You have signed a promesse unilatérale de vente or a compromis de vente with the notaire, but before the final sale is signed, the vendor or one of the vendors dies. You are wondering whether this death calls into question the validity of the promise.
Is the obligation to sell still effective for the beneficiary of the promise?
Is the beneficiary of the promise still committed to the seller?
If the notary usually includes a clause in the unilateral undertaking to sell stating that the buyer's heirs will have the option of withdrawing from the sale process in the event of the buyer's death, things are different in the event of the seller's death.
The seller agrees to the sale as soon as the promise to sell is signed. If there are several sellers and one of them dies, the commitment of the others remains intact.
Under no circumstances can the death of one of the sellers call into question the completion of the sale. The seller's heirs will be obliged to honour the commitment to sell made by the deceased. If the heirs are known, it is they who will come to sign the final sale.
Difficulties can arise if the deceased's heirs are not identified. The sale process may be slowed down while the necessary genealogical research is carried out.
In most cases, the notary will have taken care to insert a clause in the promise to sell, giving the beneficiary the option of withdrawing without losing his or her immobilisation indemnity. In general, this clause stipulates that the beneficiary must state whether or not he wishes to continue with the sale within a period of fifteen days from the date on which he is notified of the seller's death.
However, the choice may not be easy for the beneficiary if the deceased seller's heirs are unknown, as there is no certainty as to how long the sale will take!
