Is my partner entitled to my parents' inheritance?

There is a question that arises for all married people at the time of the death of their parents: "What right does my partner have to my inheritance? Fortunately, the answer is simpler than it seems, as this question is clearly set out in the Civil Code. Here we are going to explain it to you in a simple way so that you can understand it without a great deal of legal knowledge.

Does the matrimonial property regime have an influence?

As you know, in Spain there is the possibility of getting married under two different regimes. The most common one, although it is in clear statistical decline, is the community of property regime, which dictates that all assets acquired after the union are considered common to both spouses. The other regime is the separation of property regime, which stipulates that each spouse retains ownership of property acquired before and after marriage.

Are inherited assets personal or community property?

However, inheritances are private. In legal terms, this means that the assets that make up the inheritance belong solely and exclusively to the person who inherits them.

As we said before, the community of acquisitions establishes that all assets acquired after the celebration of the marriage become community property. However, the right to inheritance is considered to be prior, so that, although it becomes effective when the union has already taken place, the spouse has no right of ownership over it.

Now, is my wife or husband entitled to my parents' inheritance in any way?

As mentioned above, the spouse has no rights whatsoever to the property of the inheritance, regardless of whether the couple formed a community of property or separate property partnership at the time of marriage.

However, he or she can still benefit from the use and enjoyment of the property inherited by his or her partner. For example, imagine that you inherit your parents' house and you decide to sell the one you share with her and move there. In that case, your spouse will have use of the house, even though the property is exclusively yours.

This is one of the questions that raises the most doubts when it comes to determining whether my husband or wife is entitled to my parents' inheritance. Fundamentally, because the idea may be conveyed that, by sharing use, enjoyment and even expenses, the property becomes community property.

But this is not the case. In the event of separation or divorce, the inherited property would not be included in the liquidation of the community property, and would remain the exclusive property of the spouse who inherited it.

Is it the same with inherited debts?

We always tend to look on the bright side of inheritances, when the truth is that they can also involve the payment of debts. In this case, they do not become part of the community of property either, but must be paid by the inheriting spouse out of his or her own assets.

This can, of course, be problematic for the couple in financial terms. In fact, this is a frequent reason why marital contracts are frequently signed. Another interesting and quite common option is to assign part of the property to the spouse in order to jointly meet the debts.

What happens to the inheritance if the spouse dies?

This is a point that can be quite problematic. In case the inherited property has been held as a separate property during the marriage without any change in ownership, the law states that it will pass to the legitimate heirs, who are usually the children.

If the inheritance includes the house in which the couple resided, the surviving spouse may be entitled to continue to use it for a certain period of time. In this case, the provisions of the current legislation and, above all, of the will, if the deceased left one, must be taken into account.

Inheritance in community of property: conclusions

At this point, there are a number of aspects that you should be clear about. The first of these is that inheritances are private and, therefore, even if you are married in community of property, your partner has no legal right to the assets you receive, although it is true that he or she may enjoy them under certain circumstances.

This, which may be positive in terms of protecting your assets in the event of separation or divorce, has a problematic flip side. On the one hand, if the inheritance is associated with some kind of debt, your partner may refuse to lend you financial support to help you pay it off. At least, if you do not cede part of the ownership of these assets to him/her, which would mean that the privative nature of these assets would be lost.

Similarly, if you do not make a will or do not share ownership and, for example, you both live in a house that you inherited in the past, you can leave your partner in a bind if you die suddenly. After all, she would have no rights to it after your death and the decisions would be taken by your legitimate heirs.

That said, we recommend that you contact our inheritance lawyers if you still have any doubts about what rights your partner has to your inheritance. We will be happy to answer them and help you make the best decision.