Probate genealogist in French Guiana and the Caribbean
An office based in French Guiana, close to the archives, the families and the notaries.
Since 2020, the Étude Généalogique Cossé has been carrying out research in French Guiana. What began with a public tender has become a core part of its work: estates left unsettled for several generations, vacant properties, joint ownership of land, heirs scattered across French Guiana, the French Caribbean, mainland France and neighbouring countries.
Since 2024, the office has had a secondary establishment in Rémire-Montjoly. Nicolas Cossé is the expert and representative of Généalogistes de France in French Guiana and to the Archives of the French Ministry for Overseas Territories: he links the profession, the archive services and the local institutions.
French Guiana, a territory like no other
A former colony that became a French department in 1946, French Guiana has challenges of its own: civil registers long kept unevenly from one municipality to another, old records split between cities, Paris and Aix-en-Provence, specific sources such as the land rolls, and families from the Caribbean, Brazil, Suriname or Haiti whose ties must be traced from one country to another.
Its land bears the mark of this history: plots still registered in the name of long-deceased ancestors, owners poorly identified in the land register, jointly owned plots in the heart of the towns. It is in French Guiana that the office built its method, working every day with the archives, notaries and municipalities, from Saint-Georges to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.
Overseas land, a challenge of its own
In French Guiana as in the French Caribbean, many plots of land have had no new official owner for decades: because estates were not settled after each death, they now belong to dozens or even hundreds of heirs. Such joint ownership blocks sales, divisions and development projects, and deprives families and municipalities alike of the value of these properties.
The French law of 27 December 2018, known as the “Letchimy law”, makes it easier to end joint ownership. A reliable line of succession is still needed: without genealogical research, a notarial deed of heirship may leave out heirs and weaken the whole operation.
Sources we know from the inside
- Civil registersCivil status register of of French Guiana, sometimes incomplete or in poor condition, scattered between French Guiana, Paris and Aix-en-Provence.
- Notarial recordsNotaries’ archives held at the Archives of French Guiana and the French National Overseas Archives.
- Land registryProperty files, mortgage registers and recorded deeds of the land registry service, to trace the origin of each property.
- French National Overseas ArchivesColonial collections and registers held in Aix-en-Provence, essential to go back to the 19th century.
Who do we work for?
- Notaries
- Establishing or verifying a line of succession, securing a deed of heirship, finding and representing the heirs of jointly owned property before a division or sale.
- Municipalities
- Vacant and ownerless property, undeveloped plots in town centres, expired burial plots: finding the owners and their rightful heirs.
- Developers and land agencies
- Identifying the owners of the land in a project and their heirs, plot by plot.
- Property managers
- Finding the heirs of a deceased co-owner whose service charges remain unpaid.
- Courts
- Supporting proceedings for division, vacant estates or ownerless property: finding the heirs and providing genealogical and land analysis.
- Families
- Unblocking an old estate, rebuilding a family branch, ending joint ownership.
Frequently asked questions
How is an estate settled in French Guiana?
As in mainland France, the estate is settled by a notary, who draws up the deed of heirship naming the heirs, then the estate declaration and the division. When heirs are unknown, numerous or scattered, which is common in French Guiana where some estates have remained open for generations, the notary calls on a probate genealogist to identify and trace them, with supporting records.
What is the Letchimy law?
The French law of 27 December 2018, known as the “Letchimy law”, makes it easier to end joint ownership of inherited property in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. For an estate opened more than ten years ago, co-owners holding more than half of the rights can have a property sold or divided before a notary, without everyone’s agreement. The other co-owners are informed and may object; the court then decides. This scheme applies until 31 December 2038.
Why call on a genealogist to end joint ownership?
The procedure requires knowing every co-owner and their exact share: each of them must be informed of the project. A forgotten heir can challenge the sale or division. The genealogist rebuilds the full line of succession, calculates each share and traces every rightful heir.
My ancestors owned land in French Guiana: how can I find out who owns it today?
The starting point is the land register and the property files, which show the last known owner. The civil registers must then be traced to establish who the heirs are. The office carries out both searches together, using the archives it has indexed.
Can a notary in French Guiana or the Caribbean entrust a case to the office?
Yes. The office works for notaries in French Guiana, the Caribbean and mainland France: finding heirs, verifying an existing line of succession or tracing the ownership of a plot of land. It consults the archives on site as well as in Aix-en-Provence.
Guadeloupe and Martinique
Guadeloupe and Martinique face the same land situation, and the Letchimy law applies there in the same way. Families move from one territory to another: an estate opened in French Guiana often leads to the Caribbean, and the office applies the same method there.
All French overseas territories
Our expertise extends to all French overseas territories, from Réunion to New Caledonia: much of their older archives is held at the French National Overseas Archives, which the office knows well. It also follows heirs into the countries neighbouring French Guiana, where many families come from.
Sharing our experience
Because these cases concern the whole of Guianese society, the office shares its experience: talks at the Maison des Cultures et des Mémoires de Guyane and in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, workshops for the Archives of French Guiana, and training for notaries and their clerks.
Find us in French Guiana
Caribbean and French Guiana
4 rue de l’Astrolabe, boîte 7, c/o GuyaCall, bâtiment Horizon, 97354 Rémire-Montjoly
A case to entrust to us?
Call us or write to us: we reply quickly, whether you are in France or abroad.