Sell ​​your house with usufruct - Legal advice

Questioner

Twelve years ago my boyfriend, father of my 2 children, passed away. In his will he of course leaves his possessions to his children. Among the possessions is a house bought by him and me together, of which I have the usufruct. There is still a small mortgage of €7500 on the house. I am now 60 years old, the children have left home, and I find the house and garden much too big for me alone. I want to sell the house and buy a small apartment. How does that work?

Lawyer

I assume that you own 50% of the property. You can sell your part of the house, but not the part of which you have the usufruct. Your children are now the 'bare' owner of that. If you move, they will get full ownership of half of the house. If the children are still minors, that is not a problem, because as a parent with authority you have control over their assets. If the children are now adults, they will have to decide for themselves whether or not they want to sell their share of the house. The judge may give substitute permission for the sale, but 50% of the proceeds will then go to your children. It is generally assumed that you can sell or rent the usufruct (the right). The buyer then becomes 50% owner and 50% usufructuary. Upon your death, the usufruct expires and your children become owners of half of the house.

Lawyer

If the house is sold, the right of usufruct does not end. The usufruct rests on what replaces the house - the proceeds of the sale. If a new apartment is purchased with the proceeds of the sale, the usufruct rests on that again. This is called property replacement. If you do not buy a new apartment but rent it, the usufruct remains on the part of the sales proceeds that goes to the children. That part of the money is then usually deposited in an account in the name of the children, with a note of the right of usufruct. The fruits - the interest - are then for you. If the children do not cooperate, it is possible to request substitute permission from the subdistrict court.