Successions

The Supreme Court (TS) resolves a typical family conflict of inheritances where a person dies and leaves a will . In it, he names his three children as heirs and, in addition, leaves his wife a legacy of the third of free disposal , that is, “a portion” of the inheritance that is measured as a quota or percentage. Later, when the wife dies, she in turn leaves that right (that third) in favor of a third party .

The problem arises because, when the children carry out the liquidation of the joint property of the marriage and the partition of the father's inheritance in a notarial deed, they do so without counting on this third party, despite the fact that he claimed to have a right to that “percentage” inherited through the wife, so he demands that his right to intervene in those operations be recognized and, subsidiarily, that he be paid what is due to him.

The TS confirms that a legatee of fractional share does not receive a specific asset, but rather an abstract right to a quota that is only correctly realized when inventory, liquidation, and partition operations are carried out. Therefore, to protect your share, you have the right to participate in the liquidation and distribution. It also confirms that, in this case, the wife implicitly accepted the inheritance/legacy (through acts of enjoyment and acting as the holder), so that right passed to her estate and she could bequeath it. Finally, it dismisses the appeals of the appellant, upholds the ruling favorable to the third party and confirms the payment order in the proportion that corresponds.