Succession agreement what it is and what it is for
Every day the signing of inheritance agreements is more common, especially in couples with children of different marriages, who want to guarantee the transfer of goods to certain descendants
The Succession Pact is a contract, whereby a person commits to another or others, before passing away, to give them some assets and / or rights when their death occurs.
The agreement must be formalized in a public deed and is irrevocable, unless the contractors return to the notary to undo or modify the agreement.
Conditions can be established and, even, the goods can be delivered at the time of signing the Covenant.
People who can sign the Succession Pact must have a kinship relationship with each other: spouses, unmarried partners, relatives in direct ascending line (parents, grandparents …) or descendants (children, grandchildren …) or be relatives up to fourth grade (cousins , uncles and nephews). We can even involve the political family in the Succession Pact, because the law allows it to be granted with the relatives of our couple in a direct line (in-laws) and collateral until the second degree (brothers-in-law).
The fundamental difference with the Testament is that this is a unilateral act, which only depends on the will of the person who signs it, which can change your mind the next minute and grant a new testament that leaves the previous one without effect. On the other hand, the Succession Agreement is a contract, which does not depend on a single signatory, but on at least two, so that it can only be modified and revoked if the parties that signed it agree to change or resolve it.
The Succession Covenant gives security to the heir that he will receive the agreement, at least when the death occurs, while a Testament is always an unknown, because you can never know what it contains until the one who granted it dies and the document is read Last signed.
Unfortunately, the Succession Pact cannot be used throughout Spain, as it is only admitted in Navarra, Biscay, Aragon, Balearic Islands, Galicia and Catalonia.
Therefore, only persons who have a civil neighborhood in one of the aforementioned territories may grant valid Inheritance Pacts. In order to have that civil neighborhood, it is not enough to have the domicile in one of those territories, it is necessary to remain there for 2 years and expressly declare the will to take advantage of this neighborhood and legislation; or reside for more than 10 years, without the need for any demonstration.
