Make a will When you get to the end of life it is the only way to make sure Your heritage is distributed as you want and do not end in non -expected hands. However, most Spaniards do not know the real implications of each clause and, in many cases, do not even know the existence of mechanisms to protect family goods.
Therefore, in this case, if you live as a couple or you are married and you have no children, a simple carelessness when it comes to testament can cause your entire family heritage to end in your spouse’s family. This is noted by María Cristina Clemente, notary and member of the ‘Notariabuendía’ team, in a video posted on her social networks. “All your goods can end up in your partner’s family, even those you inherited from your parents, if you don’t take precautions.”
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The mistake of appointing your partner heir
The most frequent error, he explains, is that couples without offspring that, by routine or ignorance, are appointed heirs to each other, are convinced that they protect their assets. What many ignore is that, in these cases, the spouse that survives not only receives the common heritage, but also the assets of their partner, inherited from their own parents.
However, when the second member dies, that heritage ends, by law, in the family of the last to die. That is, your partner’s relatives would be the ones who will receive your goods.
What to do if you don’t want your heritage to end in the hands of your partner’s relatives
Given this, there are two possibilities “if you want those inherited goods to remain in your respective families,” explains Clemente.
The first option is leave those assets inherited directly to the relatives you want (brothers or nephews, for example) in the will. And the second consists of leaving those goods to your spouse, but with the forecast that, when he dies, they automatically pass the relatives that you choose.
“You can do it in two ways, with the obligation of the widower to conserve the assets in favor of the final beneficiaries or with the possibility of selling them only in case of necessity. It is what is called the trust substitution.”
In this way, this will allow those who inheritance to enjoy the heritage while living, but in turn it is guaranteed that these assets do not leave the family that the testator chooses when it dies.