When receiving an inheritance, the most common is that it is the children who stay with the inheritance with the parents, and in the case that there will be children will be followed by the order of succession. But What about the inheritance of a priest? Who stays with his heritage when he dies?
The celibacy of the priests directly impacts their successions. This norm has a historical origin, since in the Middle Ages it was established to prevent the assets of the clergy from moving to their relatives, diverting the resources of the Church to enrich families.
At present, priests, having not married or having children is not so clear who their heirs are. However, as explained by Navarro and Navarro, inheritance lawyers, Some religious orders have their own rules of succession.
Who stays with the inheritance of a priest in Spain
The legal heirs of a religious will be those who mark the law of each country. In the case of Spain, article 807 of Civil Code determines that the Forced heirs of an inheritance will be:
- The children and descendants with respect to their parents and ascendants.
- In the absence of the previous ones, the parents and ascendants with respect to their children and descendants.
- The widower or widow.
In the case of the priests, since the heirs do not have descents They will be his parents, brothers, cousins and relatives closest.
However, it is usually common for priests to leave a will in which League their property to religious institutions or the diocese To be allocated to charity, to the maintenance of the order or other religious projects.
In addition to this, some religious orders have internal regulations in which the heritage should be distributed, so priests must take them into account when granting a will if they want to leave some of their assets to their relatives.