When a family member dies and does not leave a will, the processing of the inheritance must be done as established by law. This is called INTESTATE SUCCESSION.
Said succession takes place in some of these following cases.
- The person dies without leaving a will or the will is void or has lost its validity.
- The will does not have an heir or the testator does not refer to whom his assets correspond to.
- When the heir dies before the testator and rejects the inheritance.
- The heir cannot inherit due to lack of capacity.
When there is no will, the law says that those who inherit are the relatives of the deceased, his or her widow or widower, and the state last. According to what is established, it is inherited in the following order:
- Sons and descendants.
First of all, children and their descendants inherit from their parents and ancestors. They do it in the following way:
The children inherit by their own right and the inheritance corresponds to them in equal parts, the grandchildren and other descendants inherit by right of representation, and if someone dies leaving heirs, the corresponding part would be distributed among those who are in equal parts.
2. Ascendants.
If there are no children or other descendants, the ancestors would inherit:
*The father and mother inherit equally.
*If one of them had died, the other would receive the entire inheritance.
*If there is neither father nor mother, the closest ancestors will inherit equally.
- Spouse.
If there are no ascendants and descendants, the spouse will inherit, as long as they were not separated.
4. Brothers.
The next family members to inherit are the brothers and since these brothers are both father and mother, they would inherit equally.
5. Relatives.
When there is no relative of the above, the other relatives will inherit up to the fourth degree (example: the uncles of the deceased).
- The state
When there are no family members with the right to inherit, the state does so, which will distribute the inheritance into three-thirds destined for public or private purposes.
It may also be the case that the person with the right to inherit has died but has descendants, through the right of representation they will inherit what the deceased would have inherited.
What must be done to receive the inheritance?
To receive the inheritance, you must gather all the necessary documentation, which is:
-Death certificate
-Certificate of death coverage
-Declaration of heirs
An inventory of both assets and debts will have to be carried out.
The assets will have to be distributed among the heirs, which must be done by a professional.
Pay INHERITANCE TAX in the autonomous community, within a period of 6 months and can be extended for 6 more months if requested.
And finally, upon receiving the goods, they must be registered, if it was a property, in the property registry.
