The Provincial Court of Girona has sentenced a widower to pay monthly compensation of 807 euros to the grandchildren of his deceased wife for having made exclusive and exclusive use of a home that he had partially inherited after the death of his wife. The court understands that he lacked the right of preferential use granted by the Catalan Civil Code, having started a new cohabitation with another woman, which extinguishes the known any of plor (year of mourning). He property had been inherited equally between the widower and the grandchildren of the deceased.
According to the ruling of July 23, 2023, the woman died, leaving her grandchildren as heirs of her half of the property, who They formally accepted the inheritance three months later. The other half still belonged to the widower. The grandchildren confirmed that the widower was completely occupying the home, preventing them from having any access, and they demanded compensation through burofax equivalent to 50% of the market value of the rental, estimated at 1,614 euros per month. The widower opposed paying said amount, since he alleged that there was no marital coexistence with the other woman.
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The Court of First Instance No. 3 of Figueres recognized the widower’s right to any of plorfor not considering coexistence with another person proven. However, once that one-year period had passed, the grandchildren had the right to receive compensation for the exclusive use of the home.
The widower lost the right of use when he began cohabiting with another woman
The Provincial Court of Girona, after evaluating a detective report and other evidence, concluded that the widower lived stably with another woman, which extinguished his right to occupy the home exclusively in accordance with article 231-31 of the Catalan Civil Code. He also cited article 386 of the Civil Procedure Law, which allows the judge to presume facts based on indirect evidence, such as the fact that the defendant did not spend the night at the home and resided in another home with the new couple.
The Court determined that exclusive occupation causes harm to the co-owners, although it is not necessary to prove it, and set compensation at 807 euros per month, from the time the grandchildren made the official claim until the defendant ceases that use.
However, the sentence was not final and an appeal could be filed against it before the Supreme Court or the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia.