The protection of companion animals in Spanish inheritance law

Updated on 27 September 2026. The Civil Code rules on animals in an estate have not changed since 2022. We have clarified what Article 914 bis says and added the legacy with a charge, the duties of whoever takes the animal and the tax position in Madrid; the regulation that will set out the compulsory course and insurance for dogs has still not been published.

For decades, Spanish civil law treated animals as mere movable property, subject to the same rules as any other item in a person's estate. Social and legal developments have changed that view, particularly in relation to companion animals.

Today the law recognises that animals are not things, but living beings endowed with sentience, and this also matters when their owner dies. We explain what you can provide for in your will, what happens if you say nothing and what your family should do. We focus on Spain's general civil law (Derecho civil común); if you have a regional civil law status (vecindad civil foral: Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, the Basque Country, Galicia or the Balearic Islands), some rules may differ.

The legal status of animals since 2022

The turning point was Ley 17/2021, de 15 de diciembre (Act 17/2021 of 15 December), in force since 5 January 2022, which amended the Civil Code (Código Civil), the Mortgage Act and the Civil Procedure Act. Its preamble relies on Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which requires full regard to be paid to the welfare of animals as sentient beings, and on the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals.

What matters for an estate:

• Article 333 bis of the Civil Code: animals are sentient beings, and the rules on property apply to them only insofar as this is compatible with their nature or with the rules that protect them.
• Article 348: ownership may relate to "a thing or an animal", so the animal forms part of the estate.
• Article 914 bis: governs what happens if there is no will or the will says nothing about the animal. Act 16/2022 of 5 September corrected a drafting error in its first paragraph ("causahabiente", the successor, instead of "causante", the deceased); it has not changed since.
• Article 605 of the Civil Procedure Act (Act 1/2000): companion animals can never be seized, although any income they generate can be.

What is meant by a companion animal?

The European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, in force for Spain since 1 February 2018, defines it as an animal kept, or intended to be kept, by a person, in particular in their home, for private enjoyment and companionship (Article 1.1). Ley 7/2023 (Act 7/2023 on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals) specifies that dogs, cats and ferrets always qualify (Article 3.a). In the Community of Madrid, regional Act 4/2016 also includes horses and other equines kept for leisure or sport with no commercial purpose (Article 4.a).

Can I leave my estate to my pet?

No. Only persons, natural or legal, can be heirs or legatees (Articles 30 and 35 of the Civil Code), and animals have no legal personality. Common law systems use a trust to set aside assets for an animal's care, but Spanish civil law has no such device. If you write "I leave my assets to my dog", someone will have to work out what you meant (Article 675), and it can easily end in a dispute. The answer is to direct the gift to a person.

How to protect your animal in your will

1. Leave the animal to a specific person

The simplest option is to leave the animal as a legacy to the person you want to look after it, identifying it clearly (name, species and microchip number). The legatee becomes the owner on the date of death (Article 882). But nobody is obliged to accept a legacy: if that person does not want it and nobody else has been named, the animal goes back into the estate (Article 888) and the general rule in Article 914 bis applies. That is why you should talk to them first and name substitutes (Articles 774 and 789).

2. Add money with a charge: the modal legacy

So that caring for the animal does not cost them money, you can leave them a sum or an asset with the obligation to use it for the animal's care. The Civil Code speaks of a "charge" (carga, Article 797); in practice it is known as a modo or modal legacy, and it is usually the most practical option:

• It is not a condition unless you want it to be: the legatee can claim the gift straight away, giving security that they will comply and will return what they received if they do not.
• If the charge cannot be carried out exactly as written through no fault of theirs, for example because the animal dies soon afterwards, it is carried out in the way closest to your wishes (Article 798).
• The legatee is liable only up to the value of what they receive (Article 858).
• If you leave the animal and the money in a single legacy with that charge, they cannot accept only the money and turn down the animal (Article 889).
• It cannot burden the forced share. Neither conditions nor charges can be imposed on the forced share (legítima) of your forced heirs (Article 813), so the money for the animal's care must come from the freely disposable part of your estate. If you have children or other descendants, that means the third you can leave freely: the third reserved for favouring particular descendants (mejora) can only be burdened in favour of forced heirs or their descendants (Article 824).

Also say what should happen to any money left over when the animal dies: whether the carer keeps it, it goes to an animal charity or it returns to your heirs.

