got a complicated situation!
First of all, your partner won't be eligible for French healthcare simply because he'll be paying Income Tax in France. He'd have to set up a French business and pay the "côtisations". Newcomers in France are covered for a certain time by the reciprocal agreement with the NHS, but I don't know what happens to employees working in France but paid in the UK. Maybe some one in the same boat will come along...
Since you're not married, I'm not sure that you yourself would be covered by any French healthcare that your partner has, but his children would be, provided he can justify that he is their father. Hopefully some one will come along to say what happens for partners who aren't legally bound, (although no one did when the same question was raised some time ago).
You would be strongly advised to consult a French Accountant (Expert-Comptable) who will explain all the pro's and con's of the various types of French businesses. Your partner's healthcare coverage will depend on what type of company he sets up. Not necessarily the CPAM, maybe the RSI, a special Régime for Auto-Entrepreneurs. So many factors to take into account, it's impossible to advise you without knowing.
As to your location, I live not far from the Haut Languedoc and am wondering how you are considering the questions of childcare and consultations with doctors. Rural Hérault isn't abound with nannies and Doctors and your property sounds very isolated... For example, the nearest paediatrician to us is in Béziers, and there's a dearth of G.P.s in our area.
If you continue to work from home, you'll need some one to look after your babies. You won't be able to work with two babies around! I speak from experience, I had a "nounou" mornings and managed to continue working while my two (not twins, but a two-year difference) were asleep in the afternoon, but it still wasn't easy to schedule work and I regularly worked in the evenings and at weekends when the OH was around. This was in the Paris region, before we moved down here, and I know that this wouldn't have been possible in my area.
And if you do work from home, check that you have a good internet connection. We are on the outskirts of the Parc and our village does have ADSL (broadband), but you may have problems in an isolated area. If you already have a France Telecom landline and know your future post code, you can find out in advance on-line (google "ADSL test").
Hope all this has helped! Don't hesitate to ask more questions about the area. Will you be near St Pons, Olargues, Lamalou....?

dmu

Hi again!
I forgot to mention that he should consult the Notaire as to best way of protecting you if he were to die. As you aren't married, the property would go to his children, not you. If he has other children from a previous marriage, the situation will become really complicated. Property and Inheritence Laws are a minefield in France and the Notaire will find the best solution to protect every one within French Law.

cyrian

I found that the Notaire wasn't initally up-to-speed on this but he discussed it with colleagues and decided that we should declare a marriage status i.e. communauté des biens (joint ownership). You have the option to get PACS'd which is a civil ceremony where you declare partnership and then have the rights of spouses. You can utilise a clause Tontine (not sure if that works for partners).
Try this site: http://www.notaires.fr/notaires/page...orce_locale=en which has an english version.
If you buy property in France, then the sales contract normally contains a clause regarding your marital or PACS'd status which determine the disposal of the property following a death.

Be careful, the law is very,very different from the UK.

Good luck

JemimaWinder

Thanks for your advice. We will definitely speak to the notaire sooner rather than later re. what happens if my partner were to die. He doesn't have any previous marriages or children from other relationships so that's something.

Regarding the location, our nearest village will be Riols and the nearest town Saint Pons de Thomieres. I'd be grateful for any information as to support for young families in this area. I'm planning on taking off a whole year for maternity leave which will mean we have some time to sort out childcare, but healthcare is something we need to have sorted out from day 1 and I'd obviously like a chance to meet other new mums in the area.

Best wishes, Jemima

dmu

Hi, sorry I can't help re childcare, babysitting, etc..., as we're right at the Eastern edge of the Parc and Riols is to the West. The Pages Jaunes under "Garde d'Enfants" give a few addresses in Mazamet and Béziers, nothing closer. You'd have to enquire at the Mairie de Riols when you arrive...
I checked for Doctors, and unfortunately you aren't any better served than we are: the nearest paediatricians are in Narbonne or Béziers, there are a few G.P.s in St Pons, and the nearest gynaecologists are in Mazamet.
Once your partner knows what type of business he'll set up, he'll contact your nearest CPAM (probably Béziers) or RSI and you'll find out whether you're covered or not. As mentioned above, a lot of healthcare/inheritence questions would be simplified if you were "pacséd".
Another point which I didn't bring up before - as your property is high up, with probability of snow, is it prudent to move to such a location in the middle of winter with two 3-month babies? I mention this, because we are at 350 m and had three lots of snow last winter and our hamlet was one of the last to have the access road cleared. The electricity was cut off several times. You might find yourselves stuck, with the electricity cut off...
If a February move isn't absolutely essential, it might be worth considering postponing it to the Spring...
Anyway, fore-warned is fore-armed!
P.S. If you post one more time, I'll be able to send you a private message.

JemimaWinder

Hi,

I've checked with the current owner and agent and they say that they haven't had proper snow in the area for many years. This seems to be a little hard to believe but I'm not too concerned as given the current pace of the buying process it will probably be at least Easter before we move in.

Hopefully you can PM me directly now as I've posted 3 times - it would be great to hear more about where you are and the area in general.

thanks again, Jemima