Can you disinherit a child in Catalonia?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes, but only on one of the grounds laid down by law. Disinheriting means depriving the child of the forced share (“legítima”), the right to be paid an amount equal to a quarter of the estate, which is divided among all the children and is the only thing the law guarantees them. For a child not to be an heir, it is enough to appoint other heirs and leave the child their forced share, without any need to disinherit them. Disinheritance is set out in a will, naming the child and the ground. If the child denies the ground, it is the heir who has to prove it. The grounds In Catalonia a child can only be disinherited on these grounds: The grounds of unworthiness to inherit, such as having been convicted of an offence against the life or the physical or moral integrity of the father or mother, having induced the parent through deception, violence or threats to make or change their will or having prevented them from doing so. Having refused without good reason to provide maintenance, that is, the support needed to live on, when the law required the child to provide it to the parent, to the parent's spouse or partner, or to other ascendants or descendants of the parent. Having seriously ill-treated the parent, the parent's spouse or partner or the parent's ascendants or descendants. Having been suspended from or deprived of parental authority over their own child, the grandchild of the disinheriting parent, for a reason attributable to them. A manifest and continuous lack of family relationship, if it is solely the child's fault. The last is the one most often invoked and the courts interpret it strictly. They require the child to have distanced himself or herself without good reason and persistently, usually for years. The fault must lie with the child alone. The courts also consider whether the father or mother tried to maintain the relationship. A lack of relationship while the child was a minor cannot be held against them. An argument, an estrangement for which both are to blame or a cold relationship is not enough. How it is done and what effects it has It is done in a will, a codicil or a succession agreement. The child must be named and the ground stated. If either is missing, it is not valid. The child has four years from the death to challenge it in court. That time limit is not stopped by sending a “burofax” (a certified letter with proof of content). If the child denies the ground, the heir has to prove that it is true. If the ground is not proved or is not one recognised by law, the child recovers their forced share, but does not become an heir. If the father or mother and the child are reconciled, the disinheritance ceases to be valid, even if the will is not changed. The disinherited child's own children keep the forced share that would have been due to that child. Before disinheriting Disinheriting a child usually ends in a lawsuit with the heir. It is advisable to set out the facts in detail in the will and to keep evidence, such as messages, letters or witnesses to the attempts to maintain the relationship. If the aim is to leave the child the minimum, leaving them only the forced share is safer. This applies if the estate is governed by Catalan law. Under the Spanish Civil Code (“Código Civil”) a lack of relationship is not a ground in itself, although the courts sometimes accept it as psychological abuse. In addition, the children's forced share is much larger, two thirds of the estate.