3. A condition, used with care

You can also make the inheritance or legacy subject to a condition (Articles 790 and 791): a suspensive one, so that the person acquires nothing until they take on the animal's care, or a resolutory one, so that they lose what they received if they fail to comply. Bear in mind that if you appoint an heir under a suspensive condition, the assets are placed under administration until it is met (Article 801), and that, like a charge, a condition cannot be imposed on the forced share (Article 813). In most cases a modo is more flexible: the carer receives the means from the outset and must return them if they fail to comply (Article 797).

4. An executor to keep watch

An executor (albacea) can oversee compliance with your instructions (Articles 892 and 902). If you set no time limit, they have one year from accepting the role (Article 904); if you want them to supervise the animal's care for its whole life, expressly set a longer period (Article 905).

5. An animal charity as plan B

You can leave the animal, together with a sum of money, to an existing animal charity or foundation, asking it to care for the animal or find it a new home; check beforehand that it will accept. Setting up a foundation just for your pet is not viable: the law requires aims of general interest that benefit groups of people, and an adequate endowment, presumed sufficient from €30,000 (Articles 3 and 12 of Act 50/2002 of 26 December on Foundations).

What happens if nothing has been arranged for the animal?

If there is no will, or the will does not mention the animal, Article 914 bis of the Civil Code applies:

1. The animal is handed over to the heirs or legatees who claim it.
2. If it cannot be handed over immediately, and only where necessary because nobody has provided for its care, it is taken provisionally to the body or centre responsible for collecting abandoned animals until the succession formalities are completed.
3. If none of the successors wants it, the authorities may transfer it to a third party to look after it.
4. If more than one heir claims it and there is no unanimous agreement, the court decides, taking the animal's welfare into account.

The provision sets no time limit after which the heirs are taken not to want the animal, which leaves room for interpretation. If the disagreement ends up in court, since 3 April 2025 most civil claims require the parties first to try an appropriate dispute resolution method (MASC), such as negotiation or mediation (Article 5 of Organic Act 1/2025). And if the animal goes through a centre, Act 7/2023 prohibits putting it down because of lack of space, failure to find an adopter or abandonment by its keeper (Article 27.a).

The first few days: what the family should do

• Arrange its care straight away. Act 7/2023 prohibits leaving a companion animal unsupervised for more than three consecutive days, or a dog for more than 24 hours (Article 27.i). Looking after it while the estate is being dealt with is, in principle, a mere act of preservation and does not amount to accepting the inheritance (Article 999 of the Civil Code).
• Change the registered owner. Whoever keeps the animal must report the change of owner (Article 24.2.i of Act 7/2023). In Madrid, the Registro de Identificación de Animales de Compañía (Companion Animal Identification Register) is run by the Madrid Official College of Veterinary Surgeons (Article 12 of Act 4/2016).
• If it is a dog, Act 7/2023 requires its owner to complete a free training course and to hold third-party liability insurance throughout the animal's life (Article 30). The content of the course and the amount of cover depend on a regulation that, as at 27 September 2026, has not been published in the BOE (Official State Gazette). In the meantime, it is sensible to check whether any existing policy already covers the dog.
• If it is a potentially dangerous dog (for example a Rottweiler, a Pit Bull Terrier or a cross of these breeds, as listed in Annex I to Royal Decree 287/2002, or a dog classified as such because of its characteristics or behaviour), whoever keeps it first needs a licence from the town council (ayuntamiento). Among other requirements, they must be an adult, hold a certificate of psychological aptitude and have third-party liability insurance with cover of at least €120,000 (Article 3 of Act 50/1999 of 23 December and Article 3 of Royal Decree 287/2002 of 22 March). The dog must then be entered in the municipal register within 15 days of obtaining the licence (Article 6 of Act 50/1999). Keeping it without a licence, or handing it over to someone who has none, is a very serious offence (Article 13.1); bear this in mind when choosing a carer in your will.

If the animal belonged to both of you

The animal may belong to both of you, and that affects what you can leave in your will. In a marriage under the community of property regime (gananciales), animals that each spouse had when the regime began are separate property (Article 1346.1 of the Civil Code); those bought later with joint money are, in principle, community property (Article 1347.3). Even so, you can leave a community-property animal in your will: the gift takes full effect if, when the community is wound up, the animal is allotted to your estate; if not, the beneficiary receives its value (Article 1380).

