Practice areas

• the notary, which can be open (most used) or closed, here you must take care to comply with all formalities to be valid.
• the holograph, must be written and signed in autograph by the testator with the indication of the place and date of the award. After the death of the testator, it is necessary to be warned and recorded, as regulated in current legislation. In this case you also have to be very careful about the formalities and deadlines.

There are other instruments such as succession pacts, which is a more complex figure. A detailed study is needed to assess what is most appropriate in each case.
When drafting a will, it is necessary to determine whether or not we leave the right to the children, appoint at least one heir, establish legacies, is to that is to say, to leave specific assets to specific people, to provide for replacements in the event of prematurity or resignation of the heirs or legatees and to appoint a guardian and estate administrator for the minor children. different possible options and adapted the final wording to the needs of each case.

It is recommended to incorporate this document in the patient's medical history. .

In Catalonia, for example, in order to facilitate access to doctors who must take it into account, the DVA can be registered in the Register of Advance Wills of the Department of Health. In this way, the document is incorporated into the patients' shared medical history.

The succession is deferred at the time of the death of the causer. If the inheritance has not yet been accepted or repudiated, we say that it is in a recumbent situation.

The lying inheritance consists of the assets, rights and obligations of the causer that have not yet been accepted by the heirs.

A lying inheritance is an untitled inheritance. If it cannot meet the regular payment of the debts owed by the causer, then it can be declared bankrupt.

When the inheritance is in this recumbent situation, the called heirs can perform acts of conservation, defense and ordinary administration, even take possession of the property and exercise possessory actions. These acts do not imply the tacit acceptance of the inheritance unless the title or quality of heir is taken.

With acceptance, of whatever kind, the lying inheritance ceases to exist, because there is already a holder who has taken over it.

Upon acceptance, the heir will be liable for all debts of the causer with the patrimony of the inheritance which he has entered into his own pre-existing patrimony, that is, with the hereditary property, and with his own personal patrimony.

In pure and simple acceptance, the heir is responsible for all the debts of the causer and responds with the assets of the causer and his own.

In the acceptance for the benefit of inventory, the heir is not obliged to pay the debts of the causer but only to the extent permitted by the latter's assets, ie the heir's assets are not confused with the relics

Once the inheritance has been accepted, the corresponding taxes will have to be paid. We take care of all the deadlines for the settlement of taxes and if necessary, we manage requests for deferrals or installments of these.

If there are several people interested in an inheritance and an heir does not want to accept, the judge can be asked to challenge the heir to state whether he accepts or repudiates the inheritance. This assumption can also be given in cases of legitimate claim.

• OBTAINING DOCUMENTS

In order to accept the inheritance, several documents are required, we advise you and manage to obtain all of them.

• INHERITANCE AWARD

In the acceptance of inheritance, in addition to the acceptance itself, it is necessary to award the hereditary assets.

Both in the case of an intestate succession, where the causer has not defined his will or in terms of the appointment of heirs or in the distribution of assets, and in the case that despite the existence of a will, the causer has defined the heirs distributing their property in equal parts, in both cases it will be necessary to adjudicate them by means of the partition operation and in this distribution of goods it is when controversies between the heirs can arise, mainly by the valuation if it is mainly real estate.

On the other hand, if the testator already awards the property in the same will either universally (heir) or privately (legatee), there is usually no controversy in it.

• DIVISION OF INHERITANCE

The judicial division of the inheritance must be urged, ultimately, if the heirs do not reach an agreement on the adjudication of the relict property.

We manage all the inheritance, defending the interests of our clients, in all its phases: previous study, preparation of all the documents, request of extensions of the taxes when it corresponds, writing and / or supervision of the deeds or documents relevant private, settlement of taxes and registration of estates in the Property Register. always looking after their interests in the inheritance.

In Catalonia the heirs of the causer are his descendants in equal parts. The surviving spouse or cohabitant in a stable couple may choose between the usufruct of all the property or may exercise the power of commutation and be awarded the usufruct of the habitual residence plus a quarter of the inheritance. In the absence of descendants and spouses, the ascendants are heirs. In this case, it is necessary to grant a deed of declaration of heirs before a notary, having to comply with a series of bureaucratic requirements, as well as the presence of two witnesses. After the legal term, the heir who has become the heir may grant a deed of acceptance of inheritance and be awarded the property.

When the causer has no descendants, spouse or cohabitant in a stable union of couple or ascendants , by default the heirs are siblings, nephews and so on to fourth degree relatives. In this case, a lawsuit must be filed in the court of the last domicile of the causer.

This order of succession changes according to the law that applies to the succession.

The people who have the right to legitimacy are the descendants of the causer. In the event that the causer has no descendants, their ascendants may claim the right of legitimacy. The heir is the person obliged to make the payment.

In Catalonia, the legitimacy is a credit right that consists of 25% of the relict flow, that is, the assets existing at the time of death and the assets donated in life by the causer (donations made during the last 10 years), with deduction of debts and expenses of the last illness and of burial or cremation.

The two most controversial aspects are the valuation of assets and the computation of certain assets for the purposes of calculating the legitimacy.

The right to claim legitimacy expires ten years after the death of the causer.

In the event of a disinheritance, we advise you on what can be done and how to claim it.

You can also count on our advice if you want to sell, lease or optimize the return on your assets, whether they have been inherited or your staff. We draft, supervise the deeds, contracts, pay the corresponding taxes, communications to the different administrations and procedures with the Property Registry.

We must apply it when the causer was national of a Member State and at the time of his death had his habitual residence in another Member State.

In the wills the law which we wish to apply to our succession may be determined. The choice of law is one of the most important aspects of the Regulation.

When we find a succession with an international element, we take into account all the necessary aspects in order to guarantee the will of the causer and the legal security of the heirs.

The incapacitation procedure is carried out in court. The judge must issue a sentence determining the incapacity, his degree (it can be total or partial) and the figure of guard and protection (guardianship, curatorship or judicial defender).

In case of an advance rapid treatment of the disease, it is possible to request urgent precautionary measures, such as the administration of the patient's assets during the process.

We take care of the entire judicial procedure and, subsequently, if we are instructed by the guardian to present the accounts to the court, depending on the frequency determined by the judge.

Montserrat Romaguera, as a professional mediator registered in the register of active private law mediators, of the The Department of Justice, of the Generalitat de Catalunya and also in the register of mediators of the Barcelona Bar Association, manages the entire mediation process, which will help you resolve certain conflicts effectively and without the need to bring a legal action, in the event that an agreement is reached between the parties.

Mediation is understood to be more advantageous because:

• Restores communication and facilitates collaboration between the parties.
• The agreements reached allow for faster solutions tailored to the specific needs of the parties.
• Emotionally it is much more beneficial than legal proceedings.
• In terms of time, it is a shorter procedure than the judicial one, in addition to being much cheaper.
• Helps to pacify the relationship of people in conflict.