We analyze the necessary procedures to process an inheritance
1.- Obtaining certificates
The first step to be able to process an inheritance will consist of requesting the following official documents:
The death certificate can be requested by anyone by going personally to the Civil Registry where the death is registered.
Once 15 business days have elapsed from the death, we can request the certificate of last wills. In this document it is indicated whether or not the deceased granted a will and also if it was made before which Notary Public was made to request an authorized copy of it.
The insurance certificate with death coverage. The objective of this document is to know if the deceased had taken out any insurance in the event of death. It can be requested in person, by mail or online and 15 days must also have elapsed since the death.
2.- Obtaining the will or declaration of heirs
When it appears in the certificate of last wills that the deceased granted a will, it will be necessary to go to the indicated notary’s office and request an authorized copy of the will. This procedure can be carried out personally by the heir or through a proxy.
If there is no testament, we must request the declaration of intestate heirs before a notary of the locality where the deceased had his last domicile or habitual residence, where most of his patrimony was, or in the place where he would have died. For this procedure, two witnesses will have to be provided to confirm the existence of the heirs before a notary public.
3.- Partition of the inheritance
The distribution of the inheritance is done by means of a allocation notebook signed before a notary public in which the heirs make an inventory of both the assets (assets) and the liabilities (debts) that make up the inheritance, indicating their economic value, the fee that corresponds to each heir and the awards made to each of them.
If the deceased was married under a community property regime, the settlement of the property property regime must also be previously settled, since the part that corresponds to the widower / widower for that concept is not part of the inheritance.
To determine the participation quotas of each heir, the provisions of the testament will be taken into account, always respecting the legitimate ones of the forced heirs. If there is no will, the distribution of the assets will be carried out based on the provisions of the civil code that establishes in a supplementary manner, the part to inherit that corresponds to each heir, taking into account their relationship with the deceased and that of the other joint heirs.
4.- Tax settlement
The inheritance and donation tax is a ceded state tax, so there are important differences in terms of rates and tax exemptions depending on the autonomous community in which it is taxed.
The term for the liquidation of the inheritance and gift tax is six months from the date of death, although during the first five months of that period an extension for another six additional months may be requested. Likewise, the heirs may file the tax settlement prior to processing an inheritance.
When there are properties to inherit, the Tax will also accrue on the increase in the value of urban land, also known as Municipal Capital Gain. This tax is paid at the town hall of the place where the properties awarded in the inheritance are located and the fee depends on the years that have elapsed since the previous transfer of the property and the applicable bonuses for each municipality.
5.- Registration in the Registry
To finish processing an inheritance, we will have to register the real estate in the Property Registry, it will be necessary to provide the public deed of the inheritance partition and the proof of the liquidation of the inheritance and donation tax. In addition to the above, the communication must be submitted to the cadastre of the change in ownership.
