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Many millionaires, among which are Bill Gates or Warren Buffettthey have already raised their children that, at their death, They will not inherit their enormous fortune. In those cases, even inherit 1% I would already imply becoming a millionaire.
However, the reality of the rest of the mortals It is very different And, in some cases, receiving an inheritance not only is not a guarantee of patrimonial enrichment, but even what is inherited Be important debts which can put the heritage of the heir at risk. What to do in those cases?
Real case: a debt of 128,000 euros. In a recent case publishedby Work newsa daughter received a claim from Caixabank after the death of her father, who had left a debt of 128,000 euros with the bank. The banking entity intended that Your daughter assumed the debtbut justice clarified that this would only be possible if she previously accepted the inheritance. Something that the defendant had not done.
While the heir does not make an official acceptance of the inheritance, what is called Reading inheritancein which both inheritance and debt do not have a defined holder until the resignation of the inheritance or its acceptance occurs.
Obligations of creditors and debt verification. The creditors, as in the case of Caixabank, can try to claim debts to the possible heirs after the death of the holder. However, they cannot demand payment if the inheritance has not yet been formally accepted by any relative.
To know if an inheritance includes debts, it is advisable to request information in property records, cadastre offices, banks and consult testamentary documentation.
How hereditary debts are managed. According to him Article 661 of the Civil Codethe heirs assume both the assets and the debts and loads of the inheritance, so they have the right to know both the goods they will receive and the debts if they exist before accepting it. It is not possible to accept inheritance and reject debts.
The Civil Code provides for three alternatives to an inheritance: pure and simple acceptance, acceptance for the benefit of inventory and resignation. The easiest to understand in concept are the resignation, in which the whole of the legacy is renounced, formed by both their assets and their debts, and the inheritance (and their creditors) remain without a person against whom to claim the collection.
On the other hand, pure and simple acceptance implies Complete acceptance of inheritancewith the debts and loads they bring linked. This acceptance implies that the heir becomes the new debtor and must pay off the outstanding debts with the creditors of the deceased, as well as the corresponding taxes.
The third way: acceptance for the benefit of inventory. There is a third way in which, the debt settlement is carried out on the goods that form the inheritance, so that the debts are first settled and the heir receives the excess after paying off.
This figure is especially indicated in case of a high debt because, unlike pure and simple acceptance, in this case the heir does not respond with his own personal heritage, but with the legacy. While with pure and simple acceptance, creditors could begin to claim the amounts due asking for the seizure of personal heritage that the heir already had.
That debt that you speak to me. Heir status does not force to accept inheritance and its debts, guarantees or linked loads. If the amount of charges is superior to the goods, it is enough that none of the heirs accept the inheritance and both the legacy and the debt will pass to the State.
Although there is a legal figure known as tacit resignation, in which a mood of not accepting inheritance is guessed, it is recommended to record it through a notarial act. With that act, the heir is exempted who has resigned from any claim of debt or derived fiscal charges. That is, as if inheritance, their debts or their tax obligations would never have existed for those who renounce it. According to data of the General Council of Notaries, in 2024 there were 54,866 resignations to inheritances, a good part of them because you are linking with Inasumable debts by heirs.
Once accepted, it can be distributed. The legacy is linked in the same proportion of goods and loads, so, in case several heirs accept the inheritance and its charges, they will do so in the same proportions of goods and debts, which will be distributed equally between them or in the proportion they agree on in the deed of inheritance.
That means that, for example, there are three heirs, each will assume 33.3% of the inheritance and their debts. If one of them did not pay their part to the creditors, they could not ask for responsibilities to the rest of the heirs, since that debt would not correspond to them.
On the other hand, the Article 1082 of the Civil Code It establishes that creditors can also demand the liquidation of their debt before making that partition between heirs, so that the total amount of the debt is satisfied and the rest is distributed equally among the heirs.
Image | Unspash (Towfiqui Barbhuiya)
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