Concept
Spain is not a single succession system but several at once: the general Código Civil coexists with the foral laws of Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon, Galicia and the Balearic Islands. Under common law, the legítima applies—a forced share for children amounting to two-thirds of the estate; in some regions it is symbolic or almost non-existent. Which law applies is determined by vecindad civil—the testator's civil "regionality," not simply place of residence.
Under Spanish common law, two-thirds are reserved for children: one-third strict (equal shares) and one-third mejora (at the testator's discretion among children and descendants); only one-third is free. The surviving spouse receives usufruct. But in Catalonia the legítima is only one-quarter and is a claim to value, payable in money or in estate assets at the heir's option; in Navarre it is a formality with no economic content, so freedom of testation is almost complete; and in the Basque Country one-third is reserved for descendants but may be left to just one of them. The region decides everything.
Legítima under common law
Descendants reserve two-thirds of the estate. One-third is the legítima estricta, divided equally among children; the second is the tercio de mejora, which the testator distributes among children and descendants at his or her discretion; the last third is libre disposición, completely free. The surviving spouse does not receive a share in ownership but has a right to usufruct: of the mejora third if there are living children, of half if there are only ascendants, of two-thirds if there are neither descendants nor ascendants. Parents, in the absence of children, reserve half (one-third if competing with a spouse). Intestate succession proceeds in order: children, then ascendants, then spouse, then siblings, and only then the state.
Regional foral law
Regional systems diverge radically. Catalonia: the legítima is only one-quarter of the estate, and it is pars valoris, a monetary claim rather than a share in the property itself. Navarre: almost absolute freedom of testation, with a symbolic forced share. The Basque Country (Ley 5/2015): a collective legítima of one-third, with the possibility of excluding some descendants. Aragon, Galicia and the Balearic Islands each have their own rules. Therefore, "Spanish inheritance" without specifying the region means little.
Brussels IV and tax
Spain is bound by EU Regulation 650/2012: a foreign resident may choose by will the law of his or her nationality. Inheritance and gift tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones, ISD) is set by the state but devolved to the autonomous communities—and the variation is enormous: Madrid (Article 25 of Legislative Decree 1/2010) and Andalusia (Article 39 of Law 5/2021) grant a 99% rebate on the tax due from close relatives — descendants, spouses and ascendants (kinship groups I and II) — while other regions tax significantly. Following the CJEU judgment of 3 September 2014 (C-127/12), non-residents may also apply regional rules — EU/EEA residents since 2015 and, after Law 11/2021, all non-residents: those of the community where the greatest value of the Spanish estate lies when the deceased lived abroad, or of the deceased's community when the deceased lived in Spain.
By asset type
Spain under Brussels IV also adheres to unity: the applicable law—of the last place of residence or chosen nationality—covers the entire estate, including money and shares in an account at a Russian bank. But where Spanish law applies, a regional layer is added: which foral law and which legítima apply is a question of the deceased's vecindad civil, not of where the property lies (Articles 9(8) and 16 of the Civil Code), and ISD is levied according to the rules of the autonomous community. Russia is outside the Regulation: under Art. 1224 of the Civil Code, movables follow the last place of residence (usually coinciding), Russian real estate follows Russian law, and accounts and securities in Russia are released only upon a Russian certificate of inheritance; a Spanish or European certificate in Russia requires legalization.
Planning techniques
Planning in Spain is primarily about working with a will (distribution of mejora, structures with spousal usufruct), with regional attachment (vecindad civil determines which legítima applies) and with choice of law under Brussels IV for foreigners. Lifetime gifts are subject to regional tax; life insurance passes outside the estate and has its own ISD deductions. Spanish real estate is structured cautiously: it stays within Spanish ISD even when the heirs live abroad, and within the legítima whenever Spanish law governs the succession.
When "intestate" does not fit
The general legítima and the patchwork of foral law make Spanish succession unpredictable for those who have not chosen the law and have not taken vecindad into account. A will, competent regional attachment and choice of applicable law under Brussels IV restore control.
How the Spanish reserve compares with the other thirteen jurisdictions on intestacy, the reserve, choice of law, tax and procedure is set out in the country map in succession planning; twelve of those jurisdictions, Spain included, are walked through case by case in the succession navigator, with the matrimonial and divorce axes in the prenup and divorce navigators.
Q/A
Which country’s law governs an intestate estate?
Under EU Regulation 650/2012, the default is the law of the state where the deceased was habitually resident at death, subject to the exceptional manifestly-closer-connection rule. Nationality law may be chosen in a disposition of property upon death; intestacy itself creates no such choice.
Does Spanish real estate make the whole estate subject to Spanish law?
No. The law identified by Regulation 650/2012 normally governs the succession as a whole, not only assets in one country. Spanish tax, Land Registry requirements, and property-law rules for transferring the Spanish asset remain separate matters.
Who inherits under Spain’s general Civil Code?
Children and their descendants are called first; if none, parents and other ascendants follow. If neither group exists, an eligible surviving spouse precedes collateral relatives; siblings and nieces or nephews, then other collateral relatives through the fourth degree, follow, with the state last.
Does a surviving spouse automatically receive half the property?
No. The spouse’s own property is first separated and the applicable matrimonial-property regime is liquidated; only the deceased’s share enters the estate. The spouse’s inheritance or usufruct then depends on descendants or ascendants, the applicable general or foral law, and separation status.
Are succession rules identical throughout Spain?
No. Spain has territorial civil-law systems alongside the general Civil Code, including Catalan, Basque, Navarrese, Aragonese, Galician, and Balearic rules. Which Spanish civil law attaches to a person is not determined merely by the property’s address and may turn on vecindad civil.