The Provincial Court of Barcelona has sentenced a woman to pay 86,670 euros to the two children of her deceased partner as part of the legitimate inheritance, so each one will receive 43,335 euros. Although the woman alleged that the money received to buy a home was a gift without a donation, The court determined that it was a collatable donation. This decision partially revoked a previous ruling, increasing the amount that the children must receive and confirming their right to inheritance according to Catalan Civil Law.
It all started when a man, before his death, gave his partner 346,680 euros so that she could buy a home. In his will, he appointed the woman as his main heir and left the legitimate heir to his two children. Despite their will, after death, the children discovered that they had not received the part of the inheritance that was legitimately theirs (generally a quarter of the total, distributed among the heirs) and decided to claim their rights in court.
The dispute centered on whether the money given for the purchase of the home should be considered a donation attributable to the legitimate or simply a gift without a donation. The children argued that the amount should be included in the calculation of the legitimacy, since it was part of the deceased’s assets. For her part, the woman alleged that The delivery of the money was not a donation, but rather a liberality of use.that is, a gift without the intention of affecting hereditary rights.
This conflict reached the courts when the children filed a lawsuit to claim the legitimate share. In the first instance, The court recognized that the woman had to pay them 38,547.50 euros each.. Despite the ruling, both parties were not satisfied. On the one hand, the children asked for more money, while the woman insisted that the money received should not be counted as part of the inheritance. For everything, both parties raised the dispute before the Provincial Court of Barcelona.
The money received as part of the donation
At the Provincial Court of Barcelona, the court analyzed the case applying article 451-5 of the Civil Code of Catalonia (CCCat), which regulates the legitimate and establishes that any donation must be included in its calculation made by the deceased in the last 10 years before his death, unless proven otherwise. In this context, the Court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the money given was a mere liberality of useas the woman alleged. On the contrary, the evidence pointed to it being a donation attributable to the legitimate party.
Furthermore, the court recalled that, according to article 217 of the Civil Procedure Law (LEC), the burden of The proof fell on the woman, who had to prove that the money received was not a donation.. By not presenting sufficient evidence, the court determined that the amount had to be computed as a donation and, therefore, included in the calculation of the legitimate. As a reference, he cited previous jurisprudence, emphasizing that the intention to donate cannot be presumed and must be clearly demonstrated, even in close family relationships.
Finally, the court rejected the woman’s argument about a possible implicit disinheritance of the children, pointing out that, in accordance with article 451-18 of the CCCat, the disinheritance must be express and based on legal causes, none of which are complied in this case. As a result, the Provincial Court increased the legitimate amount that had to be paid to the children, setting it at 43,335 euros for each one, plus interest legal from the date of death of the deceased. The court justified this decision by considering that the woman had not proven that she had her own resources to purchase the home, which reinforced the presumption that the money came directly from the deceased.