In the world of inheritance, few situations generate more conflicts than the division of the inheritance community. For businessmen, families with significant estates or beneficiaries with transnational interests, understanding how assets are distributed in Venezuela and Spain, and how to identify hidden assets, is crucial to protect their rights and avoid significant estate losses.

What is the hereditary community?

The community of heirs is formed when a person dies and several persons (heirs) acquire, as a whole, the title to all the assets, rights and obligations of the deceased, until the partition is carried out. During this phase, the heirs do not have rights over specific assets, but an ideal share over the totality of the inheritance.

Division of inheritance under Venezuelan law

• The community of heirs remains until the heirs agree on the partition or it is judicially ordered.
• The heirs may request the division at any time, unless there is a covenant of indivision.
• The legitimate inheritance limits the freedom of disposition of the deceased and guarantees a minimum portion to certain forced heirs (descendants, ascendants and surviving spouse).

Important: In cases of disagreement or suspicion of concealment of assets, the heirs may request judicial measures to investigate and secure the assets.

Division of inheritance under Spanish law

• The Spanish Civil Code, and in some autonomous communities special legislation, regulate the division.
• The heirs must proceed with the amicable or, failing that, judicial partition.
• The legitimate rights of forced heirs are also protected.
• The Voluntary Jurisdiction Law allows the notary or judge to resolve discrepancies.

Spain offers effective instruments such as asset restraint orders, asset audits and international collaboration to locate assets outside Spanish territory.

Key strategies for complex or international succession processes

• Wealth and financial audits: Essential to reconstruct the estate of the deceased and detect suspicious transfers.
• Judicial action of collation and reduction of donations: They allow to bring to collation assets that were donated in life to avoid their distribution.
• Use of public and private registries: Consultation of property, commercial, vehicle and national and international bank registries.
• Investigation abroad: Fundamental when there are indications of bank accounts, companies or assets in other countries.
• Precautionary measures and asset protection actions: Request for blocking of accounts and prohibitions on disposition pending litigation.

At VENFORT Abogados we apply investigation protocols based on international agreements and cooperation with allied law firms in Spain, Switzerland, Panama and the United States.

Legal protection and estate planning

It is not only a matter of defending rights in a conflicting succession. Succession planning makes it possible to structure the transfer of assets efficiently, avoid litigation and ensure the preservation of family assets.

The division of an inherited community property can be complex, especially when it includes assets hidden or dispersed in several jurisdictions. Understanding the laws of Venezuela and Spain, and having specialized legal advice in asset recovery and international probate litigation, makes the difference between preserving the estate or losing it.

Do you need advice on succession planning? At VENFORT Abogados we have lawyers with expertise in inheritance law, asset tracing and estate litigation in Venezuela, Spain and other key jurisdictions. Contact us today and protect your legacy.