The recent Supreme Court ruling of April 19, 2023, Civil Chamber, reaffirms the principle of strict protection for mandatory heirs.
Previous rulings by the same court in 2014, 2015, and 2018 had been interpreted as opening the door for a testator to disinherit a child by alleging abandonment, lack of care, or psychological abuse. However, in this latest ruling, the court clarified that this is not the correct interpretation and that the Spanish legislator has not amended the Civil Code. Therefore, it remains a general principle in Spanish law that the legitime (mandatory share) is not at the testator's disposal. The testator must justify and allege the causes of disinheritance in the will. The Supreme Court specifies that psychological abuse, to be considered under Article 853.2 of the Civil Code and thus classified as maltreatment, must affect the testator's mental health.
In Judgment 419/2022 of May 24, the court stated: "The legislator continues to maintain as a limit to the will of the deceased the need to express a 'just cause' for disinheritance to deprive the legitimate heirs of their mandatory share." This chamber has admitted that courts can interpret legal causes of disinheritance according to social reality. Therefore, as we stated in Judgment 401/2018 of June 27, a continued lack of relationship attributable to the disinherited person, considering the circumstances of the case, could be valued as causing psychological damage and, consequently, could fall within one of the causes for deprivation of the mandatory share established by the legislator. However, the application of the current system does not allow for an interpretive configuration of an autonomous cause of disinheritance based solely on indifference and lack of family relationship, as the legislator does not contemplate this. Otherwise, in practice, it would be equivalent to leaving the enforceability of the mandatory share in the hands of the testator, depriving the legitimate heirs with whom they had lost the relationship regardless of the origin and reasons for that situation and its influence on the testator's physical or psychological health.
In a recent judgment delivered on May 19, 2023, by the Court of First Instance 77 of Madrid in a will contestation lawsuit, this jurisprudence was upheld. Our contestation was granted, recognizing our client's right to the mandatory share, as no psychological abuse affecting the testator's mental health was proven, and the lack of relationship alone was insufficient. The cause must be attributable to the testator or the disinherited person. This confirms that the testator must specify these causes and not simply refer to Article 853.2 as a general rule, as it is an exception, not the rule.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court’s ruling reinforces the protection of mandatory heirs’ rights and emphasizes the need for testators to provide specific, justified reasons for disinheritance. This decision underscores that the legitime is a fundamental principle in Spanish inheritance law, ensuring the fair treatment of heirs.
If you need legal advice on inheritance matters or wish to contest a will, contact Leocricia González abogados for expert guidance and representation.
Leocricia González Lawyers.