When several brothers receive an inheritance, andn many occasions it generates suspicions and conflicts about the money that was in the deceased’s accounts. In some cases, the surprise comes when discovering that one of the children withdrew significant amounts before the death of the father or mother. Can this be considered a crime? Or just a problem to solve in the division of inheritance?
Lawyer Arsenio Martínez, from the Millennials Abogados firm, has explained in a video published on social networks what happens in these cases and why, contrary to what many think, criminal proceedings are not usually the solution.
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A sibling emptying a parent’s account is not usually a crime
Martínez presents the situation directly, “Your father has died and when it was time to distribute the inheritance, have you realized that one of your brothers, before he died, emptied your father’s account? Is this a crime? Well, it depends.”
However, he immediately clarifies that “it is almost always not a crime” due to an exception included in the Penal Code. As he explains, “There is an exception in the Penal Code that states that property crimes between siblings are exempt from criminal responsibility”.
Specifically, this is regulated in article 268 of the Penal Code, which determines who is exempt from criminal responsibility.
This means that, except in very specific circumstances, withdrawing money from a parent’s accounts before his or her death cannot be criminally prosecuted between siblings.
The lawyer points out that only in specific situations, such as when there is violence, intimidation or taking advantage of a person with a disability, could criminal proceedings be studied.
Outside of these assumptions, he insists that “Not many times property crimes between family members… can be pursued through criminal law”.
The correct way is to resolve it in the distribution of the inheritance
The expert’s recommendation is clear, what has been withdrawn from the accounts must be taken into account in the civil inheritance division process.
Martínez explains it like this, “And how can this be solved? Well, by going civilly when it comes to distributing the inheritance, taking into account the amounts that your brother has kept without the permission of the other two brothers.”
In other words, that money that one of the children withdrew without consent must be counted as part of the inheritance to avoid harm to the rest of the heirs.
The lawyer insists on not rushing, and warns “You have to be very careful with this, because sometimes you insist on going through criminal proceedings”when it is appropriate to claim it in civil proceedings, during the distribution.