Wills and inheritance lawyers in Barcelona

A will is a unilateral declaration of intent. It is a document in which a person, of legal age, specifies what they want to happen to their assets after their death.

The decision to make a will is entirely voluntary . Therefore, as long as you are of legal age and have something to express in your will, you can do so.

Of course, for the will to be legal, the person who grants it must have sound judgment. That is, the circumstances and conditions of the person making the will must express his or her mental aptitude.

Therefore, those who are of sound mind , of legal age, and wish to make a will, can do so at the time they deem appropriate.

As we said in the previous question, the will is completely voluntary. Therefore, it is not mandatory to do so.

However, it is very convenient to do so as it can avoid a large number of future problems and misunderstandings.

Especially in cases where there is no single heir, it is important to take into consideration drafting the wills.

Yes. It is not necessary to go through a notary to make a will.

Anyone over 18 who is not legally incapacitated can write their own will. To do so, they must write their wishes in their own handwriting, and the document must include the date the will is written, as well as the signature of the person making it.

The testator can keep the will, or can give it to a third party. But he will have the obligation to deliver it if the testator dies, so that the last will of the deceased is taken into account in the distribution of his assets.

Something important to note is that, although this type of will has the same validity as one signed before a notary , it is also more common to find challenges from the heirs in this type of will.

A person can make more than one will during their lifetime.

In fact, the will that prevails is the one with the date closest to the testator's death.

Unless the person making the will specifies that the previous version must remain valid in whole or in part, the previous one will be revoked with the signature of the new one.

The Register of Last Wills is the register in which information is found on whether a person has made a will.

When someone dies and the heirs don't know if there is a valid will, they can request a Certificate of Last Will and Testament from this registry. This way, if the deceased left a will, the certificate will indicate the place, date, and notary who signed it.

It is important to note that this certificate cannot be issued until 15 days have passed since the death.

If the deceased has not made a will , or the existing will is not effective or is incomplete, intestate succession or ab intestato is opened.

In other words, when there is no will or it is not valid , the distribution of the deceased's assets is carried out in the manner stipulated by law.

Many people confuse the declaration of heirs with the will and they are two completely different things.

This is a procedure that is carried out at the notary and that determines who the heirs are of a person who has not made a will.

This declaration does not determine the distribution of assets that will take place, but only who are the people who have the right to inherit the assets of the deceased.

Usufruct is a word that you may have heard mentioned in phrases like “enjoy the house in usufruct.”

To possess something in usufruct means that the person possesses the thing, but is not its owner. This expression usually refers to a property or a house.

The usufructuary has the right to reside in the dwelling or even benefit from the economic returns it generates, such as rent, but is not its owner.

You cannot sell the property, mortgage it or take any other type of action that reduces its value.

Yes. To reject an inheritance, it is necessary to follow a series of steps and meet certain requirements. To do this, we recommend that you put yourself in the hands of a lawyer who specializes in this type of law.

At Vosseler we have expert lawyers in this area who can advise you on how to repudiate an inheritance.

No. Inheritances cannot be divided to choose only the assets and reject the debts.

However, there is the so-called "beneficial acceptance" . In this, the heir can limit their liability for debts based on the value of the assets and rights acquired.

Inheritance tax must be paid within six months of the testator's death. This tax must be paid by the heirs.

At this point, it is best to streamline the inventory process and request an accountant-splitter to face tax obligations more easily.

In many families, relationships are somewhat strained and many people wonder if they could disinherit one of their children.

Some believe it's impossible to disinherit a child. However, this isn't the case. Disinheritance is a complex matter, and only a few reasons justify it:

• There is a denial of food to the disinheriting ascendant.
• Having been convicted in a trial of having carried out an attempt on the life of the testator, his spouse, ascendants or descendants.
• That there is mistreatment of works or serious verbal insults and this is demonstrable.
• Having used fraud, threats or violence to force the testator to modify or write the will.
• That he has slanderously accused the testator of a crime that carries a penalty of no less than imprisonment.
• That the heir has prevented the execution of the will, revoked, altered, supplanted or hidden the existing will.

Disinheritance is a complex process that involves depriving the disinherited person of the right to receive the portion of the inheritance that would have corresponded to them under normal circumstances.

This disinheritance only affects the person in question, not their descendants, who retain the right to inherit.

To carry out the complex disinheritance process, it is best to have the help of a team of lawyers specialized in it, such as those you can find in Vosseler.

When there is no will, the law is what determines who the heirs of a deceased person will be.

The first heirs are the descendants. These can be biological or adopted children, both having the same right of inheritance, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Secondly, the ascendants, that is, the parents.

The next will be the spouse, who if there is no will will only inherit if the previous two are missing.

Next, the line of inheritance continues through siblings, cousins ​​and, in the absence of all of them, the State.

Inheritances are divided equally into three thirds. 

• The first third must be distributed among all the children, equally.
• The second third must necessarily be allocated to one of the children. But it is not mandatory that everyone receives the same amount, nor that everyone receives some amount if there are several.
• The third third may be allocated to whomever the testator decides: be it a child or a stranger.

Example: 

A father with three children leaves an inheritance of 18 million. Each of the thirds will have a value of 6 million.

In this way, he will have to distribute the first 6 million among his 3 children equally: 2 million for each one.

He distributes the next 6 million between two of his children and leaves the other out. But, in addition, he decides to reward one of them by leaving him a larger inheritance. So, he distributes 4 million for the first child and 2 for the third.

He decides to leave the last 6 million for the benefit of a close friend.

A will does not distinguish between physical and monetary assets . Therefore, regardless of whether the possessions are houses, farms, money, company shares, or businesses, all assets are treated the same.

Making a will is very important to avoid disagreements or misunderstandings when someone dies. This way, the heirs will know what belongs to each of them, the possibility of disputes will be reduced, and everything will be simpler.