FAQ

Civil law is closely related to our daily activity, since it touches such common fields as traffic accidents, inheritances and wills or real estate transactions, hence every citizen can be involved at some time, throughout his life, in a situation that requires the services of a civil lawyer capable of shedding light on a disagreement, when not to claim on our behalf a deserved compensation or the recognition of a right that has been, a priori, denied us.

If you feel identified with any of these assumptions and want the advice of a lawyer specialized in civil law, do not hesitate, contact Junto Abogados.

After making an appointment by phone or email, we will meet with you, listen to you, and ask you some questions to fully understand your problem and point you in the right direction.

This first meeting is very important for three reasons. First, because we will know your case and we can determine if we can help you. If we can't, we'll tell you clearly. Second, because you will know us personally, we will explain how we work and you can decide if you want us to be your attorneys. And third, this first meeting will serve to outline the strategy to follow, give you preliminary advice and assess the cost that our work will entail for you.

As from the first moment our purpose is to offer the client peace of mind, in the first meeting we already advise them on the scope, consequences and alternatives to solve their problem.

The information that the client obtains in these initial meetings is often enough to focus, define or solve the legal conflict. Unlike other firms, we consider that the information, explanations and attention we provide to our clients on the first visit are of great value, and that is why we charge for them, except for inquiries related to traffic accidents due to their unique characteristics.

A regulatory agreement, as its name indicates, is a "contract" or "pact" between the spouses or members of the couple that regulates the effects of their breakup, their relationship with common children, the custody and custody system, the division or adjudication of their assets and everything that derives from the marital or couple crisis.

Any demand for divorce or separation is required by law to be accompanied by a regulatory agreement and, in the case of children, by a parenting plan.

The law of inheritance or inheritance law is that part of private law that regulates succession cause of death and determines the destination of the ownership and legal relationships, both active and passive, of a person after his death. Some of the defining notes are:

• It is regulated in our Civil Code in articles 657 to 1,087, both inclusive. It is also a Right enshrined by the Constitution itself as a fundamental right linked to the concept and essence of property.
• It is divided into three thirds (1/3 that corresponds to the legitimate one, 1/3 that corresponds to the improvement and 1/3 that corresponds to the free disposal). The third of "free disposition" allows the deceased to bequeath to whoever he wishes based on the principle of free disposition and autonomy of the will of the deceased.
• The surviving spouse has at least the right to the usufruct of the "improvement" third.

The inheritances have a limitation period. The normal thing is that it is considered that, 25 years after a person begins to appropriate the inherited assets, there are no claims.

The answer is yes, there may be witnesses in wills. Although to specify we must clarify who cannot be a witness. They may not be witnesses in wills:

• Minors, except as provided in article 701.
• No content.
• Those who do not understand the language of the testator.
• Those who do not present the discernment necessary to carry out the witness work.
• The surviving spouse has at least the right to the usufruct of the "improvement" third.
• The spouse or relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity of the authorizing Notary Public and those who have a working relationship with him.

In the open will, neither the heirs and legatees established therein, their spouses, nor their relatives, within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, may not be witnesses.

The legatees or their spouses or relatives are not included in this prohibition when the legacy is of some personal object or quantity of little importance in relation to the inheritance.

Procedures to make up for the lack of a will. If a will has not been made, what is called a ‘declaration of heirs’ must be formalized, which is a public document that defines who are the relatives with the right to inheritance according to the rules previously seen and which is made before a notary public.

The formal declaration of heirs may be requested in various ways

• Notarial declaration of heirs
• Judicial declaration of heirs

Procedures to make up for the lack of a will. What are the steps to process an inheritance? How to process an inheritance if a will has not been granted? How is a declaration of heirs made?

Our law firm in Madrid, experts in inheritances and wills, provides you with a brief explanation of what to do and how to process when a relative dies and we cannot determine a priori who their heirs are, not even if there is a will or last will, And this, despite being advisable to go and request assistance from a good family, inheritance and will lawyers:

1. Death certificate.
The first thing is to obtain the death certificate of the relative in order to be able to verify the fact and its registration in the corresponding civil registry.

2. Last wills.
After that, you must obtain, after at least 15 business days after the fact of death, a certificate of last wills. My advice is to also request a certificate of contracts and insurance with coverage of death at the same time.

The certificate of last wills will indicate whether or not the deceased (the deceased) has left a will, and if applicable, it will indicate the notary before whom he granted it.

The second will determine if he contracted any type of insurance that grants any compensation in favor of any person due to the fact of death. The term to claim these compensation is 5 years.

3. Heirs.
In case of a will: Obtaining an authorized copy of the will before the notary that appears in the previous certificate.

If there is no will, it is necessary to process what is called the Declaration of Heirs Act, that is, to determine publicly, before a notary or before the Court, who are the heirs of the deceased. To do this, you must go to the notary office of the place of death in cases of being the spouse, child or father of the deceased.

In the event of not having such relationships with the deceased, the Court of First Instance of the place of death must be consulted.

4.Inventory of goods.
Once it has been determined who the legal heirs of the deceased are, either because there is already a will or because the process of declaring heirs has been carried out in court or at a Notary's Office, an inventory of assets and debts that make up the inheritance must be made; that is, to know what the decedent's assets are (assets) and the possible debts (liabilities) that exist and that ultimately, assets and liabilities, is the set of assets to be distributed and attributed.

To do this, it will be necessary to start by making an inventory in which the assets that make up the hereditary patrimony that make up are established, among others:

• Property
• Bank balances
• Personal property (vehicles etc.).
• Insurance
• Furniture of the deceased's home (household furnishings)
• In liabilities, it is necessary to take into account all the debts known at the date of death, such as mortgages, possible liens, etc.

5.Valuation.
Once the inventory is made, an asset and liability valuation is made, in order to know whether or not it is worth accepting the inheritance, since in some cases the debts are higher than the existing assets, as well as in case of being higher The asset, knowing the total reference of the inheritance award that will correspond to each heir, will also serve as a reference for the liquidation of the inheritance tax, which is done through a prior liquidation before the state administration. The statute of limitations for this procedure is 4 years from the death.

Once the heir or legatee knows his status as heir, be it testamentary or intestate, he must accept or reject the inheritance or legacy.

The acceptance of the inheritance can be of two types:

• Pure and simple acceptance: implies that the heir agrees to receive the assets of the inheritance and can respond with their own assets for the debts of the same.
• Acceptance for the benefit of inventory: In this case the heir will only be liable for the debts of the inheritance up to the limit of the value of the hereditary assets, that is, in case the debts are greater than the value of the assets of the inheritance, the heir does not respond with his own estate.

6. Inheritance partition.
Subsequently, it is necessary to do the so-called Drafting in a notarial public deed of the inheritance partition document, or what is the same, The distribution of the inheritance drawn up in a document called partition notebook. In case of conflict between the heirs, all these questions must be raised before the corresponding court of first instance so that the inheritance is judicially divided.

7. Tax settlement.
Payment of inheritance taxes that we have already mentioned whose term for payment is 6 months from the death, although within the first 5 months you can request an extension for another 6 months. Total statute of limitations for payment of the tax 4 years.

Other taxes to be paid: tax on the increase in the value of urban land (“surplus value”), if any of the assets awarded is real estate.

8. Taking possession.
After all this corresponds the taking of possession of the goods.

• If any real estate is awarded, it will have to be registered and the property right registered in the Property Registry of the place where the property is located.
• If bank balances, securities, insurance are awarded, the delivery of the balances, securities or insurance compensation must be requested.
• If a vehicle was awarded, start the transfer / change of owner file.