by Jesus Barrena 
La Declaration of heirs occurs when in an inheritance in which there has been no will, it is known as intestate or intestate succession.
According to article 668 of the Civil Code, referring to holographic testament, the provisions of the deceased will be followed, and in the event of non-existence of the will or in the event that the will itself exceeds the rules of mandatory law, the provisions of the articles 930 and following (articles relating to intestate succession).
In order to inherit in a intestate succession o inheritance without testament, it is necessary that whoever considers being a legitimate heir, you must carry out the process of declaration of heirs.
What is the declaration of heirs
In case of being considered a legitimate heir in a succession in which the deceased has not made a will, that is, it is an intestate succession, the heirs have to promote a declaration of heirs through two forms that will depend on the relationship with the deceased (deceased).
The declaration of heirs can be requested by one of them or by all of them. For when it is the deceased spouse, parents, children (direct line), the procedure to follow is the one explained below.
Request before a notary that the drawing up of a "certificate of notoriety" to prove that there is a relationship with the deceased. It must be requested before the notary belonging to the area of the domicile where he had his habitual residence or that of death.
Documentation accrediting the relationship of kinship would have to be delivered to this notary body, which would be the death certificate, Wills that proves the non-existence of a will, birth certificate of the children of the deceased and of death if there were any deceased, marriage certificate of the deceased, the ID of the deceased and failing that the registration certificate of the deceased.
In the case of Collateral Relatives: Brothers, uncles, nephews, etc... They will have to request it through a judicial procedure, requesting before the court of first instance of the deceased's domicile that the Declaration of heirs, for which, it will be necessary to prove the relationship and that there are no forced heirs.
The documentation to be provided in the application is the same as that which must be presented before a notary in the case of direct relatives.
judicial resolution in which the competent Judge will determine who are the heirs of the deceased and whose document will be necessary to carry out the partition and adjudication of the inheritance (again before a notary).
To consult a practical case see Practical jurisprudential case on inheritances without a will.
Inheritance and Legaltech
The new technologies applied to legal services, what is known as legaltech, have also reached inheritances. One of the success stories is Inheritance, founded in 2019 by Ramon Pratdesaba, Lluisa Morales y Ruben Mendiola They offer assistance and help in the probate process to many clients.
This can be done thanks to your single window technology, which performs the procedures derived from an inheritance with agility in the different entities such as the civil registration, property registration, the notary, financial institutions and insurance companies. It also makes the work of the prosecutor who will try to save maximum taxes to the heirs.
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