Some benefits for the elderly or disabled must be repaid either by the recipients themselves, when their standard of living has increased, or, after their death, by their heirs or beneficiaries. The rules differ depending on the type of benefit.
Elderly people with low income and/or illness may receive financial assistance from local authorities. Some of these grants are given only as an advance and may be recovered (in whole or in part) upon the death of the recipient by the agency that paid them. This is called "recourse to recovery from the estate".
Who has to pay back ?
In the first place, it is of course the heirs who will be concerned. The beneficiaries of a donation can also be solicited. The recuperation can be exercised even if the donation was made well before the granting of the aid. All donations made in the 10 years preceding the application may also be concerned. Once all these recourses have been exhausted, the departments or the State may turn to the beneficiary of a life insurance policy taken out by the person who received the social assistance. In this case, the sums correspond to "the fraction of the premiums paid after the age of 70" (article L132-8 of the Code of Social Action and Families). If there are several beneficiaries, each one of them reimburses in proportion to the amount they received.
Important: if the deceased leaves no assets or if the estate is in deficit and the heirs renounce their inheritance, they are not asked to use their personal resources to repay the sums received by their relative.
How does the recovery process work?
Recovery actions are generally carried out by the department that financed the assistance. They are time-barred after 5 years from the time the paying agency became aware of the recipient's death. Most often, this will be following the registration of a deed mentioning the identity of the deceased, the date and place of death, and the name and address of at least one of the heirs.
Please note: in certain cases, the collection may be deferred when it concerns :
- the surviving spouse, the civil union partner or the cohabitant of the deceased. Recovery may be deferred until the death of the latter;
- heirs who were dependent on the recipient at the date of his or her death and who, at that date, were either aged65 years of age or older, or at least 60 years of age in case of inability to work, or below that age, suffering from a disability reducing their capacity to work or earn a living by at least two-thirds.
Marie-Christine Ménoire