An heir must pay nearly €100,000 to his siblings after a judge annuls the will

Disinheritance is possible under Spanish law, but there are also many cases that end up in court. This is what happened in a case analysed by the Provincial Court of Barcelona, which ruled that two siblings who were disinherited by their father were entitled to receive their legitimate share of the inheritance, as it was not proven that the lack of a relationship was solely the fault of the children. Therefore, the Provincial Court annulled the will that disinherited them, meaning that the brother who had been left as the sole heir must pay almost €100,000 to the other two siblings as their legitimate share. We analyse this below.

The case of disinheritance analysed

In this case, we find a father who made a will in 2021, shortly before his death. In this will, he named one of his three children as his sole heir and disinherited the other two due to a lack of relationship between them and the testator and his wife.

The Court of First Instance and Preliminary Investigation of Manresa considered the will to be valid because it understood that the family breakdown had been proven. However, the Provincial Court of Barcelona subsequently overturned the decision after reviewing the testimonies and documents that had been submitted in the proceedings.

In this case, it was analysed that disinheritance was only valid if the cause was legally regulated, was true and could only be attributed to the legitimate heir, but it was found, after analysis of the evidence, that the lack of relationship between the two children and their father and mother was due to conflicts that had arisen because of the mother's incapacitation.

Furthermore, during the last years of his life, the father suffered from health problems that could have influenced his will.

As a result of the above, the Provincial Court of Barcelona ordered the brother who received the entire inheritance to pay the other two €46,000 each, plus legal interest from the date of their father's death until the date of the ruling.

Another case of disinheritance that has been overturned

The Provincial Court of Seville also declared the disinheritance of one of the children of a person who died in the province to be null and void and recognised his right to receive his legitimate inheritance.

In this case, the will was dated 31 January 2013 and included a clause whereby the testator disinherited his son. Subsequently, the son filed a lawsuit requesting the annulment of the disinheritance and the recognition of his legitimate inheritance. The case was examined by the Court of First Instance of Sanlúcar la Mayor, which upheld the claim in its entirety and annulled the disinheritance. The sisters of the disinherited son appealed to the Provincial Court of Seville, as they had been ordered to pay costs and considered that this was not appropriate since the other son's legitimate share had been recognised in practice. The court considered that there was insufficient evidence that, if the heir's legitimate share had been recognised, it would impose costs on the heirs and recognise the right to the legitimate share of the son who had been disinherited.

How can conflicts be avoided in cases of disinheritance?

Disinheritance often causes considerable conflict among heirs, which can be avoided or reduced by following a series of guidelines:

• Clearly state in the will the reasons for disinheriting a person.
• Provide documents that prove the cause of disinheritance, such as medical reports, copies of written messages, or testimonies from people who have experienced the situation.
• Seek the help of a lawyer who specialises in inheritance to analyse the case and advise on how to draft the will to prevent it from being contested.

If conflicts arise despite these precautions, it is important to:

• Attempt to negotiate between the co-heirs to reach an out-of-court settlement and distribute the inheritance.
• Gather all the evidence necessary to protect our interests.
• Once again, seek the help of lawyers specialising in inheritance and succession who have experience in cases of conflicts between heirs and disinheritance.

MASC (Appropriate means of dispute resolution) in disinheritance cases

Organic Law 1/2025 on efficiency in justice establishes the need to first resort to an appropriate means of dispute resolution as a basic requirement for filing a lawsuit.

It also regulates a series of means for conflict resolution, such as mediation, conciliation, collaborative law, and negotiation.

The following are considered forms of proof of compliance with the legal obligation:

• Certified email.
• Burofax.
• Certified ordinary mail.
• Email with confirmation of receipt.
• Notarial deed.
• WhatsApp or SMS messages.
• Certificate issued by a third party who has been involved in the negotiation.
• Confidential binding offer.
• Declaration of impossibility to attempt an agreement. This can be used if the other party's address is unknown or there is no known means of contacting that party. In such cases, a sworn statement must be drawn up, including attempts to contact or the impossibility of contacting the other person.

The document used to prove the attempt to reach an agreement must include:

• The identification of both parties.
• The subject of the negotiation (what has been negotiated).
• A clear invitation to negotiate.

The court hearing the case will analyse whether this requirement has been met and will verify both that the subject matter of the negotiation is the same as the subject matter of the proceedings and that all the conditions required by law have been met.

As we have seen, cases of disinheritance may be challenged by the disinherited party. In such cases, under the new regulations, appropriate dispute resolution methods must be applied prior to filing a lawsuit.

If you need the help of expert inheritance lawyers, contact us and we will analyse your case.