Succession agreements in Spain: the pactos sucesorios, the Codigo Civil prohibition and how foral regions allow contractual inheritance

Succession agreements, or pactos sucesorios, are contracts between living parties that determine who receives a person’s property when they die. Under Spain’s Codigo Civil, Article 1271 prohibits contracts over a future inheritance, making a pacto sucesorio invalid in common-law territory. The exception is foral regions: Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarra, Aragon and Galicia each have their own civil law that permits succession agreements under specific conditions. Whether you can use one depends entirely on your vecindad civil, not on where you live or where your property sits.

What does Codigo Civil Article 1271 say about future inheritance?

Article 1271 of the Codigo Civil establishes the general rule that contracts may cover all things within human commerce, including future ones, but expressly excludes the future inheritance of a living person. The second paragraph, as modified by the final disposition of Ley 7/2003, states that contracts over a future inheritance are prohibited except those whose object is to practice inter vivos the partition of an estate and other partitionary dispositions, in accordance with Article 1056. This means the Codigo Civil allows you to divide an already-existing estate among heirs while alive, but you cannot contractually designate who will inherit assets that have not yet been acquired by the estate.

The prohibition rests on the principle of intangibilidad of the future inheritance: a person cannot dispose of rights over assets they have not yet acquired, and a succession cannot be deferred to a contract because, under Article 658, succession is deferred by the will of a person manifested in a will or, failing that, by law. The testator retains the freedom to change their will at any time, and a contract that fixes the succession would override that freedom, which the Codigo Civil does not permit.

The practical consequence for property owners in common-law Spain (Andalusia, Madrid, Castilla y Leon, Valencia and other regions without foral civil law) is straightforward: you cannot sign a contract today that determines who inherits your Costa del Sol villa on your death. You must use a will, which is unilateral and freely revocable, as explained in our guide to Spanish wills for property owners.

Which Spanish regions permit pactos sucesorios?

Five foral regions have their own civil law that permits succession agreements. Six territories in total admit pactos sucesorios: Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarra, Aragon, Galicia and Baleares. Each has distinct statutory forms, capacity requirements and formalities, but all share the principle that a pacto sucesorio must be formalised by escritura publica before a notary.

Region	Governing law	Key provision	Notable form
Catalonia	Ley 10/2008, Llibre Quart del Codi Civil de Catalunya, Arts 431-1 to 431-30	Art 431-1: two or more persons may agree the succession by instituting heirs and making particular attributions	Heretament, pacte d’atribucio particular
Basque Country	Ley 5/2015, de Derecho Civil Vasco, Arts 100 to 103	Art 100: a person may dispose of assets mortis causa by pact, or renounce succession rights in the causant’s lifetime	Pacto with present delivery, pacto with present effects
Navarra	Ley 1/1973, Compilacion del Derecho Civil Foral de Navarra, leyes 172 to 183	Ley 172: by pacto sucesorio, rights of mortis causa succession may be established, modified, extinguished or renounced in the causant’s lifetime	Pacto de institucion, promesa de nombrar heredero
Aragon	Decreto Legislativo 1/2011, Codigo del Derecho Foral de Aragon	Pactos sucesorios prevail over the testamento; the fiducia sucesoria is a distinct Aragonese institution	Pacto de definicion, fiducia sucesoria
Galicia	Ley 2/2006, de Derecho Civil de Galicia, Arts 224 onwards	Art 224: the apartacion is an adjudication in life of assets by a causante to a legitimario who renounces future inheritance	Apartacion, pacto de mejora

The table shows the legal landscape, but the key point for a non-resident property owner is that eligibility turns on vecindad civil, not residence. If you were born in Galicia and retain your vecindad civil gallega, you can use the apartacion even if you now live in London, because your succession is governed by Galician civil law.

How do Catalan pactos sucesorios work under Ley 10/2008?

The Catalan system, regulated by Articles 431-1 to 431-30 of Ley 10/2008 (the Llibre Quart del Codi Civil de Catalunya), is the most developed. Article 431-1 defines a pacte successori as one in which two or more persons may agree the succession by cause of death of any of them, by instituting one or more heirs and making particular attributions. The pact may contain dispositions in favour of the parties, even reciprocally, or in favour of third parties.

Who can grant a Catalan pacto sucesorio? Article 431-2 restricts the parties to spouses, relatives in direct line (parents, children, grandchildren), and siblings. A person who is merely a beneficiary, with no burden imposed, may consent according to their natural capacity or through their legal representatives.

