Lifetime right of residence (research for a novel)
Alfred passed away at the age of 77, leaving his widow Anne (65) with a lifetime right of residence in the villa where they spent the twelve years of their marriage. Anne was Alfred's third wife. Alfred bequeathed the villa to his son Florian from his first marriage. He also left money in an account to be used for the maintenance of the property, to be managed by Florian.
However, the money will only last for a few more years, and Anne would not have the means to cover the costs of maintaining the estate with her pension. Additionally, the villa is very large, too large for Anne, as she herself admits. Now Florian, the son and heir, has the idea of moving his mother, Alfred's first wife, who has also become a widow from the man she married after Alfred, into the villa with Anne.
Anne goes to see a lawyer to get information on the legal situation and to consider various alternatives. What could the lawyer tell her? Anne's questions are as follows:
1. Does Florian, as the owner, have the right to move another person, namely his mother, into the villa with her?
2. Can a right of residence be bought out? Would Anne be entitled to compensation in order to find a solution by moving out?
3. What happens to the right of residence if it comes to a point where Anne can no longer cover the costs of the property where she has a lifetime right of residence, because the money left by her deceased husband for that purpose has been used up?
4. If, on the other hand, Anne wants to bring in additional residents, how should she proceed legally?
And another question related to the development of the story:
A shared living arrangement of four or five individuals will emerge due to the circumstances. Florian eventually sees a business idea in this, going beyond simple renting. It involves a specific form of shared living for older individuals. How could this business idea be legally structured?
