Spain · Catalonia · Cross-border succession · Information, not legal advice — as at 28 June 2026
Catalan legítima vs Spanish legítima — which applies to my Catalan property?
They are very different. Under Spain’s common Civil Code the legítima is two-thirds of the estate and is a share of the assets themselves. In Catalonia the legítima is only one-quarter of the estate and is a credit — a right to be paid a sum of money — not a share in the property, so a Catalan will can leave the family home to one person while the others are entitled only to money. Which set of rules governs a Spaniard’s estate turns on their vecindad civil (regional citizenship), not on where the property is located; a foreign national can usually choose their own national law instead under Brussels IV.
Catalonia has its own civil law — the Codi Civil de Catalunya (Book IV, Llei 10/2008) — and its rules on the reserved share are strikingly different from the “common” Spanish Civil Code that applies in most of the country. If a death touches Catalonia, getting this right is the difference between the family home being locked up and being freely left.
How is the Catalan legítima different?
Two big differences. First, the size: under CCCat article 451-5 the Catalan legítima is just one-quarter of the estate, against two-thirds under common Civil Code article 808. Second, and more important, the nature: under CCCat article 451-1 the Catalan legítima is a pars valoris — a credit, a right to be paid a value, not a co-ownership share in the assets. So a Catalan will can leave the house, the business or the shares outright to one chosen person; the other forced heirs are entitled only to money to the value of their quarter-share between them.
Who is entitled to the Catalan legítima?
The children and their descendants are the legitimaris; in their absence, the surviving parents. The quarter is divided among those entitled. The value is calculated on the estate at death plus certain lifetime gifts — including, under article 451-5(b), donations made in the ten years before death.
What is the cuarta viudal?
Catalonia protects a surviving spouse or stable partner separately, through the cuarta viudal (CCCat arts. 452-1 to 452-6): where they need it to maintain their standard of living, they can claim up to one-quarter of the value of the estate. It is a needs-based claim, not an automatic share.
Which law applies to my Catalan property — Catalan or Spanish?
This is the question that trips families up. For a Spanish national, it is not decided by where the property is — a flat in Barcelona does not automatically attract Catalan law. It is decided by the deceased’s vecindad civil: their regional citizenship within Spain, broadly acquired by residence in a region for ten years (or by birth/parentage and election). So a person with Catalan vecindad civil is governed by Catalan succession law even for assets elsewhere in Spain, and a person with common vecindad civil is governed by the Civil Code even for a property in Catalonia.
Can I disinherit a child in Catalonia?
Only for the limited just causes the law sets out (CCCat art. 451-17) — for example a serious and sustained absence of family relationship attributable to the child. Outside those causes the legítima cannot simply be removed; but because it is only a quarter and only a money claim, Catalan law already leaves far more freedom than the common Civil Code.
Can I choose my national law instead?
If you are a foreign national (say British or Irish), yes — under Brussels IV you can elect the law of your nationality in your will, displacing both Catalan and common Spanish forced heirship over your estate. Vecindad civil is an internal Spanish concept that decides which Spanish regional law applies between Spaniards; Brussels IV decides, for an international estate, whether Spanish law applies at all. We advise on, and act on, both sides of that question.