by Jesus Barrena 
Inheritance without will case, also called intestate inheritance based on a judgment of Zaragoza Provincial Court 620/2005.
The wife of the deceased appeals the judgment of the Court of First Instance before the Provincial Court, understanding that she has the right to receive the legitimate inheritance.
Upon the death of the deceased without having made a will, the children shared the hereditary assets. The wife claims before the courts that she has the right to part of the hereditary credit since this is the law for the case of death without intestate.
The wife of the deceased filed an appeal before the Provincial Court of Zaragoza since in the first instance the court had not agreed with her. What she claimed from her is that she had the right to part of the inheritance of her deceased husband, since he had not made a will before her death, and according to her legal system she had the right to the usufruct of part Of the same.
The legitimate heirs (children and nephews) refused to share the inheritance with her and argued that she had no right to it since, despite not being legally separated, they had been de facto separated for many years.
Hearing Resolution
The hearing, to respond to this case, was based on the following:
He said that the issue in this case was to determine the scope of article 216 of Law 1/99 of February 24 on successions due to death in Aragon, which says: "The appeal to the surviving spouse will not take place if the death of the deceased was judicially decreed the separation..., or if they were separated in fact by mutual agreement that is irrefutably recorded".
In this case, no one disputes that the spouses had been separated for more than 20 years and living in separate addresses.
Therefore, the question was to conclude if the de facto separation was by mutual agreement and if it was reliably confirmed, since the law intends to exclude from the call to inheritance the spouse who is separated in terms of affections and interests, since he or she does not have ties of blood with the deceased.
The separation imposed by one of the spouses without the consent of the other would not be enough to deprive the survivor of the hereditary right.
The mutual agreement does not require documentary proof, it can be express or implied.
Reliability is not synonymous with documentary evidence, but rather refers to what proves by itself, with such strength and capacity for conviction that it excludes any doubt or contrary reasoning.
On this basis, the Chamber finds that the two lived apart for more than 20 years, not only by residence, but also by personal and economic ties typical of a marital relationship.
In addition, the prolonged separation implies a mutual acceptance of that de facto situation that has been consolidated. This is how the STS understood it June 13, 1986. Moreover, in the present case, there is no evidence of any attempt to recover coexistence by either spouse, when there was no impediment in this regard, since both resided in Madrid, both worked in the same company and, therefore, had sufficient economic independence to reside independently.
In addition, the reliability of that reality is clear.
Therefore, the requirements of article 216 are met, and the appeal was dismissed, so the previous sentence was confirmed.
Jurisprudence seen in the case
Other rulings on related inheritances without a will:
- Soria Provincial Court – First Section – Jurisdiction: Civil – 2 – Res. No.: 42/2006 – Rec. No.: 38/2006
- Provincial Court of Orense – Second Section – Jurisdiction: Civil – 1
- Supreme Court – First Chamber – Jurisdiction: Civil – 2- Rec. No.: 4065 / 2000
Use of new technologies in inheritance
In everything related to inheritances, new technologies are already being used in legal services. It is what is known as legaltech. One of the most important companies is Inheritance (founded by Ramon Pratdesaba, Lluisa Morales and Rubén Mendiola) that since 2019 has been applying its window technology to carry out all the relevant procedures in the civil registry, property registry, the notary, financial institutions and insurance companies. In addition to facilitating and simplifying the work of the tax professional, saving taxes for heirs.
Image Rafa Edges en Pixabay
