Spain: “Supervening Ineffectiveness of Testamentary Provisions”

 

Gloria Vinals from Bufete Mañá-Krier-Elvira has been recently involved in a very interesting case of “Supervening Ineffectiveness of Testamentary Provisions”.

Here you can find a summary of the case, and the link to the article that has been published in the Spanish Aranzadi data base.

Supervening Ineffectiveness of Testamentary Provisions:

The professional task of defending Montse's interests was a significant challenge.

Montse’s father left a will in 2003 naming his daughters as heirs, but also granting a universal usufruct (the right to use and profit from property) to his partner, Ms. J. If valid, this would have left the daughters with virtually nothing, as all assets were tied up in rental property.

A key legal question was whether the will's original intent should still prevail 20 years later, especially after the relationship between Montse’s father and Ms. J had ended.

The first instance court upheld the testamentary clause based on a precedent from 2019 that involved a homosexual couple. The Court of Appeal of Barcelona sided with Montse, ruling that the breakup of the relationship invalidated the usufruct legacy to Ms. J, as the father likely would not have intended to benefit her after their separation.

The filing of a cassation appeal, though technically imperfect, reignited Montse's anxiety, especially when the Civil Chamber (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya) admitted the appeal due to its significant legal interest.

The Judgment No. 26, dated May 30, 2024, from the TSJ has laid the groundwork for a likely future legal doctrine as maintains the supervening ineffectiveness of the testamentary clause that had granted Ms. J the usufruct, based on the following principles:

• Interpretation of the law must consider the literal meaning of the words, the context, historical and legislative background, and the social realities at the time of application.
• Testamentary succession is governed by the testator’s will.
• The law presumes that when the testator grants provisions in favour of a spouse or stable partner, it is implicitly subject to the rebus sic stantibus clause (i.e., as long as the relationship exists).
• When a testamentary disposition benefits a spouse or partner, it is presumed that if the relationship ends, so does the affectio maritalis (the marital bond), and the testator would not have maintained that provision.

 

With these elements, Montse and her sister succeeded in invalidating the clause that jeopardized their inheritance rights, inadvertently helping to establish a potential future legal precedent in the Catalan High Court.

 

For further information, please contact:

Gloria Vinyals, Lawyer

Bufete Maná-Krier-Elvira, Barcelona

e: gv@bmk.es

t: +34 93 4878030

 

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