CONSULTATION:
My mother recently passed away leaving a Spanish Will, worded as per Spanish Law. In her Will she disinherited me and left everything to my sister, as sole beneficiary. Could I contest the Will? What can I do? Could I legally claim? How works the disinheritance in Spain?
Answer:
Dear reader,
Disinheritance in Spain is foreseen in the articles from 848 to 857 of the Spanish Civil Code.
As per the Spanish Law, it is only possible to disinherit somebody for the reasons foreseen in law. For children or descendents, these causes are mainly:
1. Denial of assistance, or food to the parents or ascendants from whom you inherit.
2. Physical or moral mistreatment, insulting, etc.
The Spanish Civil Code foresees different disinheritance causes for ascendants (parents, grandparents), and descendants ( children, grandchildren) and spouses.
As per the Spanish Law, the disinheritance will be valid only if it is done in a Will or testament, stating the legal causes or reasons for it.
Your case.
In your case, if you believe that your disinheritance is not fair, and the disinheritance causes are not true, you can contest or dispute the Will, and it would be the heirs and beneficiaries who must prove the veracity of the reasons stated on the Will for disinheriting you.
If you challenge and contest the Will successfully, the appointment of heirs will be null and void, and you will have the right to receive the •Spanish Legitima or legitimated portion or minimum share ( as per article 851 of the Spanish Civil Code).
You should also know that if you are able to prove that you had reconciled with the testator, the disinheritance will have no effect. Here it is important to remind our readers that, it is strongly advisable that the reconciliation is formally documented, if possible in a public document signed in front of a notary.
Your children.
Finally, you must know that as per the Spanish Law, in the worst scenario, if it can be proved that the disinheritance is fair, article 857 states:
“ The children or descendants of disinherited, will occupy his place and will keep the forced inheritance rights to the Spanish legitima or legitimated minimum share
Therefore, if you have children, and if you have been disinherited correctly, your children will occupy your position in your mother’s inheritance, having the right to inherit only the Spanish legitima.
If you have been disinherited or you want to properly disinherit an heir, our office could assist you.
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues.
For more information check our service: CONTEST A SPANISH WILL.
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