Hereditary community

Imagine that, after the death of parents or grandparents, all the children inherit a house together, but they have not yet clearly decided how to divide it, nor have they made the partition of the assets or officially settled the inheritance. During that time, one of the heirs (who could even have the majority of the inheritance) decides to live and enjoy the house alone, without allowing the others to use it.

Well, the Supreme Court (TS) has made it clear in a recent ruling that this cannot be done. All heirs have the right to use and enjoy what they have inherited, but no one can exclusively appropriate those "common" assets by taking advantage of the fact that they have not yet been officially divided. Even if a person has a larger share of the inheritance, that does not give them the right to evict the others or prevent them from using the house, at least until the inheritance is divided and each one receives what corresponds to them.

Therefore, the other heirs can go to court and request what is called an "eviction for precarious occupation," which is basically an order for the heir who is occupying the house exclusively to vacate it, precisely because the possession belongs to everyone and until the assets are divided, no one can take exclusive possession. This doctrine has already been confirmed and maintains that having the majority of the inheritance does not give more right to occupy the house exclusively than the rest.

In inheritance disputes, our professionals can advise you in the defense of your claims and rights.