The term of intestate is a term that comes from Latin and that means "without a will", referring specifically to judicial procedures derived from will (in this case null) of some person. We are going to detail what it consists of.
When a person dies, it is necessary that a will has been previously drawn up in which it is indicated which assets and earnings remain which persons. If the person who dies and has not previously formalized a will or, failing that, the will has been declared invalid or has lost validity, this is when the intestate would be applied.
There is also the case in which the testament has been formalized but no successors have been named, so against it the hierarchy of natural succession should be followed.
Therefore, the intestate can be defined as a process in which an inheritance is requested by those people who believe they may be beneficiaries of the assets of the person who has died and has not been able to formalize a will or it has been declared null. This process must be done before a notary or in court. In addition, we must take into account the following aspects:
- The order of hereditary succession is respected: the children or grandchildren will be the first; followed by parents or grandparents; to later be the spouses who benefit.
- If none of these groups has been mentioned in the will, it would correspond to brothers or nephews, although the process is made difficult by having to take it to court.
- In the event that we want to benefit from the inheritance, the power falls on the notaries, being one of the cheapest options in terms of money and time today.