Inheritances involving minors or persons with support needs: court authorisation to sell or renounce

The law protects the assets of those who cannot decide for themselves. Parents cannot renounce the rights of their minor children or sell or encumber their real estate, commercial establishments, precious objects or movable securities without a justified cause of utility or necessity and without prior authorisation from the judge, with a hearing of the Public Prosecutor (artículo 166 of the Civil Code).

Renouncing an inheritance or a legacy deferred to the child always requires this authorisation. If the judge denies it, the inheritance can only be accepted with benefit of inventory (artículo 166 of the Civil Code and artículo 95.2 of Ley 15/2015): the minor will never be liable for the deceased's debts with their own assets.

Following Ley 8/2021, the same rule applies to persons with disabilities who have a representative curator: artículo 287 of the Civil Code requires court authorisation to alienate or encumber real estate, renounce rights and accept without benefit of inventory or renounce inheritances or liberalities. Guardians of minors and judicial defenders are in the exact same situation (artículo 93.2 of Ley 15/2015).

Pay attention to conflicts of interest: if the parent, guardian or curator is a co-heir in the same inheritance as the minor or the person with support needs, it is also necessary to appoint a judicial defender to represent the affected party in the partition (reiterated doctrine of the DGSJFP). Managora detects this scenario when studying your case so that the file does not get stuck.

It is a judicial file, not a lawsuit: there is no defendant. An application is submitted to the Court of First Instance (now integrated into the Civil Section of the Tribunal of Instance) of the domicile of the minor or the person with support needs, which must state the reason for the act, justify its necessity, utility or convenience, precisely identify the asset and explain the destination of the money obtained (artículo 63 of Ley 15/2015).

The key to success is the justification: it is not enough to want to sell, you must prove why it benefits the minor (to pay inheritance tax, avoid expenses of an unproductive property, finance their studies or needs, or exit a conflicting co-ownership). The file is accompanied by all the documents that allow the judge to form an exact judgement.

Since Ley 8/2021 there is no longer a mandatory public auction: direct sale is requested by attaching an expert market valuation report and the conditions of the operation (artículo 63.3 of Ley 15/2015). The judge resolves by order, granting or denying according to the interest of the minor or the person with support needs (artículo 65), and can impose precautions on the destination of the money (artículo 66), for example its deposit into an account in the minor's name or the agreed reinvestment.

The Public Prosecutor always intervenes in the hearing as a guarantor of the represented party's interest. The law also requires hearing the minor if they have sufficient maturity and, in any case, if they are over 12 years old; the person with support measures will be heard whenever possible.

Minor aged 16 or over: if they consent to the act in a public document together with their parents, court authorisation is not required, neither for the sale nor for the renunciation (artículo 166 of the Civil Code and artículo 93.2.a of Ley 15/2015). It is also not required to sell movable securities if the amount is reinvested in safe assets or securities.

The partition of the inheritance has its own regime (artículo 1060 of the Civil Code): if the minor is legally represented by their parents, the partition does not need prior authorisation or subsequent approval. However, the partition made by a guardian or representative curator requires court approval once carried out (artículo 289 of the Civil Code for the representative curator, as opposed to artículo 287, which regulates acts subject to prior authorisation), and that of the judicial defender also requires it, unless the Lawyer of the Administration of Justice had exempted them when appointing them. Note the difference: awarding the property in the partition is one thing; selling it to a third party is another distinct matter that does require prior authorisation.

Gratuitous renunciation in favour of co-heirs: artículo 1000.3.º of the Civil Code clarifies that gratuitous renunciation in favour of those to whom the renounced portion must accrue does not imply tacit acceptance of the inheritance. This is an important nuance for the representative who renounces their own inheritance, but it does not exempt from court authorisation when the renunciation is made on behalf of the minor or the person with support needs.

Regional civil laws (derechos forales): in Aragon the authorisation can be given by the Board of Relatives constituted before a notario (Spanish notary), without going through the court, and in Catalonia the Catalan Civil Code allows replacing the court authorisation with the consent of certain close relatives granted in a public deed. Managora tells you which regime applies according to your civil neighbourhood and territory.

In practice, the act does not succeed: the notario must demand the authorisation order and, if the deed is signed without it, the Land Registry suspends the registration. The DGSJFP resolves real cases where the family had to initiate the judicial file after signing, with the operation blocked in the meantime.

Civilly, the majority jurisprudence of the Supreme Court treats the act as an incomplete contract granted without sufficient power (artículo 1259 of the Civil Code): it does not bind the minor or the person with support needs, and remains subject to ratification, either by court approval obtained retrospectively, or by the interested party themselves when they reach the age of majority or recover full legal capacity. If no one ratifies it, the act becomes ineffective and the benefits must be restored.

In renunciation the risk is even greater: a renunciation made without authorisation lacks efficacy, and if the judge denies the requested authorisation, the inheritance can only be accepted with benefit of inventory (artículo 95.2 of Ley 15/2015).

If you have already signed something without authorisation, do not let it fester: Managora studies the regularisation route (subsequent authorisation or approval file, ratification) and executes it for you.

The file does not pay a tasa (official fee) for court proceedings: natural persons are exempt from the fee for the exercise of jurisdictional power in the civil order (artículo 4.2 of Ley 10/2012). The real costs are different: the expert valuation report when direct sale is requested, the notary fees for the authorised operation and, where applicable, the procedural representation. It is worth clarifying this last point, because a rule that no longer applies in this way is often repeated: in the file for authorisation of acts of disposition, the intervention of a lawyer and a procurador (court representative) is not mandatory when the value of the act does not exceed €6,000 and, when it does exceed it, the initial application can still be submitted without them, without prejudice to the judge agreeing to the intervention of a lawyer if the complexity of the operation requires it or if conflicting interests appear (artículo 62.3 of Ley 15/2015, in the wording of Ley 8/2021). In files for acceptance or renunciation of inheritance, the representation is governed by its own rule (artículo 94 of Ley 15/2015), which links it to the amount of the hereditary estate.

The duration depends on the court's workload: indicatively between 3 and 6 months from submission to the order, adding the Public Prosecutor's report and the hearing, and it can take longer in saturated courts. This is an estimate based on forensic practice, not a legal deadline. It is advisable not to sign a deposit agreement (arras) or commit to deed dates without factoring in this margin.

Managora's service is quoted depending on the case, because each judicial file is different (number of assets, conflict of interests, applicable regional civil law). You can see the updated indicative amount on the procedure's page and we will confirm the quote upon studying your documentation.

Managora prepares and submits it for you: we study the case and the inheritance title, detect if a judicial defender is needed, build the justification of necessity or utility (the piece that decides the file), gather the documentation, draft and submit the application, follow the file until the order and accompany you until the signing before a notario and the accreditation of the destination of the money.

The entire process is online: you provide the documentation from home and we take care of the court. Request your quote from the procedure page Court Authorisation for Sale or Renunciation of Inheritance of Minors or Persons with Support Needs and start today.