What to do when an heir blocks an inheritance

Updated on 27 September 2026. Article 1005 of the Civil Code has not changed. What is new: since 3 April 2025 you must try to negotiate before asking a court to divide an estate, and the Supreme Court has clarified when an heir's silence counts as acceptance (STS 1311/2025; STS stands for sentencia del Tribunal Supremo, a Supreme Court judgment). We have also corrected how the estate partitioner is appointed.

When someone dies and there are several heirs, dividing the inheritance is not always straightforward. Often one of the siblings refuses to sign, will not say whether they accept or renounce, or simply lets time pass. Meanwhile, without their signature the assets cannot be sold or the bank accounts shared out, and the family conflict grows.

The law provides ways out: no co-heir can be forced to remain in joint ownership of the estate (art. 1051 of the Código Civil, the Spanish Civil Code) and any co-heir may ask for the estate to be divided at any time (art. 1052). The main exception is where the testator has expressly prohibited division, and even that prohibition has limits. This guide follows the Civil Code. In regions with their own civil law the rules may differ: in Catalonia, for example, the silence of an heir who has been formally asked to decide generally counts as renunciation.

First, work out what kind of deadlock you have

The notarial demand: making the heir decide

The so-called interpellatio in iure is used to make an heir who stays silent say whether they accept or renounce. Since Law 15/2015 on Voluntary Jurisdiction (Ley de la Jurisdicción Voluntaria, in force since 23 July 2015), it is handled by a notary; before that, a judge did it.

Who can request it and when

• Any interested party who can show an interest (art. 1005 CC): for example, other co-heirs, forced heirs (legitimarios), legatees, creditors of the estate or the executor (albacea).
• Not until 9 days after the death (art. 1004 CC).
• With certainty of the death and of the right to inherit (art. 991 CC): a death certificate and the title to the succession, meaning the will together with the certificate of last wills (certificado de últimas voluntades), or the declaration of heirs on intestacy (declaración de herederos abintestato), which is now made before a notary (art. 55 of the Ley del Notariado, the Notaries Act).

How it works

1. In a notarial demand (acta de requerimiento), the notary tells the heir that they have 30 calendar days to accept outright, accept with the benefit of inventory (a beneficio de inventario) or renounce.
2. The notary must expressly warn them that, if they do not reply, they will be deemed to have accepted outright.
3. If the heir refuses to take the notice, they are treated as notified; if it cannot be handed over, the notary sends it by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt (arts. 202 and 203 of the Reglamento Notarial, the Notarial Regulations).

If the heir does not reply, the inheritance is deemed accepted outright, and the heir is liable for the estate's debts with their own assets as well (art. 1003 CC). So if they fear there may be debts, they should reply accepting with the benefit of inventory. If they do not hold the estate, they have 30 days from the end of the article 1005 period to ask for a notarial inventory (arts. 1014 and 1015 CC).

What the Supreme Court has clarified

STS 1311/2025 of 25 September (appeal 3231/2020) makes three points clear:

• Under the general Civil Code only a notary can make the demand; suing the heir is no substitute.
• The notice must set out the options and the warning of what happens if the heir does not reply.
• If the demand was never served, for example because the address was wrong, it has no effect. Nor does an heir accept tacitly just because, when sued, they do not renounce during the proceedings.

Practical tip: check the heir's current address before going to the notary. If the heir dies without deciding, their right passes to their own heirs (art. 1006 CC). And note that an heir who hides assets of the estate loses the right to renounce (art. 1002 CC).

Meanwhile: the estate stops, tax deadlines do not

Until the inheritance is accepted, the estate is in abeyance (herencia yacente). Once accepted and until the division, the assets belong to all the heirs as joint owners of the estate (comunidad hereditaria): selling any of them needs everyone's agreement, although each heir can sell their own share. You can carry out acts of mere preservation or provisional management without accepting, such as paying the property tax (IBI) or the community of owners' fees (art. 999 CC). Avoid using the deceased's money or selling assets: that may amount to tacit acceptance.

