Legal tip 284. Inheritance and wills in Spain for dummies, V
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 @ 12:37 PM
If you leave no will, Uncle Law will determine who are your heirs.
Who are the preferent heirs for Old Uncle Law?
1) Your widow/widower: Uncle Law will always give to her/him the usufruct of one third of your goods, for some relief ;)
2) Your children: Uncle Law will distribute your goods among them. Shares will be equal. If one of your children had died before you, your grandsons/granddaughters would receive this portion, if there was no grandsons/granddaughters of this pre-deceased children, his/her brothers and sisters ( yours sons and daughters) would get an increase on the portion of your inheritance.
3)Your parents will inherit all your assets if you die without children
4)Your grandparents will be your legal heirs if you are an orphan and have no children
Finally, if you had no children, no parents, no grandparents….your widow/widower would be your sole heir.
As you can see our system, “ inherited” from Old Roman gives prevalence to consanguinity over affinity
Steps to address when someone die without a will..... tomorrow
Have a great day!
Jesús Castro and Maria L. de Castro
La Barrosa beach by Roberto Carlos Pecino at Flickr.com