Form: Article 431-7 requires escritura publica before a notary, and explicitly states that it does not need to be in capitulaciones matrimoniales (marriage articles). The escritura may contain provisions of a protocol familiar and other non-successory stipulations, but last-will dispositions are prohibited inside the pact.

Irrevocability: A Catalan pacto sucesorio cannot be revoked unilaterally. Article 431-10 allows modification or resolution only by agreement of all parties, formalised in escritura publica, and this mutual faculty extinguishes on the death of any party. The pact cannot be impugnated for pretericion (omission of a forced heir) or revoked by the subsequent birth of children, though legitimarios retain their right to claim their legitima, as covered in our guide to forced heirs in Spanish succession law.

Nulidad: Article 431-9 lists the causes of nullity, including lack of capacity, vice of consent (violence, intimidation, deceit, error), and error in the finalidad or motives if excusable and apparent from the pact itself. The action for nullity caducates at four years.

What is the apartacion gallega and why is it used?

The apartacion gallega, regulated by Article 224 and subsequent articles of Ley 2/2006 de Derecho Civil de Galicia, is one of the most used succession pacts in Spain. It allows a causante to adjudicate assets in life to a legitimario (a forced heir, typically a descendant) who in exchange renounces any future right over the inheritance. The apartado receives the assets now and is excluded from the estate when the causante dies.

The fiscal advantage is significant: the apartacion is treated as a mortis causa transmission for IRPF purposes, meaning the transferor does not pay capital gains tax on the adjudicated assets. The apartado, as the beneficiary, is subject to the Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (ISD), but in Galicia the bonificaciones for direct descendants can reduce the effective rate substantially.

A second Galician form is the pacto de mejora, also under Ley 2/2006, which allows a causante to improve a legitimario’s share without full adjudication. Both forms require escritura publica and the capacity of all parties.

For property owners with vecindad civil gallega, the apartacion is an alternative to the will for passing a specific asset, such as a Costa del Sol property, to one heir while excluding that heir from the rest of the estate. It is irrevocable, which is its principal difference from a donacion (gift), which can be revoked for ingratitude under Codigo Civil Article 648 in common-law contexts. Our guide to inheritance planning for non-residents compares the donation, usufruct and will strategies in more detail.

How do Basque, Navarrese and Aragonese pactos sucesorios differ?

Basque Country (Ley 5/2015, Arts 100 to 103): Article 100 permits a person to dispose of assets mortis causa by pact, or to renounce succession rights in the causant’s lifetime. Article 100.3 requires all parties to be of legal age (mayores de edad). Article 100.4 mandates escritura publica. Article 102 provides that a donacion mortis causa of specific assets and a donacion universal inter vivos are both considered pactos sucesorios. Article 103 allows the pact to contain universal or particular dispositions, with reserves, substitutions, charges and conditions as the parties fix.

Navarra (Ley 1/1973, leyes 172 to 183): Ley 172 defines the pacto sucesorio broadly: by pact, rights of mortis causa succession may be established, modified, extinguished or renounced in the causante’s lifetime. When an act involves ceding such rights to a third party, the causante’s consent is required. The pactos de institucion (ley 177) can be universal or personal, and the promesa de nombrar heredero (ley 183) has the same effects as a pacto sucesorio without actual transmission. The Navarrese system is the most permissive in Spain, rooted in the principle of unity de la Casa (the continuity of family patrimony across generations), though modern law subordinates this to the parties’ autonomy.

Aragon (Decreto Legislativo 1/2011, CDFA): The Codigo del Derecho Foral de Aragon places pactos sucesorios at the head of voluntary succession, prevailing over the testamento. The fiducia sucesoria is a distinct Aragonese institution by which a fiduciario receives the assets to distribute them according to the causante’s instructions, given in pacto or testamento. The pacto de definicion lets an heir agree with the causante to renounce succession rights in exchange for assets received in life.

How does vecindad civil determine which law applies?

The vecindad civil is the connecting factor that determines whether the Codigo Civil or a foral civil law governs a person’s succession. It is distinct from nationality and from administrative residence (empadronamiento).

Acquisition: Vecindad civil is acquired by birth (inheriting the parents’ vecindad), by two years of declared residency in a foral region, or by ten years of undeclared residency. A spouse can opt for the other’s vecindad civil at any time. A foreign national who acquires Spanish nationality by option or residence takes the vecindad civil of their place of habitual residence at the time of acquisition.

