Wills and inheritance lawyers in Barcelona

A will is a unilateral declaration of will. It is a document in which a person, of legal age, has What do you want to happen to your assets after your death? 

The moment in which each person decides to make a will is totally voluntary. Therefore, whenever you are adult and you have something to express in your will, you can carry it out.

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 have “fair judgment”, are of legal age and have the will to make a will, they can do so at any time they deem appropriate.

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

Yes, It is very convenient to carry out as it can avoid a lot 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.

Those who are over 18 and not incapacitated can write their own will. For it, They must write their wishes in their own handwriting, and the document must include the date when the will was written, as well as the signature of the person granting 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 that is important to highlight is that, although this will has the same validity as the one signed before a notary; it is also most common to find challenges by the heirs in this type of will.

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

In fact, the prevailing will It is the one with the date closest to the death of the testator.

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 do not know if there is a current will, they can request a Certificate of Last Will Acts in this registry. This way, if there is a will of the deceased, the certificate will indicate the place, the date and which notary signed it.

It is important to keep in mind that this certificate cannot be made until after 15 days from death.

If the deceased has not made any will, or the current one is not effective or is incomplete, the intestate or intestate succession is opened.

That is, when there is no will or this 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 statement does not determine the distribution of assets that will be carried out, 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.”

Owning something in usufruct means that The person owns the thing, but is not its owner. This expression usually refers, normally, to a farm or a house.

The usufructuary has the right to reside in the home or even benefit from economic returns that it generates, such as a rent, but it 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 matter who can advise you to carry out the repudiation of the inheritance. 

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

However, there is the call “beneficial acceptance”. In this, the heir can limit your liability for debts depending on the value of the assets and rights acquired.

Payment of Inheritance Tax must be made in the six months following the death of the testator. 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.

There are those who believe that it is impossible to leave one of the children out of the will. However, this is not so. Nonetheless, Disinheritance is something very complex and only some causes justify this action:

• 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 the deprivation of the disinherited person of the right to receive part of the inheritance that would have corresponded to him 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.

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

Making a will is very important for prevent disagreements or misunderstandings from occurring when someone dies. In this way, the heirs will know what corresponds to each one, the possibility of disputes will be reduced and everything will be simpler.