Separate the inheritance declaration from the division decision

Write down the question first: recording the inherited estate, retaining shared ownership, allocating the woodland to one heir or preparing a sale. The Paris notaries explain the significance of market value at the date of death for inherited property. Ask your notaire which date applies to each step. A current estimate cannot automatically establish what the woodland was worth at an earlier date.

Identify the property and the rights inherited

Collect deeds, cadastral references, recorded areas, maps, easements and available contracts. Add management documents, recent work invoices and timber sale records. Have the ownership position checked: full ownership, usufruct, bare ownership or an undivided share. Create one row per parcel so that an outlying wood is not forgotten and previously sold land is not included. Record missing documents explicitly rather than filling the gaps with family recollections.

Describe the land and the trees separately

The CNPF distinguishes land value from stand value. Prepare notes on access, slope, known species, recent harvesting and visible tree condition. Identify what needs inspection, including health, timber quality, boundaries and necessary work. An aerial photograph is not an inventory of saleable timber. Also avoid adding an assumed timber figure to a comparable property price that already includes its trees.

Illustrative wooded hills and valley mist at dawn. — editorial illustration
From documents to decisions.

Gather the right documents and prepare the visit to compare assumptions with conditions on the ground.

Editorial illustration · not a depiction of an analysed property

Share the evidence before negotiating numbers

Give every heir the same dated map, documents and comparable transactions. For each comparison, list what is known and what is missing: access, the composition of the property sold, buildings or forest condition. A regional average supplies context rather than a valuation for every parcel. Separate disagreements about evidence, such as an uncertain access right, from personal preferences, such as one person’s attachment to a particular part of the wood.

Compare arrangements before drawing new parcels

Set out three possibilities: continued joint management, allocation of a coherent property, or a sale. For each, identify who would organise work, pay initial expenses and keep the records. If physical division is proposed, assess whether every resulting lot would remain accessible and manageable. Equal acreage may leave one heir facing most of the access costs. The notaire can examine the legal arrangements and any balancing payment; drawing lines does not resolve those questions.

Commission a clearly defined assessment

Before contacting a forestry professional, specify the task: valuation at a particular date, comparison of proposed lots or investigation of an important assumption. Ask whether a site visit is included, which records will be reviewed and how uncertainty will be reported. Agreeing that brief among the heirs makes the findings easier to discuss. Compare quotations covering equivalent work rather than assuming that a standard fee per hectare applies to every inherited property.

Keep an auditable decision record

Retain the agreed version, its date, supporting references and unresolved questions. Separate property valuation from the taxes, transaction costs and commitments that the notaire must examine. A WoodWorth report using public data can help organise questions and comparisons. It remains indicative, without a site visit or expert valuation certificate. Report any subsequent harvesting, damage or newly discovered document before reusing the figures for another decision.

COMMON QUESTIONS

A few things to clear up.

Can heirs divide French woodland by acreage alone?

Acreage is a starting point, not a complete measure of value. Compare access, tree stands, restrictions and foreseeable expenditure for each proposed lot before agreeing an allocation.

Is an online estimate enough for a French inheritance?

It can help prepare the file. The notaire determines what evidence the estate requires; substantial value, missing information or disagreement may justify a professional assessment on site.

Must the woodland be sold if joint management is impractical?

A sale is one option alongside other ownership arrangements or allocation to an heir. Ask the notaire to examine everyone’s rights and the available mechanisms before making that decision.

Sources and dates

Figures retain their reference year. Worked examples are educational; property-specific amounts require verification.

Sources accessed 19 October 2026. Independent sources; no partnership implied.

This guide provides documentary context. For a binding decision, have field, legal or insurance issues checked by the relevant professional.