The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has given the reason to social security and has denied the Widow’s pension to a woman for not having formalized the relationship with her ex -husband, who died in 2018, either as a de facto couple or before a notary. All this despite the fact that it accredited a coexistence of more than 20 years (the first 13 as a marriage), was registered in the same home and had signed the mortgage novation together.
The woman, after the death of her partner in March 2018, requested the widowhood pension, but the National Social Security Institute denied it for having spent more than 10 years between the divorce date and the date of death. After this first denial, the woman claimed the INSS explaining that they had married in 1991 and, although they divorced in June 2006, in November of that same year they restarted coexistence, which accredited an uninterrupted coexistence not less than five years, as established in article 221.2 of The General Social Security Law (LGSS).
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He also claimed that the registration in the registry of de facto couples was not possible because there was still no registry. However, Social Security rejects the pension again. A couple of years later, in 2021, the woman again requested the pension in a delegation other than the INSS, but they also denied “for not having formally constituted as a de facto couple with the deceased at least two years before death,” according to article 221.1 of the LGSS.
Although he claimed again, Social Security dismissed his claim for the same reason. Given this situation, the woman decided to claim by judicial means, but the Social Court No. 3 of Tarragona dismissed her claim, giving the reason to INSS.
The woman claims by court
Not conforming, he tried once again and filed an appeal for supplication before the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia. In his appeal, as stated in Judgment 1609/2025 and in an attempt to be recognized by the widow’s pension, the woman claimed that in 2015 he signed with the deceased before a notary a novation of the mortgage loan, where they know that they lived in the same home. He also proved that the deceased, since April 2015, was in cancer treatment with metastasis and presented a depressive syndrome and cardiovascular chronic ischemia.
The TSJ of Catalonia admitted both facts, but indicated that none would have an incidence in the final resolution. Finally, the woman alleged an interpretation of article 221.2 of the General Law of Social Security in accordance with article 385 of the Civil Procedure Law, in matters of legal presumptions.
The TSJ of Catalonia is right to INSS and denies the pension
The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia dismissed the appeal presented by the woman, understanding that the “ad solemnitate” requirement was not met (it refers to the fact that it is a formal requirement imposed by the law so that a legal act is valid) for the widowhood pension of de facto couples, in accordance with article 221.2 of the LGSS.
On the one hand, he pointed out that the regulation of the registry of stable couples in Catalonia entered into force in April 2017, while the deceased died in March 2018, less than a year after the entry into force of the norm. On the cause alleged by the woman, that they had not been able to register for his disease, they considered that a physical state of such gravity was not accredited that it prevented registration in the registry of de facto couples.
They also pointed out that they had had enough time to go to a notary and formalize the constitution of the de facto couple since they restarted coexistence at the end of 2006. In fact, they went to a notary in 2015 for the Mortgage loan novationwhich demonstrated its ability to carry out formal procedures according to the court.
Regarding the mortgage novation, the Court also indicated that it is not homological to a formalization appearance of the relationship of fact before a notary. Likewise, the registration certificate proves coexistence, but does not supply the lack of formal constitution of the de facto couple.
Therefore, they understood that it did not meet the formal requirement of article 221.2 of the LGSS, which establishes that the existence of a de facto couple will be accredited by certification of the registration in a specific registry or by means of a public document in which the constitution of said couple is recorded with a minimum in advance of two years with respect to the date of the death of the deceased.
Thus, the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia concluded that although the requirement of coexistence was met (a minimum of 5 years is required) the relationship of facts de fact or before a notary was not registered. Therefore, this requirement of the law was not fulfilled, which led to dismiss the appeal and confirm the judgment of instance, once again denying the widowhood pension. Against this ruling, it was possible to file a appeal for the unification of doctrine before the Supreme Court.