France has several administrative options – known by the umbrella term of mesures de protection judiciaires (judicial protection measures) – as well as less formal steps for those who are unable to make decisions in their daily life.

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Here is an overview of the options for third parties to act on behalf of vulnerable people;

Procuration – This is equivalent to ‘power of attorney’, and involves appointing another person to act on your behalf when it comes to legal and administrative matters.

The person granting procuration still retains their full rights to make decisions, sign legal documents and enter into financial arrangements, the procuration just means that another person can also do these things on your behalf.

In France, power of attorney can be separated into different focuses – banking, administration, documents and management related to assets/inheritance, and voting – or granted for all sections.

It is intended to be a preventative measure, usually for people preparing for future incapacity, hospitalisation or other difficulties managing their affairs.

You might also set one up temporarily if you plan to be out of the country or away for a long period of time.

How can I set one up?

When initiating the procuration, the person granting it must be cognitively able to consent to the decision.

As there are different types of procuration, there are different processes to set them up. For example, a voting stand-in (proxy vote) can be done easily online (here).

Setting up a procuration bancaire involves going to your bank and signing the request form, which would specify powers of the power of attorney as well as the duration of their role.

Meanwhile, setting up a power of attorney to deal with future inheritance matters would require a trip to a notaire, and establishing powers of attorney for collecting things at the post office, including registered mail, can be done online.

Unlike some other forms of protection for vulnerable people, it should not require the involvement of a judge.

Personne de confiance – When it comes to healthcare matters, you can indicate a ‘person of confidence’. This would be a trusted person who can speak on behalf of the patient if they are not in capacity to do so.

The patient can choose varying degrees of aid, which can involve the person attending medical appointments with them, giving them access to their medical file, and allowing them to ask for and receive explanations from the doctor.

If there is a question of ceasing treatment and the patient cannot express their wishes, then this person would be consulted. This can be useful for couples who are not married, or someone caring for a step-parent or step-sibling or other forms of blended families.

How can you set this up?

If you are hospitalised you may be asked to designate a personne de confiance. In other situations, you can make the request in writing, as long as you sign it and include the person’s name and details.

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Mandat de protection future – Similar to a ‘lasting power of attorney’ in the UK, this allows an adult to choose one or several people to represent them as their mandataire once they have lost the ability to manage their own interests or make their own decisions. 

The mandat de protection future can also be created by parents of a disabled child to ensure care for them later in life.

The mandat is meant to help the person plan for their eventual loss of autonomy by designating someone who will care for them and their affairs. Depending on your preferences, you can write up the document so it focuses solely on assistance in your personal life or assistance with your finances (or both).

You can also choose to have one person be the mandataire for issues related to your personal life, and another to have power over your finances.

In terms of who you select as your mandataire, you can choose between a person (family member, close friend, or professional) or you can opt for a legal entity. For the latter, you would need to consult the list of legal representatives for the protection of adults, which can be consulted via your local préfecture.

The mandat is only put into place once you are no longer able to take care of yourself or your affairs. At this point, a doctor listed by the courts can issue a medical certificate declaring you to be unfit.

To find someone fitting this description, you can search ‘liste des médecins habilités’ plus your local area or préfecture. Be sure to check that it is the updated list for the year in question. For example, here is the link for the 2024 Paris listing.

It should not be your GP who writes up this form, but the doctor doing the certificate can request your GP’s opinion.

How can you set up a mandat de protection future?

There are two ways to establish one, but the benefit is that you can avoid going through a judge.

The first method is via a private contract, which can be drawn up on plain and countersigned by a lawyer or done according to the Cerfa form model n°13592*02. This option does not require that a notaire be present, but it must be dated and signed. 

It is recommended that you get the document registered with French tax authorities, which can be done at your local tax office. The registration fee was approximately €125, as of 2024.

The second method is to set up the mandate via a notaire. 

The main difference is that going through a notaire can set up more extensive powers for the mandataire, allowing them to carry out property-related decisions like selling a home (though the final say on selling housing still requires a judge’s agreement). 

It can be revoked or amended at any point prior to taking effect. Once it has taken effect, you or the mandataire would need to go to a judge to cancel or revise it.

The general rule is that the mandat only ends if/when the protected person’s health is restored and they request the mandate be ended, or if that person is placed under a tutelle or curatelle (more on these below). 

Curatelles and tutelles – These are different legal measures intended to protect vulnerable people and their assets. They are similar – with both requiring a decision by a judge to be put into effect – but they have different levels of involvement.

They differ from the mandat de protection future because they are usually done once a person has already lost some level of autonomy, for example if someone is suffering from dementia.

