When does Catalan civil law apply to an estate?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

If the deceased was Spanish, it applies when, at the time of death, they had Catalan “vecindad civil” —regional civil-law status— even if they lived in another part of Spain. This status does not depend only on where a person lives. It is held by being born to parents with Catalan status, or acquired by living in Catalonia for two years and declaring it, or for ten consecutive years without declaring otherwise. If the deceased was a foreign national and lived in Catalonia, Catalan law applies in principle, unless they chose the law of their nationality in their will. How Catalan civil-law status is obtained By birth, if the parents had it. If each had a different one, they can assign the child either of the two within the six months following the birth. If they do not, the law decides which one the child has. By residence, by living in Catalonia for two consecutive years and declaring before the “Registro Civil”, the Civil Register, that the person wishes to have it. Or by living there for ten consecutive years without declaring otherwise. Marriage does not change it, but each spouse can opt for the other's status. A foreign national who acquires Spanish nationality chooses their status at that point, for example that of the place where they live. Where there is doubt, a person has the status of their place of birth. Two examples A person born to Catalan parents who has lived in Madrid for more than ten years has the general Spanish civil-law status, unless they declared at the Civil Register that they wished to keep the Catalan one. Their estate is governed by the Spanish Civil Code (“Código Civil”). A person born to Aragonese parents who has lived in Barcelona for thirty years has Catalan civil-law status if they did not declare otherwise. What you should know If a Spanish national with Catalan civil-law status lived in another country, the law of that country applies in principle. If they chose Spanish law in their will, Catalan law applies. A will made in accordance with the law of the status the person had when making it remains valid even if that status changes later. But forced shares (“legítimas”) are adjusted to the law that governs the estate. If the estate of a Spanish national is governed by Spanish law, the rights the law gives the surviving spouse are governed by the law that regulates the effects of their marriage, which may be a different one. The children's forced shares are always respected. In other cases, they are governed by the law of the estate. A single law governs the whole estate, wherever the assets are located.