The Family and the Elderly in Spanish Society: The Exercise of Testamentary Freedom When the Testator Reaches the Age of Eighty

Abstract

The rules that in the civil legal systems regulate the succession upon death, highlight the conception that every legal text has about individual freedom, and also about the family. The variety of Spanish civil laws includes very different systems on the compulsory portion. And this shows up (because of that), that variety of conceptions. This paper analyzes the disinheritance as an exercise of the testamentary freedom to deprive the compulsory portion to certain relatives. The research aim is to show the differences and the common points between Spanish civil laws and to propose some legal reforms. The research method used consists on the analysis of the most relevant statistics about the Spanish population and on the most frequent decisions of the elderly regarding their descendant’s inheritance. Also, last year main judicial decisions and the authors’ opinions have been analyzed.