The courts confirm that disinheritance on grounds of psychological abuse is possible

Can a person be disinherited for psychological abuse? That is the question answered by the Provincial Court of Albacete in a ruling in July 2025. In this article, we will discuss the cases in which a person can be disinherited, the causes of disinheritance regulated by the Civil Code, and the content of the ruling handed down in relation to this issue.

What is disinheritance and what requirements must be met?

Disinheritance consists of depriving a person who is an heir of their legal inheritance. It is done through a will and several requirements established in the Civil Code must be met.

For disinheritance to be valid, several conditions must be met:

• It must be expressly stated in the will.
• One of the causes regulated by law must exist and be included in the will.
• The person being disinherited must be expressly named.

What are the grounds for disinheriting children?

The Civil Code regulates several grounds for disinheritance, which vary depending on who the compulsory heir is: a child, an ascendant or a spouse.

Specifically, in the case of children, they may be disinherited in the following cases:

• When they have been convicted of certain crimes against the parent or persons close to them.
• When the child has falsely accused the parent of committing a crime.
• When the child has forced the parent, through violence, threats or deception, to grant or modify the will.
• If the child has prevented the will from being made or a previous will from being revoked, or has concealed or falsified a subsequent will.
• When they have seriously mistreated or insulted the testator.

In these cases, the child loses their right to their legitimate share of the inheritance.

Specific causes for disinheritance of ascendants

Parents and other ascendants may also be disinherited, in addition to the causes we have seen above, for specific reasons such as:

• The testator having lost parental authority.
• Having denied maintenance to their children or descendants.
• One of the parents having attempted to take the life of the other, if there has been no reconciliation between them.

Disinheritance due to psychological abuse

As mentioned above, the Provincial Court of Albacete has analysed a case of psychological abuse as grounds for disinheritance. The testator died and her granddaughters had been excluded from the inheritance, so they contested the will because they considered that there was no cause for disinheritance regulated in the Civil Code. They said that the deceased had made the decision under the influence of her children, who were the direct beneficiaries of the estate.

The granddaughters maintained that there had been a rift in the family after the death of their father and that third parties had influenced their grandmother to cut off the relationship. Both the heirs and the executor denied these allegations and claimed that the granddaughters had stopped visiting and calling her, which had seriously affected their grandmother's health.

The Court of First Instance No. 1 of Casas Ibáñez declared that the will was valid and ruled in favour of the heirs, considering that the relationship between the grandmother and her granddaughters had been broken off by the latter. Subsequently, the Provincial Court of Albacete upheld this argument.

The Provincial Court of Albacete based its decision on the provisions of Article 853.2 of the Civil Code, which considers physical abuse or serious verbal abuse to be grounds for disinheritance. In other words, the Civil Code does not mention psychological abuse, but the Supreme Court has long considered psychological abuse to be a form of physical abuse, although it must be proven that significant damage has been caused to the testator's health.

To support the argument regarding the grandmother's emotional abandonment, the testimony of the executor and a niece who was not an heir was taken into account. These two individuals recounted how the grandmother felt abandoned and hurt by the indifference of her two granddaughters and had on several occasions expressed her intention to disinherit them.

Therefore, the Provincial Court rejected the granddaughters' appeal and upheld the judgment of the Court of First Instance. As a result, the will was deemed valid, as was the disinheritance of the granddaughters.

What happens to the disinherited person's share of the inheritance?

When a person is disinherited, they lose their right to inheritance as a legitimate heir, and that share of the inheritance will go to the children or descendants of the disinherited person, who will take their place.

If the disinherited person has no descendants, the part of the inheritance that would have corresponded to them will be distributed among the rest of the heirs, according to the provisions of the will.

Is it possible to appeal against disinheritance?

As we have seen in the Albacete case, it is possible to contest a will in the event of disinheritance.

The aggrieved heir may go to court and argue:

• That the testator has not defined any legal cause for disinheritance in the will.
• That the legal cause was alleged, but did not exist or cannot be proven.
• Finally, that there was a reconciliation between the testator and the disinherited person before the death.

If the disinheritance is declared null and void by the court, the heir will recover their legitimate share.

The importance of seeking advice from an expert inheritance solicitor in cases of disinheritance

If you have been disinherited, it is important to seek the help of an expert inheritance lawyer to study your case and verify whether there is a legal cause for disinheritance and whether it has been carried out in accordance with the law.

If the disinheritance is illegal, you can go to court and file a lawsuit to have the will annulled.

If you believe that you have been unjustly disinherited and need the advice of a lawyer specialising in inheritance law, contact us so that we can analyse your case, verify the existence of legal grounds for disinheritance and take all the necessary steps to contest the will if necessary.