Both of these measures lead to a note being made on the margins of a person’s birth certificate designating them as being a protected person – being under one of these means that the person has lost some or all of their power to undertake legal or financial decisions.

Generally, a curatelle is a type of guardianship that allows a person to remain autonomous in some aspects of their life, but to receive assistance in other areas (oftentimes financial).

Meanwhile, a tutelle is a more protective measure that is meant for people who have lost their autonomy and need assistance in several areas of their life.

How can you set these up?

There are several documents you will need to provide (found here and here), and you will need to go via a civil protection judge (juge des contentieux de la protection) in both cases.

The request can be made either by the person themselves, their romantic partner, parent or family member (including step-family via marriage), a close friend, a public prosecutor or relevant third party (ie a doctor or director of a healthcare centre), or a person already exercising another legal protection measure (a curateur or tuteur).

Both curatelles and tutelles can be terminated if the judge decides they are no longer necessary, whether that be at the request of the person or their guardian. They can also be terminated at the death of the protected person, at the end of the term, or they could be replaced by other protection measure (ie a curatelle becoming a tutelle).

Curatelle – When it comes to the curatelle, there are varying degrees of assistance that can be set up, ranging from simple (simple), reinforced (renforcée) and adapted (aménagée).

The simple version allows the person under the curatelle to carry out their own daily admin tasks (eg. managing their own bank account) but would require assistance in the case of more serious decisions such as taking out a loan or selling a property.

The curatelle renforcée is a step up – the ‘curateur’ (guardian or designated person) will manage the person’s bank account and deal with their bills/ expenses. 

And then there is the ‘adapted’ curatelle, which would involve a list of things (decided by the judge) that the person can do on their own, plus a list where they need assistance from their guardian.

How long does it last?

First, it will be set for a maximum of five years, and then it can be renewable (by the judge) for another five years.

Eventually, the judge could choose to renew it for maximum period of 20 years if there is no expectation of improvement based on the current science – for example if the person is in a persistent vegetative state. In this case there would need to be substantiation from a registered doctor.

Tutelle

This is closer to formal guardianship than the curatelle.

The person under a tutelle cannot take action that would ‘decrease the value of their estate’ without agreement from a judge – this might including selling property, setting up a loan, or even making charity donations or giving financial gifts. Their guardian is responsible for ‘routine’ management of finances, including setting up bank accounts, paying bills or opening/concluding a residential lease. 

There are several things a person under a tutelle can do on their own, but they need to at least inform their guardian. These include the act of recognising a child and getting married or Pacsé.

A person under tutelle still has the right to vote unassisted.

How long does it last?

The maximum period of a tutelle is typically set to five years, but a 10 year period can be set if current scientific knowledge indicates the person will not become more autonomous (as validated by a registered doctor). No guardianship can be renewed for a period exceeding 20 years.

L’habilitation – This is an alternative form of guardianship, and can be set up for a spouse (entre époux) or for a family member (familiale).

As married couples may already share bank accounts and carry out administrative acts together (eg joint tax declarations) setting up an habilitation would extend the powers of one spouse to do other things for their partner who is ill, disabled, or incapacitated in some way.

It can either be set up in a restricted (applying to certain tasks) or general form. 

Generally, the habilitation can be less constricting on the person being protected than a curatelle or tutelle, and it is intended to be a simpler, more flexible process, according to the French ministry of justice.

How can I set one up?

The family version can be requested by or for a parent, child, grandparent, sibling, or romantic partner.

The main difference with a habilitation is that there are less checks and verifications from the judge afterwards, unless they are forced to intervene due to a conflict. The general term of an habilitation familiale is 10 years.

Sauvegard de justice – This is a short-term protection measure intended for emergency or temporary situations and it cannot exceed one year or be renewed more than once. 

The temporary sauvegard de justice (justice safeguard) can be an in-between measure before setting up a curatelle or tutelle. 

For others, it might respond to an emergency situation, such as being in a coma.

It can be requested to the civil protection judge (juge des contentieux de la protection) by the person themselves, their spouse or romantic partner, their family, their close friend(s), the attending physician, the doctor or director at a health establishment, or by a public prosecutor.

The judge can choose a mandataire (decision-maker) to manage the person’s property or finances, depending on the situation.

MASP or MAJ – And finally, if you are looking for an option for yourself or a family member who struggles with managing their funds, but they are not in a state of cognitive or physical decline, then you could consider a ‘personalised social (or judicial) support measure’ (MASP or MAJ).

These are not exactly intended for those planning for care in their later years, however, but you can find more information on the ministry of justice website. These are also only available for those receiving government benefits.