It is important to bear in mind that Spanish and foreign legislation provide for the possibility of disinheriting forced heirs: descendants and ascendants, if one of the grounds for disinheritance laid down by law or case law applies.
In Spain, it is important to bear in mind the regional (foral) laws, since they differ significantly from common law.
On the one hand, the general grounds are those that determine incapacity to succeed by reason of unworthiness, established in Art. 756 CC, concerning acts committed, as the case may be, against the deceased, their spouse, a person with whom they had an analogous affective relationship, or any of their descendants or ascendants:
- Anyone convicted by final judgment of an attempt on life, or sentenced to a serious penalty for causing injuries or habitually exercising physical or psychological violence within the family sphere.
- Anyone convicted by final judgment of offences against liberty, moral integrity, sexual freedom and integrity, and family rights and duties. Also anyone deprived of parental authority, or removed from guardianship or foster care for a reason attributable to them.
- Accusing the deceased of an offence punishable by a serious penalty, if they are convicted of false accusation.
- An adult who knows of the violent death of the testator and does not report it within one month to the justice authorities when they had not already acted ex officio, except where there is no obligation to accuse.
- Anyone who, by threat, fraud or violence, compels the testator to make a will or to change it.
- Anyone who by the same means prevents another from making a will, or from revoking the one they have made, or substitutes, conceals or alters a later one.
- In the case of succession of a person with a disability, failure to provide the due care.
On the other hand, the specific grounds are those directed at forced heirs: children and descendants (Art. 853CC), parents and ascendants (Art. 854CC) and spouses (Art. 855CC). Among these grounds, denial of maintenancewithout legitimate reason applies to all forced heirs. Likewise, ascendants and spouses share the grounds for disinheritance arising from the loss of parental authority under Art. 170 CC and from an attempt on the life, whether of the other parent or of the testator’s spouse. Finally, the child or descendant has the exclusive ground of physical ill-treatment or serious verbal abuse, which includes psychological abuse; as well as the spouse, for breach of conjugal duties that is serious or repeated.