It is very common in an inheritance procedure to acquire real estate property; however, due to the personal circumstances of the potential heirs, it is sometimes not profitable to accept the inheritance. We must know that every person called to inherit has the possibility to accept or renounce the rights and obligations arising from the inheritance procedure; however, how and when is it favourable to renounce the inheritance?
We must take into account what is included in the estate, i.e. whether we are talking about a greater volume of debts than assets. When passing on the estate, both assets and liabilities are included, so it is very important to pay attention to the capacity that the heir may have to respond to these obligations. It is also important to take into account whether the heir has his or her own debt claims, in which case his or her own creditors will be able to access the new addition to his or her estate with the inherited part.
On the other hand, it is necessary to bear in mind the cost of inheritance tax. It is a regional tax, so it will be each Autonomous Community who will establish the taxable base that the heir will have to pay.
In this sense, it is possible to reach the decision to renounce the inheritance and, to this end, the following conclusions must be borne in mind: firstly, the rejection of the inheritance is a unilateral decision of each of the heirs, i.e. it does not imply that it has to be rejected or accepted jointly by all of them.
Secondly, the renunciation or, as the case may be, the acceptance, must be total, i.e. it is not possible to accept or reject the estate in part. However, if the person who is to receive the same is a legatee, he/she can accept or reject part of it, but cannot do so as an heir.
Thirdly, in the event that the heir in question wishes to renounce, this rejection must be materialised in writing through a notary or a judge in the event that the inheritance proceedings are being conducted in a court of law. In addition to this, the withdrawal must be definitive, i.e. it is not possible to withdraw and then return to the procedure, it is an irrevocable act.
Fourthly, the procedural moment to be able to reject the inheritance is after the death of the person who has generated the estate; that is to say, it is not possible to renounce the inheritance hypothesis of someone who is alive, although once the death has occurred, there is no deadline to carry out the renunciation, the normal thing is to issue the pronouncement when several days have passed since the person dies, or when the judge indicates in the case of being immersed in a legal proceeding.
Fifthly, the possibility of renouncing is linked to the fact that no sign of acceptance has been given, i.e. the assets have not been disposed of, and the said renunciation does not entail any detriment, for example if the person has creditors.
Therefore, the most beneficial option for any heir who does not wish to accept rights and obligations is to accept the inheritance with benefit of inventory, which means that any possible debts in the estate will only be borne by the inheritance itself, thus safeguarding the heir’s own assets.