Watch the taxes:

• Inheritance Tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones): it accrues on the day of death and each heir is taxed on what they receive (arts. 5 and 24 of Law 29/1987). A sibling's deadlock does not stop you from filing your own self-assessment.
• Deadline: 6 months from the death, extendable by another 6 if you apply within the first 5 months, with late-payment interest (arts. 67 and 68 of the tax regulations). If litigation over the estate is started within the deadline, the deadline is interrupted until the ruling becomes final; the notarial demand and uncontested procedures do not interrupt it (art. 69).
• Municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía municipal): 6 months, extendable up to one year at the heir's request (art. 110.2.b of the Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales, the Local Finance Act).
• Community of Madrid: descendants, the spouse and ascendants (groups I and II) get a 99 % relief on the tax due. For deaths on or after 1 July 2025, group III (second- and third-degree collateral relatives, such as siblings, nephews and nieces or uncles and aunts, and ascendants and descendants by marriage) gets a 50 % relief, but only on assets declared in full on time, or late but before the tax authority has asked you to file (art. 25.1 of the Madrid consolidated text). Filing late without being asked also carries a surcharge of 1 % plus a further 1 % for each full month of delay and, after 12 months, of 15 % plus late-payment interest (art. 27 of the Ley General Tributaria, the General Tax Act). Waiting for the other heir can be costly.

After acceptance: how to divide the estate without agreement

Accepting is not dividing. If there is still no agreement once the inheritance has been accepted, check the will first: if it names an estate partitioner (contador-partidor), that person makes the division without needing every heir to sign it (art. 1057 CC), and while it is their job, court division cannot be requested (art. 782.1 LEC). If there is none, there are two main routes.

1. Court- or notary-appointed partitioner (contador-partidor dativo)

• When: if there is no will, the will does not appoint a partitioner, or the post is vacant (art. 1057 CC).
• Who applies: heirs and legatees representing at least 50 % of the estate, with notice to the others.
• Who appoints: the notary, using the lists of experts kept by the Association of Notaries (arts. 50 and 66 of the Ley del Notariado), or the court clerk (letrado de la Administración de Justicia) (art. 92 of the Ley de la Jurisdicción Voluntaria).
• Approval: the division needs the approval of the notary or the court clerk, unless all heirs and legatees expressly confirm it.
• No compulsory prior negotiation: it is a voluntary-jurisdiction procedure (art. 5.3 of Organic Law 1/2025).

It is usually the quickest option when only one heir is blocking. We explain it in more detail in The estate partitioner: the key figure in dividing an inheritance.

2. Court division of the estate

Any co-heir or legatee of a share of the estate can ask for court division (división judicial de la herencia, arts. 782 et seq. of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil, the Civil Procedure Act), provided the division is not one that a partitioner appointed by the testator, by agreement of the heirs or by the notary or court clerk must make (art. 782.1). It is the usual way out when the 50 % needed for an appointed partitioner cannot be reached. Creditors cannot request it.

• Try to negotiate first. Since 3 April 2025, a claim is not admitted unless an appropriate dispute-resolution method (MASC) has been tried first: mediation, conciliation, a confidential binding offer or negotiation between lawyers, among others (art. 5 of Organic Law 1/2025 and art. 403.2 LEC). Division of an estate is not among the exceptions.
• Where and how: before the Civil Section of the Tribunal de Instancia (the new first-instance court; in Madrid it replaced the former Juzgados de Primera Instancia on 31 December 2025), with a lawyer and a court representative (procurador), providing the death certificate and your title as heir (art. 782.2). You can also ask for court control of the estate and an inventory (arts. 783.1 and 792).
• The judge does not choose the partitioner. The court clerk calls a meeting within the following 10 days. There, the parties agree on the partitioner and the valuers; if they cannot agree, the partitioner is drawn by lot from practising lawyers with knowledge of the subject and offices where the case is heard (arts. 783 and 784).
• Time limits: the partitioner submits the division within a maximum of 2 months and the parties have 10 days to object (arts. 786.2 and 787.1).
• Outcome: without objections, the court clerk approves the division by decree; with objections and no agreement, the case continues as a juicio verbal (fast-track civil proceedings) (art. 787). You can end the proceedings by mutual agreement at any time (art. 789).
• Partitioner's fees: they are deducted from the estate and paid by the heirs in proportion to their share (art. 1064 CC; STS 610/2026 of 20 April).

