French Civil Code

Any gift inter vivos of present property, although made by marriage contract to the spouses, or to one of them, shall be subject to the general rules prescribed for gifts made on that account. It may not be made for the benefit of unborn children, except in the cases set out in Chapter VI of this Title.

The father and mother, other ascendants, collateral relatives of the spouses, and even strangers, may, by marriage contract, dispose of all or part of the property which they leave on the day of their death, both for the benefit of the said spouses, and for the benefit of the unborn children of their marriage, in the event that the donor survives the donee spouse. Such a gift, although made for…

The donation in the form set out in the preceding article shall be irrevocable only in the sense that the donor may no longer dispose of, free of charge, the objects included in the donation, other than for modest sums, by way of reward or otherwise. .

A gift by marriage contract may be made cumulatively of present and future property, in whole or in part, on condition that a statement of the donor’s debts and charges existing on the day of the gift shall be annexed to the deed; in which case, the donee shall be free, on the donor’s death, to confine himself to the present property, renouncing the donor’s surplus property.

If the statement referred to in the preceding article has not been appended to the deed containing the gift of the present and future property, the donee will be obliged to accept or repudiate this gift for the whole. In the event of acceptance, he will only be able to claim those assets which are in existence on the day of the donor’s death, and he will be subject to…

A gift by marriage contract in favour of the spouses and the unborn children of their marriage may still be made, on condition of paying indiscriminately all the debts and charges of the donor’s estate, or under other conditions the performance of which would depend on his will, by whomever the gift is made : the donee will be bound to fulfil these conditions, if he does not prefer to…