Self-assessment
Six questions, two minutes. At the end we tell you what applies to you, which deadlines are running and what the sensible next step is. Your answers never leave your browser.
Your situation
You still have time to decide how your assets will pass on, at what tax cost and with what safeguards for the people who matter to you.
A review of your assets and family allows you to choose between a will, succession agreements, lifetime gifts or a family protocol, and to anticipate each heir's inheritance tax.
Your situation
In Catalonia children are entitled to one quarter of the value of the estate, even if the will leaves them nothing. It is paid in cash or in assets and bears interest from the date of death.
Quantifying the forced share requires valuing the assets at death and the gifts made in the previous ten years. That figure is the basis for negotiation; failing agreement, it is claimed in court.
Your situation
A will can be challenged for lack of capacity, formal defects, undue influence or omission of forced heirs. The evidence is technical and the deadlines are short.
The first step is to obtain a copy of the will and any earlier wills, the medical history where relevant and the list of assets. With that, viability is assessed before litigating.
Your situation
One heir's refusal to sign does not stop the process: there are legal mechanisms to force acceptance or renunciation, appoint an estate partitioner or divide the estate through the courts.
It starts with a notarial demand with a deadline (interpellation, art. 461-12 Catalan Civil Code). If there is no reply, acceptance is presumed and the partition can proceed without the blockage.
Your situation
With lawyers involved or a claim under way, what matters is quantifying each party's position properly and choosing between settlement and judgment on the basis of data, not emotions.
We review the procedural strategy, expert valuations and the tax cost of each alternative, and look for a defensible settlement before the hearing.
Your situation
With no underlying conflict, the aim is to proceed in an orderly way, pay the right amount of tax and close the partition properly to avoid future problems.
Usual order: certificates, inventory and valuation, notarial acceptance and partition, inheritance tax and municipal capital gains tax, transfers of title. A law firm coordinates it in weeks.
What applies to you
Inheritance tax is filed within six months. A further six-month extension must be requested before five months have passed since the death.
Calculate my exact datesOnly days remain to file inheritance tax. A return can be filed with the data available and supplemented later; this avoids the surcharge.
How we solved it in a real caseFiling voluntarily carries a surcharge of 1% per month (maximum 15%). If the tax office issues a demand first, the penalty is higher. Every month counts.
Case: missed tax deadlinesTax is time-barred after four and a half years; the forced share after ten; the action to claim or divide the estate never expires. A case-by-case review is advisable.
See the deadline calendarThe action to claim the forced share is time-barred ten years after the death and bears statutory interest from that day. Do not wait: valuation evidence is lost over time.
Estimate the forced shareIf there is no agreement on selling, using or allocating, any co-owner can request division. Beforehand, an independent valuation usually unlocks the negotiation.
Case: undivided propertyBusiness succession requires deciding who runs it and how the others are compensated. In addition, a 95% tax reduction may apply if the activity and holding-period requirements are met.
Case: family business successionWith assets or heirs in another country, the law governing the succession must be determined (EU Regulation 650/2012) and taxation coordinated to avoid paying twice.
Cross-border inheritances: a guideAccepting outright makes you liable for the debts with your own assets. With benefit of inventory you are liable only up to what you inherit. The inventory has a deadline.
Accept, renounce or benefit of inventoryIn Catalonia the spouse is not a forced heir, but has a universal usufruct in intestate succession, the right to the year of widowhood and the widow's quarter if lacking sufficient means.
Spouse's rights under Catalan succession lawBefore accepting, the intestate declaration of heirs must be processed before a notary (around 20 days, with two witnesses). Children inherit first, then parents, then the spouse under the Catalan Civil Code.
First-steps guideDeath certificate, last-wills certificate, copy of the will, life-insurance certificate and bank balance certificates. With those the inventory can be drawn up and the tax estimated.
Downloadable checklistGeneral guidance based on your answers; it does not constitute legal advice and does not replace a review of the documents.
In a first consultation we review your documents and tell you, with judgement, which route is advisable and what it costs.
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The articles, cases, guides, calculators and other tools on this site provide general information on succession and tax law, not tailored to any particular circumstances. Consulting them does not constitute legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship, which arises only upon express acceptance of a professional engagement. Calculator results are indicative estimates and do not replace a review of the documents in each case.
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