The Provincial Court of Barcelona has sentenced a man to pay 46,399 euros to each of his two brothers (92,798 euros in total), plus legal interest, by declaring the disinheritance that his father included in his will unjust. The court considers that it was not proven that the lack of relationship between the father and the disinherited children was their exclusive fault, and that the testamentary decision was influenced by a cognitive and emotional deterioration of the testator in the last years of his life.
According to the ruling of July 29, 2025, the father in his will disinherited his two eldest children, leaving all inheritance to an only son. To do this, he alleged that they had been estranged for more than six years and had not paid attention to him or his wife who was in a residence.
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The disinherited children contested the willassured that the estrangement with his father was not voluntary, but derived from a family problem. They also explained that the father had memory problems and confusion that the younger brother had taken advantage of to influence his decisions and limit family contact.
The Court of First Instance No. 6 of Manresa dismissed the claim and considered the prolonged absence of relationship due to the children to be proven and declared the disinheritance valid.
Disinheritance cannot be used as a family punishment, but only when there is an accredited legal cause
The Provincial Court of Barcelona revoked the lower court ruling and declared the disinheritance unjust by applying article 451-17.2.e of the Civil Code of Catalonia (CCCat), which allows depriving a child of the legitimate inheritance only when the absence of a relationship with the deceased is continuous and exclusively attributable to the heir.
In this case, he considered that the estrangement was not exclusive nor attributable solely to the children, but rather had its origin in family conflicts and the father’s cognitive deterioration, proven by witnesses from the residence where his wife was.
It was also highlighted that both the lawyer and the director of the residence confirmed that the father “showed jealousy and distrust towards his older children”, a behavior that evidenced an altered mental state. Therefore, the Court concluded that the disinheritance did not respond to a rational and free will, but to a perception influenced by his illness.
Relying on the doctrine of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia and the Supreme Court, he recalled that the causes of disinheritance must be interpreted restrictively and that the legitimate one has a protective and family nature. Therefore, “the right to legitimate property is based on family ties and cannot be suppressed due to specific conflicts or misunderstandings.”
Consequently, the Court recognized the two children’s right to receive their inheritance, and the brother who had inherited everything will have to pay each of them 46,399 euros, plus legal interest from the death. However, the sentence was not final and a cassation or extraordinary appeal for procedural infringement could be filed against it before the Supreme Court or the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia.