A woman born in León who moved to A Coruña at twenty-five and died here at eighty, without ever making a declaration at the Civil Registry, leaves her children a forced share of one quarter of the estate, not the two thirds set by the Spanish Civil Code. Article 14 of the Civil Code gives the regional civil status of a place, known as vecindad civil, to anyone who lives there for ten consecutive years without declaring otherwise, and with Galician status her estate is governed by Law 2/2006 on Galician civil law. Had she declared at the Civil Registry during those ten years that she wished to keep her original status, the Civil Code would apply. What tips the balance is that registration and proof that the residence was continuous, and where doubt remains the law favours the status of the place of birth.
I am Ana María Reza Cortiñas, member no. 6064 of the A Coruña Bar Association and managing partner of the civil practice at Perseus & RC Abogados, and whenever I am asked to calculate or claim a forced share, the first thing I check is the deceased’s civil status. It also works the other way round. Someone born with Galician status who lived for more than ten consecutive years in Madrid without declaring that they wished to keep it acquired the status of their new home, and their estate follows the Civil Code even if every asset is in Galicia. Vecindad civil is something only Spanish nationals have, so if the deceased was a foreign national or lived outside Spain, the governing law depends on the European succession rules and on any choice made in the will, as we explain in heirs living abroad. Everything else we do in succession matters is on the inheritance page.
Who has a forced share in Galicia
Galician law gives a forced share to children and, in place of a child who died first, was validly disinherited or is unworthy to inherit, to that child’s descendants. The surviving spouse has one too, unless legally or de facto separated at the time of death. Parents of the deceased, who are forced heirs under the Civil Code when there are no children, are not forced heirs in Galicia. A registered partner has the same rights as a spouse only where the couple is entered in the Galician Register of Unmarried Couples with an express wish to have the effects of marriage.
A child who was bought out during the parent’s lifetime by apartación, or who renounced the share, receives nothing but still counts when the share is divided, so their exit does not increase what the siblings receive. How that agreement works is explained on the apartación page.
How the quarter is calculated
The children’s forced share is one quarter of the net value of the estate, shared among the children or, where one has died, among that child’s descendants. The calculation adds up what the deceased owned at death, deducts the debts and adds back what was given away free of charge during life, apartaciones included, at the value each asset had when it was given, updated. With a computable estate of €300,000 and three children, the overall share is €75,000, or €25,000 each. What each child already received by will, legacy, gift or lifetime agreement is deducted unless the parent provided otherwise, and a child who falls short can only claim the difference. The forced share calculator gives a first figure, and we work out the final one with you from the documents.
The surviving spouse does not receive a share outright. Their forced share is a life usufruct over one quarter of the estate if there are descendants, and over half if there are none.
A right to be paid, not a slice of each asset
In Galicia a child with a forced share is not a co-owner of the flat or the bank account. The law treats them as a creditor of the estate, with no claim over specific assets. Unless the will assigned particular assets, the heirs may agree to pay in money, even from outside the estate, and otherwise payment is made in estate assets. Until paid, the child can demand a notarised inventory with valuations and register the claim against the estate’s properties at the Land Registry, which stops them being sold without payment. From the claim, the heir has one year to pay before statutory interest runs, and the right is time-barred fifteen years after the death.
If the will leaves you out, the position depends on whether the omission was deliberate, and disinheritance requires a cause set by law, which the heirs must prove if you deny it. We cover it in disinheriting a child and what you can claim if you are cut out. If the estate is stuck because a sibling will not sign, see blocked inheritance.
Where we are
Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone +34 677 841 007. If you or your siblings live outside A Coruña or outside Spain, we handle the matter by video call, in English.
Related reading
- Cut out of a Spanish inheritance? The forced share and what you can claim
- Disinheriting a child in Spain, when the law allows it and how it is done
- Gifting a home to your children in Spain, what to know before you sign
- Making a will in Galicia, why it is worth it
Frequently asked questions
My mother was born outside Galicia but lived here for forty years. Is her estate governed by Galician law?
Usually yes. Ten consecutive years of residence in Galicia without declaring at the Civil Registry that she wished to keep her original status gave her Galician civil status, and with it a forced share of one quarter for the children. If she made that declaration, the estate is divided under the Civil Code. We check it with the Civil Registry and by reconstructing where she lived.
Does my unmarried partner have a forced share in Galicia?
Only if the couple was registered in the Galician Register of Unmarried Couples and both declared, when registering, that they wished their union to have the same effects as marriage. The partner then has the rights of a surviving spouse, a life usufruct over one quarter of the estate if there are descendants or over half if there are none. Without that registration, the partner receives what the will leaves them.
Can my brother pay my share in money and keep the flat?
Yes, if the will provides for it or if the heirs agree to pay it in money, even money from outside the estate. Without that agreement the share is paid in assets from the estate. Paying part in money and part in assets is not allowed unless the will or an agreement permits it.
How long do I have to claim my forced share in Galicia?
The claim is time-barred fifteen years after the death. Once you claim, the heir has one year to pay and after that the debt earns statutory interest. Even with a long deadline, waiting has a cost, because assets get sold and the evidence of lifetime gifts disappears.
Do gifts my father made to one of my siblings count towards the forced share?
Yes. What was given is added to the estate to calculate the forced share, at its value when given, updated for inflation, and deducted from the share of the sibling who received it unless the father provided otherwise. If what is left at death is not enough to pay the shares, those gifts can be reduced, starting with the most recent.
Do grandchildren have a forced share if their parent died before the grandparent?
Yes. The children of a child who died first take that child's place and share what would have gone to their parent. The same applies to the children of a child who was validly disinherited or declared unworthy to inherit.