A woman inherits the family home from her parents. Years later, she dies without having children and without having left a will. Her husband becomes the heir to her property because her parents and other ascendants are not alive. When he dies, he also has no descendants, and his estate passes to his own relatives. The result is that the house that belonged to her family ends up in the hands of his family.
This scenario shows why inheritance in childless marriages requires specific planning. The absence of descendants does not mean that the assets automatically go to the spouse or to the siblings: the destination of the estate depends on who survives the deceased, whether there is a will, and on the civil legislation that applies.
In Spain, furthermore, not all autonomous communities follow the same rules of succession. That is why a decision that may seem simple — leaving all the assets to the partner — can be conditioned by the rights of other family members.
What happens if a person dies without children and without a will
In common law, when a person dies without descendants and has not made a will, the law establishes an order to determine who inherits. If their parents are alive, they have priority over other relatives, although the surviving spouse retains certain rights over the inheritance.
If the parents are not alive, but other ascendants are, such as grandparents, they may also have succession rights. In that case, the surviving spouse is recognized the usufruct of half of the inheritance.
The situation changes when there are neither descendants nor ascendants. In that case, the surviving spouse inherits all the assets before siblings, nephews, or other collateral relatives. This explains how an estate originating from one family can end up, after several deaths, passing to the partner’s relatives.
If there is also no spouse and no relatives with the right to inherit, the succession may correspond to the State or to the competent autonomous community.