Civil heritage society: a legal tool at the service of the management and transmission of assets

The structuring of a wealth is not limited to the choice of the assets that compose it. It also involves thinking about methods of detention, management and transmission, in order to avoid future rigidities and conflicts. In this respect, civil heritage society is a particularly flexible and structuring legal tool.

Structuring assets beyond joint ownership

When wealth develops, diversifies or involves several people, questions of method become central: how to hold assets, how to make decisions, how to transmit without creating obstacles.

Indivision often seems like a simple solution. However, it quickly shows its limits. Decision-making rules are cumbersome, personal situations change and disagreements can permanently paralyze management.

Civil society then offers a more appropriate framework. Although the real estate civil society is well identified, the civil asset society remains less well known, even though it makes it possible to organize global assets — real estate, financial investments, liquidity, participations, in a long-term logic.

Civil heritage society: definition and principles

Civil heritage society is a civil society whose social purpose is deliberately broad and adaptable. It is not defined by a specific text, but by the use made of civil society as a tool for structuring assets.

Unlike civil real estate companies, whose purpose is limited to the ownership and management of real estate, the civil asset society can group together assets of a very different nature within the same structure: real estate, financial investments, participations in companies, cash or capitalization contracts.

Legally, it falls under the common law of civil societies. Its activity must remain civil and the partners are responsible for social debts in proportion to their shares. In practice, this responsibility is controlled when the company is properly structured and its activity remains strictly financial.

The real strength of civil heritage society lies in the freedom offered by the statutes. These make it possible to finely organize management, to define the powers of the manager, to adjust the decision-making rules and to anticipate the methods of transmission. Well written, they form the backbone of the wealth strategy.

Why use a civil asset management company after a transfer

Getting out of indivision and structuring management

After a sale of a business or the establishment of a significant asset, direct ownership quickly shows its limits. Decisions become more complex, especially when several people are involved, and each arbitration can become a source of slowness or tension.

Civil heritage society makes it possible to replace this rigid framework with a clear and anticipated organization. The statutes determine who decides, how and within what limits. Management is centralized in the hands of the manager, which makes it possible to manage the assets with an overall vision, without depending on permanent agreements between partners.

Anticipate transmission without losing control

Civil heritage society is also a particularly effective tool for organizing the gradual transmission of heritage without immediate divestment.

Thanks to the dismemberment mechanism, it is possible to transmit the future value of assets while maintaining income and decision-making power. This dissociation between economic transmission and control is often decisive for managers or investors who have sold a major asset.

Maxime's case: organizing capital after the sale

This logic is illustrated concretely in the video devoted to Maxime's case, in which we go back step by step to the choices made after the transfer and their financial consequences.

Watch the video: _{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEwwraxIWLc}

In this situation, the thinking did not stop at the transfer itself. The main challenge was to organize capital over the long term, with a global and coherent vision of assets.

A portion of the transfer proceeds were transferred by dismemberment. The children received bare ownership, i.e. the future value of the capital, while Maxime retained the usufruct. This stage makes it possible to anticipate the transmission while maintaining income and decision-making power.

The funds were then donated to a civil heritage society. Although the bare ownership of the shares has been transferred, Maxime remains usufructuary and manager of the company. IIt thus continues to decide on investments and arbitrations on its own, within a legal framework that is legible, secure and adapted to long-term management.

The re-use of dismembered funds within a civil society

A frequent situation consists in giving a property in bare ownership with reservation of usufruct, then to sell this property later. In principle, the proceeds of transfer are then dismembered in the same proportions as the original asset.

Without a specific organization, this pattern can lead to confusion, even tensions between usufructuaries and non-owners.

The use of a civil society makes it possible to structure this employment in a secure manner. Dismembered capital is allocated to a company whose object is limited to asset management. The articles of association may provide for prudent management of capital, with income benefiting the usufructuary, while capital is retained and valued for the benefit of the sole owners.

This organization legally secures employment, clarifies everyone's rights and prevents future disputes.

The tax regime applicable to civil property companies

Fiscal transparency as a principle

As a matter of principle, civil asset society falls under the fiscal transparency regime. The results achieved are imposed directly in the hands of the partners, in the category corresponding to the nature of the income received.

Rents are taxed as property income, while dividends and capital gains fall under the taxation applicable to securities. This taxation occurs in proportion to the rights held by each partner, even in the absence of distribution.

This regime is very readable, but can lead to a high tax burden when income becomes significant.

The corporate tax option

Civil asset companies can opt for corporate taxation. In this case, the company is taxed on its results and the partners are only taxed in the event of distribution.

In particular, this regime allows the amortization of buildings and encourages the reinvestment of results. However, it should be considered with caution, due to its long-term consequences when selling assets or when the company is liquidated.

The capitalization contract within the civil asset society

The cash provided to the company can be placed in a capitalization contract taken out by the company itself.

As long as the funds remain invested, no taxation is due. Arbitrations can be made freely, which makes it possible to adapt the investment strategy over time and promote more efficient capital growth.

The capitalization contract is also of major interest in terms of transmission. It remains registered with the company and is not automatically resolved. The transfer takes place through social shares, without calling into question the asset strategy put in place.

Civil heritage society is a particularly relevant tool when it is part of a global and anticipated strategy.

It makes it possible to organize a diversified asset, to get out of the constraints of indivision, to structure the capital after a sale or the re-use of dismembered funds, and to prepare for the transfer while maintaining control of decisions.

Maxime's example illustrates the value of combining dismemberment, asset management and capitalization contracts. More than a technical arrangement, it is a genuine heritage strategy, designed to last and adapt to the different stages of asset life.