Heirs refuse to open and accept the Will

“I am named on a Will along with other family members, but after numerous years trying nicely, the other heirs refuse to open and accept the Will. What are my rights? Can I force the opening of the Will? Can I sell any of the assets if the Will has not been accepted?”

This is a common doubt amongst the heirs who have trouble for reaching an agreement with other heirs named on a Will. We have been contacted many times asking about the legal rights of an heir who is named on a Will and who cannot accept the inheritance because of the other heirs.

If you have been named on a Will for inheriting a property in Spain, a bank account and a garage (for example), along with other heirs, you have the right of forcing to split the Estate legally according to the Will.

In Spain, you can force the heirs to accept the inheritance by taking legal action with a claim called “División Judicial de Herencia” (Judicial Division of the Estate). If you want to solve the problem after years trying to fix it nicely, the best option is taking legal action.

Once the claim is presented to Court, the Judge will open the Will, appoint an assessor that will give a value to the Estate and also an auditor that will be in charge of dividing the Estate.

Each heir will receive assets according to their share of the Estate.

The Judge will always try to split the assets in the best possible way to avoid more trouble to the heirs.

The heirs who refused at the beginning will be now forced to accept the Estate.

None of the heirs will be able to sell any of the assets on the Estate until the inheritance has been solved. Even if you are the sole heir of a property, you cannot sell it until the Will and Inheritance has been accepted.

If you have tried numerous times but have not succeeded, please contact us and we will inform you according to your specific case.