It is not automatic for the survivor to keep the animal: after the death, they share its ownership with the deceased's heirs until it is divided. The Code regulates who is entrusted with the animal on divorce (Article 94 bis) and, although it has no specific rule for death, it does have one for jointly owned animals (Article 404): they cannot be divided up by selling them unless all the co-owners agree and, failing unanimous agreement, the court decides, taking into account the co-owners' interests and the animal's welfare, and may share out the time spent caring for it and the costs between them. To avoid getting that far, the best approach is for both of you to provide for it in your wills. If you are not married, you may also find this useful: Is a de facto partner entitled to inherit?.

Can someone else decide who keeps the animal?

A will is a strictly personal act: you cannot ask someone else to decide who inherits or in what shares (Article 670). The Code only allows a third party to distribute sums you leave to "classes of persons", such as relatives, the poor or charitable institutions (Article 671). Choosing who keeps your animal does not clearly fall within that exception, so the prudent course is to decide it yourself, with substitutes.

Tax: what the recipient pays

• An individual pays Inheritance Tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones) on what they receive, including the money for the animal's care, according to their relationship to you. If you were resident in the Community of Madrid, descendants, spouses and ascendants get a 99% relief on the tax due, and siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts and relatives by marriage such as parents-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law or stepchildren (group III) get 50%, provided the assets are declared on time or, if later, before any request from the tax authorities; a friend or neighbour (group IV) gets neither relief nor a kinship allowance (Articles 21 and 25 of Madrid Legislative Decree 1/2010). The deadline is six months from the date of death (Article 67 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 1629/1991).
• An animal charity or foundation does not pay Inheritance Tax but Corporation Tax (Article 3.2 of Act 29/1987 of 18 December on Inheritance and Gift Tax). If it is a foundation or an association of public benefit that has opted into Act 49/2002, what it receives by inheritance or legacy is exempt (Article 6.3).

Common mistakes

• Writing it down in a letter or note at home. A letter or note is not a valid will unless it meets the requirements for a holographic (handwritten) will: you must be an adult and write it entirely by hand, sign it and date it (Article 688). Nor can a will validly refer to private papers that do not meet those requirements (Article 672). A holographic will must also be lodged with a notary within five years of the death (Article 689).
• Naming someone without asking them and without providing substitutes.
• Leaving no money for the animal's care, or not saying what happens to what is left over.
• Not reviewing your will when your animals or the people you trust change: you can amend it whenever you like (Article 737).

Final thoughts

Animals are no longer mere items of property, but sentient beings whose welfare must be protected even when their owner is gone. Your will is the tool for making sure yours ends up in good hands, with the means to look after it and someone to check that this happens.

If you want to provide for your animal's care, or you have to decide what to do with a late relative's animal, you can book a consultation and we will go through it with you. If you have just lost a family member, our first steps after an inheritance guide will help you organise the formalities.

Legislation and sources

• Civil Code (Código Civil), consolidated text
• Ley 17/2021, de 15 de diciembre, amending the Civil Code, the Mortgage Act and the Civil Procedure Act on the legal regime for animals
• Ley 16/2022, de 5 de septiembre, reforming the consolidated Insolvency Act (its first final provision corrects Article 914 bis of the Civil Code)
• Ley 1/2000, de 7 de enero, de Enjuiciamiento Civil (Civil Procedure Act)
• Ley 7/2023, de 28 de marzo, on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals
• Ley 50/1999, de 23 de diciembre, on the legal regime for keeping potentially dangerous animals
• Real Decreto 287/2002, de 22 de marzo, implementing Act 50/1999
• Ley 4/2016, de 22 de julio, on the Protection of Companion Animals in the Community of Madrid
• European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals: instrument of ratification (BOE, 11 October 2017)
• Ley 50/2002, de 26 de diciembre, de Fundaciones (Foundations Act)
• Ley 29/1987, de 18 de diciembre, on Inheritance and Gift Tax
• Real Decreto 1629/1991, de 8 de noviembre, approving the Inheritance and Gift Tax Regulation
• Legislative Decree 1/2010, consolidated text on taxes ceded to the Community of Madrid
• Ley 49/2002, de 23 de diciembre, on the tax regime for non-profit entities and tax incentives for patronage
• Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero, on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service