The resignations of inheritances register a record. The mortality caused by Covid and debts of the deceased (deceased) are behind an increase of close to 30% in these rejections. This is the most outstanding data of the balance made by the Notarial College of Andalusiarelative to 2021, a year in which, in addition, the increase in the number of wills and in the acceptance of inheritances and legaciesincreases that must also be related to the pandemic situation that has been suffered.
The data provided by the notarial institution concerns the entire community. At the regional level, the number of renunciations of inheritances has reached 11,036. This figure represents a growth of 28.7% compared to 2020. That year, rejections reached 8,575, a figure slightly lower than that of 2019 and 2018, years that continued the upward trend that began the previous decade. In this sense, the series goes back to 2007, the year in which the economic crisis broke out. At that time the resignations did not exceed 1,465. When 15 years have passed, that amount has shot up more than 650%. Percentages that, according to Manuel Seda Hermosinvice-dean of the Notarial Association of Andalusia, can be extrapolated to the province of Seville.
Faced with these resignations, the accepted inheritances reached 54,446 in 2021, a much higher figure. However, year-on-year growth was limited to 17.68%. Since 2007, the increase is very far from that registered in rejections: 54.15%. This difference is also observed in the number of wills made before a notary in the autonomous community. Last year ended with 124,407, a rise of 16% compared to 2020. If the data is compared with the beginning of the series, the increase was 33.35%.
The reasons for the resignations
Why is it that the resignations of inheritances shoot up while the other two activities show rises to a certain extent contained? Manuel Seda Hermosín provides the keys behind this significant increase. First of all, it must be taken into account the personal reasons that can lead a descendant, ascendant or spouse to repudiation. There are those who do it to benefit his children or a brother or person who has been in charge of the deceased during the last years of his life.
On the other hand, there are the fiscal conditions, although here the notary Seda makes an assessment. Until relatively recently, resignations by direct descendants (the aforementioned group) were due to inheritance tax applied by the Junta de Andalucía and that in low-liquidity inheritances it was quite burdensome. It should be remembered that it was calculated with a very high coefficient. Now, after the latest changes introduced, this rejection comes mostly from beneficiaries and indirect relatives, since descendants, ascendants and spouses are exempt from paying taxes on the first million euros of the inheritance and achieve a bonus of 99% of the quota in the following.
In Seda’s opinion -since the cause is not specified in the repudiation- the debts of the deceased are those that cause the greatest number of resignations. The fear of the beneficiary of the inheritance to have to face the liability with his estate explains the increase. Two points should be made here. The first is the increase in the debts of the deceased, a situation that became permanent after the 2008 crisis and has not yet been overcome. The second is the need for citizens to be aware of the possibility of accept the inheritance for the benefit of inventory.
With this figure, the beneficiaries only pay the liability with what they inherited, without compromising their personal assets.. This is a procedure that has been carried out before a notary public since 2015, when the Voluntary Jurisdiction Law came into force. Until then, the competition was essentially judicial, which lengthened the deadlines and forced the hiring of a lawyer and attorney. Now the notaries give the indications to the clients to calculate the inherited patrimony and what percentage they must allocate to settle the debts contracted by the deceased. For it, the notarial associations of Spain have been claiming for years that they can access the registry of bank debtsrequest that has fallen on deaf ears.
Seda encourages Sevillians to opt for this formula rather than pure resignation. “Many times it is unknown that the value of assets exceeds that of debts,” warns the deputy dean of Andalusian notaries, who abounds in the fact that when an inheritance is repudiated, the following relatives of the deceased are called up to the fourth collateral degree (cousins siblings). If no one accepts it, the estate passes into the hands of the State, which always receives the inheritance for the benefit of inventory, without being taxed on the liability. Some autonomies also obtain part of these goods.
“Citizens should not be afraid to go to the notary. In addition to public notaries, we are advisors so that the best decision is always made in different circumstances”, says Seda, who points to a fourth factor in the increase in resignations: the high mortality caused by the coronavirus. “After the death, a period of six months is established for the liquidation of taxes, if it is waived before this time, they are not taxed, hence the urgency in this procedure, something that does not happen with acceptances, where taxes are paid. tributes and then the heirs agree on the distribution”, explains the deputy dean of Andalusian notaries.
Emergency services in confinement
The outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 had hardly any impact on Sevillian notaries, because during confinement it was considered an essential activity, so they continued to provide services, although for very limited functions, which included wills in compromised situations, Covid bank policies and notarial actions in urgent situations. The purchase-sale signatures and the inheritances not contemplated in the previous assumptions were parked during that period.
Regarding the forecasts for 2022, Seda estimates that resignations will continue to rise, as will the evolution of accepted inheritances and wills: “The numbers of the first two months of the year coincide with those of 2021. With the pandemic, we have become aware of how important it is to leave everything ready”.
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“An escape valve for pandemic weddings”
One of the most important novelties that 2021 brought to notarial activity was marriage records. At this point, the vice-dean of the Notarial Association of Andalusia, Manuel Seda Hermosindetails that since 2015 the notaries celebrate weddings, but they could not instruct the previous file, which proves that the spouses meet the requirements of capacity and the absence of impediments to marry.
Until 2020 this file was in the hands of the Civil Registry, but as of 2021 it was added to the powers of the notaries, where the requests have arrived “at close range”, as Seda recalls. And this, despite the fact that in the Civil Registry this document is free, while in notaries it can cost between 150 and 200 euros.
The key to the demand is that the process is shortened in time. “The bride and groom are willing to pay as long as they don’t wait, since it is a fundamental requirement for the wedding and to plan everything that the celebration entails,” explains the notary.
Notaries have also hosted a significant number of marriage bonds during 2021, due to the fact that the restrictions in force the previous year prevented the celebration of many weddings, which were postponed until there was a better health situation. The fee to pay at a notary’s office ranges between 100 and 150 euros. “We have been an escape valve for the civil registries”Silk adds.
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