Indivisible assets. An asset that cannot be divided, or loses much of its value if divided, can be allocated to one heir who compensates the others. But it is enough for a single heir to ask for a sale at public auction, open to bidders from outside the estate (art. 1062 CC). In STS 1543/2025 of 3 November, the Supreme Court sided with heirs without means who asked for the auction, against a division that left them in joint ownership.

Other common situations

One heir lives in the house and keeps the others out

Until the division, no heir may use an asset of the estate exclusively without a title that allows it (for example, an agreement among the co-heirs, a provision in the will or a usufruct). The Supreme Court treats a co-heir who occupies a property to the exclusion of the others as an occupier without title (precarista), and any other co-heir, even one with a smaller share, can seek eviction on behalf of all the co-heirs (STS 164/2025 of 3 February and STS 1053/2025 of 1 July). It is heard as a juicio verbal and is not among the exceptions in art. 5.2 of Organic Law 1/2025, so it also requires the prior attempt to negotiate.

What about compensation for that use? According to STS 701/2026 of 7 May, co-heirs cannot claim it individually in their own name: income, rents and damage are settled in the division in favour of the co-heirs as a whole (art. 1063 CC).

You want out without waiting

You can sell your inheritance right (your share of the estate) before the division. Selling it counts as accepting (art. 1000 CC) and, if you sell to an outsider, the co-heirs can take over your share by refunding the price within one month (co-heirs' right of redemption, art. 1067 CC).

The heir cannot be found

A notarial demand that is not served has no effect. In court division, however, anyone whose address is unknown is summoned by public notice, and the Public Prosecutor (Ministerio Fiscal) represents absent heirs (art. 783 LEC).

Frequently asked questions

Is there a legal deadline for accepting an inheritance? The Civil Code does not set a short, general deadline; that is why the notarial demand exists, forcing a decision within 30 calendar days. That does not mean the right to decide lasts for ever: acceptance with the benefit of inventory, for example, is only possible while the action to claim the inheritance is not time-barred (art. 1016). The action to ask for the estate to be divided, by contrast, never becomes time-barred between co-heirs (art. 1965).

How much does it cost to unblock an inheritance? It depends on the route: the notarial demand is recorded in a notarial acta charged under the official scale of notarial fees; the partitioner and valuers are paid out of the estate; court division adds lawyer's and procurador's fees. Ask for a quote before choosing.

Need help unblocking your inheritance?

Choosing the right order (notarial demand, negotiation, partitioner or court claim) can save you time and money. To organise the first steps, try our Inheritance: first steps tool or book a consultation to review your case. If you are thinking of renouncing, read Types of renunciation of an inheritance.

Legislation and sources

• Civil Code (arts. 991, 999, 1000, 1002–1006, 1014–1016, 1051–1068 and 1965)
• Law 1/2000 of 7 January on Civil Procedure (arts. 403, 782–789 and 792)
• Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service (art. 5 and first transitional provision)
• Law 15/2015 of 2 July on Voluntary Jurisdiction (art. 92)
• Law of 28 May 1862 on Notaries (arts. 50, 55 and 66)
• Decree of 2 June 1944 approving the Notarial Regulations (arts. 202 and 203)
• Law 29/1987 of 18 December on Inheritance and Gift Tax (arts. 5 and 24)
• Royal Decree 1629/1991 of 8 November approving the Inheritance and Gift Tax Regulations (arts. 67–69)
• Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004 of 5 March, consolidated text of the Local Finance Act (art. 110)
• Law 58/2003 of 17 December, General Tax Act (art. 27)
• Legislative Decree 1/2010 of 21 October of the Governing Council of the Community of Madrid, consolidated text of the Madrid legislation on taxes ceded by the State (art. 25)
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 164/2025 (occupation by a co-heir)
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 1053/2025 (occupation by a co-heir)
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 1311/2025 (notarial demand; the summary misdates it 25 October)
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 67/2026, which cites STS 1311/2025 with its date, 25 September 2025
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 1543/2025 (auction of indivisible assets)
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 610/2026 (partitioner's fees)
• Supreme Court, First Chamber: summary of judgments including STS 701/2026 (compensation for exclusive use)