Foral Civil Laws: Inheritance in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre and Aragon

Foral or special civil laws are legal systems of their own that apply in certain Spanish regions alongside the common Civil Code. They are protected by the Spanish Constitution, which allows the regions to preserve, amend and develop their civil, foral or special laws where they exist.

In succession matters, the territories with their own civil law are Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon, Galicia and the Balearic Islands (with different rules for Majorca and Minorca and for Ibiza and Formentera). Each has distinctive features that can be extremely useful for inheritance planning, especially because they are more flexible than the forced heirship system of common law.

The restrictive common law system

The Spanish Civil Code establishes a strict forced heirship system in which forced heirs (descendants, ascendants and the surviving spouse) are entitled to two thirds of the estate when there are children. This three-way split comprises the strict forced share third (reserved for forced heirs), the improvement third (also for descendants, but distributable as the testator wishes) and the free disposal third.

The revolution of the foral systems

Foral laws have moved towards greater testamentary freedom, adapting better to the needs of today’s society. This is no accident: it responds to the demand for more flexibility in estate planning and for the protection of family businesses.

In Catalonia, the forced share is cut drastically to 25% of the deceased’s net estate. But the real revolution lies in its legal nature: it is a credit right (pars valoris), not a share of the inheritance. Forced heirs do not become co-heirs but creditors of the heir, which gives much more room for estate planning.

The Basque Country has the most innovative system: since Law 5/2015, the collective forced share allows some descendants to be excluded from the inheritance without any need for justified disinheritance. Parents can distribute freely among their children and can even appoint a grandchild as heir, excluding all the children.

Navarre offers practically absolute freedom of testation. The Navarrese forced share is purely symbolic: five “feble” or “carlin” sueldos for movable property and one “robada” of land in the common mountains for real property. In practice, the testator can leave their assets to whoever they wish, whether a relative, a third party or an institution.

Aragon keeps a collective forced share of half of the estate, but with considerable flexibility in how it is distributed. The testator can share this portion freely among the forced heirs, without having to divide it equally.

The common law prohibition

Article 1271 of the Civil Code prohibits, with few exceptions, contracts concerning a future inheritance, which severely limits the options for planning a succession in advance. This restriction creates significant problems when transferring family businesses and complex estates.

Foral flexibility

Foral territories allow various types of succession agreements, providing extremely useful tools for estate planning. These legal instruments make it possible to agree on the future succession during one’s lifetime, offering legal certainty and avoiding later disputes.

In Navarre, the Fuero Nuevo allows succession agreements with exceptional breadth. These arrangements have evolved from their agricultural origins to meet new needs, especially the generational transfer of family businesses. Navarrese agreements can establish contractual succession as an alternative or complement to the will.

Catalonia expressly recognises succession agreements in Article 411-3 of the Catalan Civil Code, allowing the succession to be organised through contractual instruments. This flexibility is particularly valuable for business estates or complex family situations.

The Basque Country and Aragon also allow succession agreements, both to appoint an heir and to renounce a future inheritance, while Galicia regulates its own arrangements such as apartación and improvement with delivery of assets, adapted to the specific needs of each family.

Practical advantages of greater testamentary freedom

The greater freedom of disposition in foral territories offers significant practical advantages for modern estate planning. It allows the inheritance to be tailored to specific family circumstances, family businesses to be protected and the estate to be kept together.

In Navarre, almost absolute freedom allows sophisticated planning strategies. Testators can make joint wills (testamentos de hermandad), appoint each other as heirs and organise complex successions without the limits of the common forced heirship system.

Catalonia allows 75% of the estate to be distributed freely, while the remaining 25% can even be paid in cash. This flexibility makes it much easier to keep family businesses going and to plan taxes.

Protection of the family business

Foral laws have shown particular sensitivity to protecting the family business. Succession agreements make it possible to plan the generational transfer without fragmenting management, keeping unified control and avoiding disputes between heirs.

Impact on estate planning

The differences between common law and the foral systems go far beyond theory and have major practical consequences. A family with a significant estate can save decades of disputes and legal costs through proper planning under foral law.

Practical example: A business owner with common civil status who wants to favour the child who will continue the family business must resort to complex strategies using the improvement and free disposal thirds, limited by the strict forced share. The same business owner under Basque law could exclude the other children entirely through the collective forced share or, under Navarrese law, dispose freely of the entire estate.

Flexibility in paying forced shares

Foral systems offer more flexibility in paying forced shares. In Catalonia, because the forced share is a credit right, it can be paid in cash without the heirs becoming co-owners. Galicia also follows the pars valoris system, avoiding the fragmentation of assets.

Indirect tax advantages

Although the taxation of inheritances depends mainly on the regional Inheritance Tax rules (foral rules in the Basque Country and Navarre), the greater flexibility of the foral systems can facilitate more sophisticated tax planning. Being able to concentrate assets in certain heirs or to use succession agreements can optimise the family’s tax burden.

Case law of the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country

The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country has established key case law on the application of Basque civil law. In its judgment of 10 June 2024 it ruled on the case of a woman who had made a will under the Civil Code and died with Basque civil status. The court applied the Basque collective forced share: by appointing one of her daughters as heir, the deceased excluded the others, with no obligation to leave them a minimum share.

Rulings of the Directorate General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith

Registry rulings have clarified key practical issues. Particularly relevant is the doctrine requiring forced heirs to take part in the partition of the estate when the forced share is a share of the assets (pars bonorum), as is the case under common law.

Strategic choice of civil status

Civil status (vecindad civil) determines which law governs the succession. Families with significant estates should carefully consider the advantages of acquiring civil status in a foral territory, especially when there are family businesses or complex estates.

Specific recommended instruments

For business estates, Navarrese or Catalan succession agreements offer unrivalled legal certainty. For families seeking more flexibility in distribution, the Basque system provides unique tools. For simple estates with specific planning needs, the Aragonese or Catalan systems may be ideal.

Can I change my civil status to benefit from a foral law?

Yes. Foral civil status can be acquired by two years of continuous residence plus an express declaration, or by ten years of residence without a declaration to the contrary. However, if the change is made solely to avoid forced shares, it can be challenged as an evasion of the law (fraude de ley).

Are foral succession agreements valid outside the foral territory?

Succession agreements made under foral law are valid even if the assets are located outside the territory, and they remain valid even if the deceased later changes civil status, although the forced shares will be adjusted to the law governing the succession.

What happens if some heirs have a different civil status?

The applicable law is determined by the deceased’s civil status at the time of death, not by that of the heirs. This can lead to complex situations that require specialist advice.

Can a foral succession agreement be reversed?

Whether it can be revoked depends on the specific type of agreement and the applicable foral rules. Some agreements are irrevocable once concluded, while others keep a degree of flexibility.

How does the 2025 reform affect foral laws?

The most relevant reform of 2025 is the one approved in Aragon in May. Besides changing the rules on custody of children after the parents separate, it amends some succession rules in the Aragonese Foral Law Code, such as the involvement of minors over fourteen in the partition and the ineffectiveness of dispositions between divorced or separated spouses. These changes reflect a closer adaptation to today’s social reality.

Foral laws offer an extraordinary opportunity for modern estate planning. Their flexibility, adaptability and respect for the deceased’s wishes make them first-class legal tools for families seeking to optimise the transfer of their wealth between generations. However, their complexity calls for specialist advice to make the most of their advantages and avoid mistakes that could prove costly for future generations.

Article written by Mario Martínez-Cardós Bada, Spanish lawyer specializing in tax and inheritance law.

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