Who inherits if there is no will in Catalonia?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The family, in the order laid down by law. First the children inherit in equal shares and, in place of any child who has died, that child's own children. If there is a spouse or a partner in a “pareja estable”, a Catalan stable partnership, they also have the usufruct of the whole estate for life. If there are no children or grandchildren, the spouse or partner inherits everything. If there is no spouse or partner either, the parents inherit, then the siblings and the nephews and nieces and, lastly, the other relatives up to first cousins. The order The children, in equal shares, whether they are from one marriage or several, born outside marriage or adopted. If one of them has died first, their children inherit their share. The spouse or stable partner. If there are children or grandchildren, they have the usufruct of the whole estate, which is the right to use the assets and collect the income from them for life. If there are none, they inherit everything, although the deceased's parents can claim their forced share (“legítima”) from them. The parents, in equal shares, or whichever of them is alive. If neither is alive, the grandparents. The siblings and, in place of any who have died, their children. Half-siblings inherit the same as the others. The other relatives up to the fourth degree of kinship, such as aunts, uncles and first cousins. A closer relative excludes a more distant one. If there are none, the estate goes to the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government), which uses the assets for social purposes and is only liable for the debts up to the value of what it receives. The spouse and the partner They do not inherit if they were separated, even if only de facto, or if a claim for separation, divorce or annulment was under way, unless they had reconciled. Within a year of the death, the surviving spouse or partner can exchange the usufruct of everything for a quarter of the value of the estate in outright ownership plus the usufruct of the family home. A partner who does not qualify as a stable partner inherits nothing without a will. The “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, is examining whether living together for more than two years is enough to be a stable partner with these rights. Until it decides, the rule applies. How to find out who inherits A declaration of heirs is needed. It is a notarial record (“acta notarial”) stating who the heirs are under the law. To apply for it, the applicant provides the death certificate, the certificate of last wills (from the “Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad”, Spain's register of wills) and the documents proving kinship. In addition, two witnesses state that they knew the family and that the deceased left no other heirs. The certificate of last wills shows that there is no record of any will made before a notary. If there might be a handwritten one, it is advisable to look for it among the deceased's papers first. If the Generalitat inherits, it makes the declaration itself. This applies if the estate is governed by Catalan law. Under the Spanish Civil Code (“Código Civil”), if there are no children, the parents inherit before the spouse. The surviving spouse only has part of the estate in usufruct.