Can a child benefit over his siblings in inheritance? This is what the Law says
Parents don’t have a favorite child, or that’s what they often say. However, if you have it, whatever the reason, the question arises: is it possible to benefit a child over the other siblings in the inheritance? The short answer is yes, But first we must understand how inheritance works. The first thing to remember is that the Spanish civil code He is responsible for legislating the distribution of assets (or debts).
As stipulated by law, inheritances are divided into three parts: the legitimate partwhich corresponds to the forced heirs (ascendants, descendants and spouse); the improvementalso for forced heirs, as the testator wishes; and the third freely availablefor family, friends, philanthropism, etc. Spouses have the right to usufruct, a part of the inheritance, which if they have children corresponds to ‘the improvement’.
How to benefit one child over another?
As a practical example, if a person leaves an inheritance of 90,000 euros, the distribution would be made as follows: 30,000 would go equally to the legitimate part, another 30,000 to the improvement and the last 30,000 to free disposal. To benefit a child, The testator may choose to leave the improvement and free disposalin addition to the legitimate part that corresponds to it by law.
A father can also leave a greater percentage to one child over another through living gifts, usufructs and legacies. But How do legacies work? Legacies are specific assignments of assets or rights in a will, given to a person (legatee). It can be an amount of money, a property, an object, or even alimony. However, the legacies They must not harm the legitimate rights of forced heirs.
Key Inheritance Considerations
In some autonomous communities (such as the Basque Country, Catalonia or Galicia), there are their own inheritance laws that even allow disinherit a child without the need for justification. Therefore, it is most recommended make a notarial will so that your wishes come true and avoid problems, especially if you want to benefit someone significantly.