Conservation: A person with foral vecindad who moves to a common-law region (such as Andalusia) can conserve their foral vecindad by declaring so before the Registro Civil. Without this declaration, ten years of residence in the new region would assimilate them to the common-law vecindad.

Effect on succession: The vecindad civil at the time of death (or at the time a pacto sucesorio is granted) determines the applicable civil law. A person born in Pamplona who conserves Navarrese vecindad civil while living in Marbella is subject to the Compilacion de Navarra for their succession, not the Codigo Civil, and can grant a pacto sucesorio under leyes 172 to 183.

What does EU Regulation 650/2012 say about cross-border pactos sucesorios?

EU Regulation 650/2012, the European Succession Regulation, governs cross-border successions for deaths occurring on or after 17 August 2015. Article 25 addresses pactos sucesorios directly.

Article 25.1: A pacto sucesorio relating to the succession of a single person is governed, as to its admissibility, material validity and binding effects between the parties (including conditions for its resolution), by the law that, under the Regulation, would have applied to the succession of that person if they had died on the day the pact was made.

Practical effect: If a Spanish national with Catalan vecindad civil living in the United Kingdom grants a pacte successori in Barcelona, the applicable law is Catalan civil law (Ley 10/2008), because that is the law that would have governed their succession on the day of the pact, determined by their vecindad civil under Article 9.8 of the Codigo Civil. The fact that they reside in the UK does not displace the foral law.

For a non-Spanish national, Article 21 of the Regulation applies the law of the state of habitual residence at the time of death, unless the person made a professio iuris (choice of law) in favour of their national law. A British national living in Spain with no foral vecindad civil is subject to the Codigo Civil for their Spanish assets, and Article 1271 prohibits a pacto sucesorio.

Can a non-resident use a pacto sucesorio for a Costa del Sol property?

The answer depends on vecindad civil, not on the property’s location or the owner’s country of residence.

If the owner holds foral vecindad civil: A pacto sucesorio is available. A Catalan living in London who conserves Catalan vecindad civil can grant a pacte successori before a Barcelona notary, and the pact can dispose of a Marbella property. The applicable law is Ley 10/2008, confirmed by EU Regulation 650/2012 Article 25.

If the owner holds common-law vecindad civil (or is a non-Spanish national without foral vecindad): Article 1271 prohibits a pacto sucesorio. The owner must use a will, a donacion, or another instrument available under the Codigo Civil. Our guide to inheriting Spanish property as a non-resident covers the probate process for these cases.

If the owner is unsure of their vecindad civil: The Registro Civil can confirm the registered vecindad. A person who was born in a foral region but has lived in common-law Spain for over ten years without a conservation declaration may have lost their foral vecindad, in which case the Codigo Civil applies and a pacto sucesorio is not available.

What are the risks and limitations of pactos sucesorios?

Irrevocability: Unlike a will, which can be changed at any time, a pacto sucesorio is a contract and binds all parties. Catalan law (Art 431-10), Basque law (Art 101), Navarrese law (ley 178) and Aragonese law all require mutual consent to modify or resolve the pact. A person who grants a pacto sucesorio today cannot unilaterally change the succession plan next year if circumstances change.

Legitima protection: Foral laws permit pactos sucesorios but do not abolish the legitima (the forced heir’s share). A Catalan pact that fails to respect the legitima can be reduced at the request of the legitimarios, as covered in our guide to forced heirs. The legitima regimes differ by region: Galicia fixes it at 25 per cent of the estate (Ley 2/2006), while the Codigo Civil fixes it at two-thirds, so the planning flexibility varies.

Formality: All foral laws require escritura publica. An informal written agreement, even if notarised in the UK, does not satisfy the Spanish formality unless it meets the escritura publica standard before a Spanish notary (or an equivalent act under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents).

Family business and continuity: The Catalan law (Art 431-6) allows the pact to state a finalidad, such as maintaining a family business or transmitting a professional establishment indivisa. This makes pactos sucesorios a powerful tool for business-owning families in foral regions, but the same finalidad clause, if breached, can trigger resolution of the pact under Art 431-10.

Disputes: Pactos sucesorios can be challenged for nullity (lack of capacity, vice of consent) or for resolution (breach of a charge or finalidad). Our guide to contesting a will in Spain covers the analogous mechanisms for wills, but the contractual nature of a pacto sucesorio means the dispute framework is closer to contract law than to testamentary challenge.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.