At the moment a person dies, their family members must take care of a series of legal procedures. The most confusing, and the ones that generate the most conflicts between them, are inheritances. This is why many parents, who are already in a good financial situation, decide to renounce their part of the will so that it ends up in the hands of their children. A decision that It can also lead to legal problems.
This was the case of a French mother who, after the death of her mother, decided to give up her part of the inheritance so that her children could benefit from it. By depending on the legislation of France, this movement could be carried out and his descendants became the forced heirs, something that would not happen in Spain according to a Supreme Court ruling in 2025. However, although they became the recipients of their grandmother’s assets and wealth, they also received the debts they carried with them.
The problem was in some procedures that he had carried out years before his death. According to the media “aufeminin”, the cause He had made two previous donations to his daughter with less than fifteen years of difference with respect to the reading of the will. Due to this, the French authorities decided that the new heirs, their grandchildren, had to be responsible for the Inheritance and Gift Tax on both the inheritance and the previous donations.
The grandchildren received a debt of 354,556 euros
Likewise, since several years had passed since these donations were made, They also had to face late payment interest.. The total amount that the heirs had to pay amounted to 33,857 euros for the inheritance tax and 20,699 euros for the delay, that is, 354,556 euros. All this despite the fact that the person who had received the donations had been his mother, instead of the new heirs.
Because of this, the grandchildren decided to appeal the decision and present their case to court. It was not until January 6, 2025 that the Paris Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the tax administration, establishing the obligation of the heirs to bear both the expenses of receiving the inheritance and those of the previous donations that their mother received. Well, they considered that they also they were to inherit the debts and tax obligations of the deceased.
However, they decided to appeal the sentence, this time before the Court of Cassation. The latter assessed the case presented to him and established that it should be the deceased’s children who inherit his tax obligations. In this case, since the mother rejected the inheritance and it was she who received the donations, the grandchildren did not have to take responsibility for the debts that remained pending to be settled. That is, how the money from said donations had not meant an increase in the grandchildren’s assetsthese did not have to pay the tax.
Could it happen in Spain?
In our country there is what is known as the vulgar substitution clause, a provision in the will in which the testator can name a substitute heir in the event that the forced successor decides to renounce the inheritance or is unable to accept it. For this reason, it is also common for some parents to decide to reject the will so that their children can receive their third of the inheritance. However, a ruling issued on June 25, 2025 by The Supreme Court stopped this type of practices.
As established, this type of clause cannot be applied in the distribution of the third of the legitimate property, since it would violate the right of the rest of the forced heirs. Therefore, in the event that one of them renounces the inheritance, their percentage would be added equally among the other successors in their own right. Hence The grandchildren would only have the right to the third of improvement and free disposalprovided that it is stipulated in the will.
Regarding the fact of inheriting non-payment of inheritance tax, this fact may vary depending on the case, so it will be necessary to consult a specialized lawyer to analyze it specifically. In general, in the event that the donor has died before paying said tax and it has not yet become due the period of 4 years that the Treasury has to claim itit will be the donee who must face its liquidation, which may affect his percentage of the inheritance if he is an heir.