Estate bank fees: the cap, the struck-down exemptions, what really applies

When a bank processes the estate of a deceased customer, it charges fees to the heirs. Long entirely unregulated, these fees are now framed by law — but the state of the law has changed twice in less than a year, and most of the information available online is now out of date.

In short: since 13 November 2025, estate bank fees have been capped at 1% of the total assets the deceased held in the institution, and may not exceed €857 per bank. Since 19 June 2026, however, there is no longer any legal free-of-charge case: the three exemptions provided by the law were struck down by the Constitutional Council.

Before 2025: unregulated, unlimited fees

Until the autumn of 2025, no text capped estate bank fees. Each institution set its own price list as it saw fit, with considerable gaps from one bank to another for comparable administrative work. Comparisons published by consumer associations regularly revealed amounts bearing no relation to the work actually performed.

That observation led the legislature to step in, with the stated aim of protecting heirs — often grieving, rarely in a position to negotiate, and with no practical way to switch banks since the accounts concerned are the deceased's.

The law of 13 May 2025: a cap and three free-of-charge cases

Law no. 2025-415 of 13 May 2025 on reducing and regulating estate bank fees created Article L.312-1-4-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code. The text lays down a simple principle: fees may not exceed 1% of the total balance of the deceased's accounts and savings products in the institution, within a limit set by decree.

Decree no. 2025-813 of 13 August 2025 set this absolute cap at €850, effective 13 November 2025. Decree no. 2025-1363 of 26 December 2025 raised it to €857 as of 1 January 2026, indexing it to the consumer price index excluding tobacco — so the amount is revalued every year.

The law went further than the cap, however. It provided three situations in which the bank could charge no fee at all.

• Estates with no manifest complexity, where the heir proved their status.
• Total assets below the threshold of Article L.312-1-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code.
• Account holder who was a minor on the day of death.

The 19 June 2026 ruling: the free-of-charge cases fall, the cap stands

Seized of a priority constitutionality question by a bank, the Constitutional Council ruled on 19 June 2026 (decision no. 2026-1207 QPC). Its decision draws a clear line between the two parts of the scheme.

The cap is upheld. The Council accepts the general-interest objective of consumer protection, notes that the measure concerns only a very limited share of banking activity, and considers that the cap leaves institutions able to cover their costs.

The three free-of-charge cases, on the other hand, are struck down, on the ground that they disproportionately infringe the freedom to conduct business and contractual freedom. The ruling takes effect immediately, with no deferral: it has therefore applied since 19 June 2026.

The practical consequence for heirs: a modest or simple estate, or one involving a minor's accounts, no longer benefits from any legal exemption. It remains protected only by the cap.

What applies today, in practice

The calculation is done institution by institution. If the deceased held accounts in three banks, each applies its own cap: the theoretical maximum is therefore not €857 in total, but €857 per bank.

• Relative cap: 1% of the total account balances and savings-product value held in the institution.
• Absolute cap: €857 per institution since 1 January 2026, revalued every year.
• The lower of the two applies: for €20,000 of assets, the cap is €200, not €857.
• No legal free-of-charge case, whatever the situation, since 19 June 2026.

Not to be confused with the €5,965 threshold

Another figure circulates widely on this subject, and it has nothing to do with fees. It is the ceiling of Article L.312-1-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code, set at €5,965 since 1 January 2026 by the order of 24 December 2025 — after standing at €5,000 until the end of 2024, then €5,910 during 2025.

This threshold opens three distinct options: having the funeral bill paid by debiting the deceased's account against the invoice, paying certain protective measures, and above all having the accounts closed without a notarial deed. That last option requires a certificate signed by all the heirs, the absence of a will, of a marriage contract and of any dispute — and the absence of any real property in the estate.

In other words: €5,965 determines whether you can do without a notary to release the accounts; €857 caps what the bank can charge you to do so. The two amounts are independent.

Check what your bank charges

The fees are taken from the deceased's assets before they are distributed among the heirs, so they easily go unnoticed. The useful reflex is to ask for the amount in writing, in your very first letter to the bank, along with the statement of accounts as at the date of death.

If the amount charged exceeds the applicable cap, challenge it first with the institution's customer service, then with its banking mediator — a free referral. Keep the fee breakdown and the statement showing the debit.

The best way to limit fees is still knowing where the accounts are

The cap protects against abuse; it does not reduce the work. Fees apply per institution: an estate scattered across several banks, some of them forgotten, mechanically costs more and takes longer — not counting the accounts nobody claims, which end up transferred to the Caisse des Dépôts.

That is Vitalegis's role: during their lifetime, the holder lists their accounts, contracts and organisations, and designates the relatives who will receive the file when the time comes. They know it exists, without seeing its contents during the holder's lifetime. When the day comes, they no longer have to guess which banks to search.