Inheritance with benefit of inventory
Accepting an inheritance with the benefit of inventory allows us to receive the inheritance of a deceased person after deducting the debts of said inheritance. This is advisable to avoid inheriting more debts than assets or having to pay that liability with our own estate. As Notaries in inheritances in Barcelona, we want to explain how to accept it, its disadvantages, requirements, and its deadlines or costs.
The most important thing you should know is that by accepting an inheritance with the benefit of inventory, you will never receive a poisoned inheritance, meaning you will never inherit more debts than assets.
How to accept an inheritance with benefit of inventory?
Renunciations of inheritances, mainly due to the debts they may contain or the taxes involved in inheriting, have increased in recent years. A mortgaged flat or one with charges such as seizures makes it impossible for many heirs to accept the inheritance and they end up repudiating it. Therefore, inheritance with benefit of inventory is an option to consider in these cases.
If you do not know the debts that an inheritance may have, accepting an inheritance with benefit of inventory is one of the best options. To use this format, you only need to go to a Notary specialising in inheritances to draw up the deed of acceptance of inheritance and add the clause of acceptance with benefit of inventory to it.
How is inventory formation produced?
To process it, you must go before a Notary in the locality where the deceased resided and declare your intention to initiate the inventory formation process before accepting or renouncing it. Once you have all the information, you can consider the possible options.
It includes assets, rights or obligations and their economic valuation, as well as bank accounts, savings, properties, investments or other assets. The formation of an inventory is also a way to notify creditors of the intention to settle the debts.
What are the disadvantages?
The main disadvantage of processing an inheritance with benefit of inventory is that its cost is higher due to the requirement to carry out a valuation of rights, assets, and liabilities.
Deed of acceptance of inheritance under benefit of inventory
Once the deed of acceptance of inheritance under benefit of inventory has been processed before a Notary, it cannot be rejected. The acceptance of inheritance is regulated in the Civil Code.
What are the requirements to accept the inheritance under the benefit of inventory?
You may lose the right to this type of acceptance of inheritance if the inventory does not include all assets, shares or rights, if assets are sold without paying creditors, if the price obtained from the sale is not used to pay debts and legacies, or if the established deadlines for the application are not met.
Other questions related to the acceptance of inheritance under benefit of inventory and its renunciation
The deadlines are subject to:
- That the heirs have the inheritance or part of it. In this case, they will have 30 days to notify the formation of the inventory at the inheritance notary's office.
- That the heirs do not have the inheritance nor have managed anything: they have 30 days after the expiry of an initial 30-day period for acceptance or renunciation.
This deadline may be extended in cases concluded by the Notary, either because the assets are substantial, are located at a distant place, or for just cause.
The inheritance will be accepted purely if, through negligence, the heir does not initiate or complete the inventory within the indicated times.
In Catalonia, inheritances with benefit of inventory are regulated in article 461 of the Fourth Book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, which establishes that in inheritances with benefit of inventory the heir will only receive the inheritance if it has a positive outcome, that is, if there are more assets than debts in the inheritance. Therefore, if the inheritance is accepted with benefit of inventory, more debts than assets will never be received.
According to section 16 of article 461 of the Catalan Civil Code, the benefit of inventory operates automatically in inheritances received by minors (emancipated or not), persons subject to guardianship or curatorship, legal persons of public law, and foundations declared to be of public utility or social interest. Therefore, these persons will never receive more debts than assets in the inheritances they receive without any requirement.
Furthermore, article 461 of the Catalan Civil Code establishes in its section 14 that any heir can make use of the benefit of inventory, provided that they make an inventory of the inheritance, before or after accepting it. It is also established that heirs can use the benefit of inventory even if the deceased prohibited it or even if they accept the inheritance without expressing the use of the benefit of inventory.
If you need to accept an inheritance with benefit of inventory, at JLA Notarios we will be happy to assist you in the processing of your inheritance.
The costs of accepting this type of inheritance include notarial fees and the payment of Inheritance Tax, which must be paid within 6 months following the death (extendable by a further 6 months).
You can learn more about them here: Expenses and taxes in an inheritance.
Renunciation of an inheritance with benefit of inventory: Renouncing an inheritance with debts
If the inheritance balance is negative, renouncing the inheritance is the most considered option. However, you should know that if you renounce an inheritance, you will not receive anything from the inheritance, neither any debt that may be in it nor any of the assets. We offer you related information at this link:
JLA Notarios, Notary in inheritances in benefit of inventory in Barcelona
At JLA Notarios, we are a Notary in Barcelona where we resolve doubts about inheritance with benefit of inventory and also manage them. We always consider your position to be able to recommend the option that suits you best. You can see this in the multitude of positive reviews that our clients leave about us. Do not hesitate to contact us and we will advise you on all aspects. Arrange an appointment through the contact form on our website or by sending an email to bcn@jlanotarios.com. We will be happy to assist you.
