If your siblings won’t divide the inheritance, you are not trapped: under Spanish law, no heir is obliged to remain in undivided ownership (Article 1051 of the Civil Code) and any of them can ask for the partition at any time. The route usually goes in stages: serving a notarial demand on anyone who neither accepts nor renounces, trying to reach an agreement, asking for an appointed estate partitioner (contador-partidor dativo) if together you hold at least half of the estate and, if nothing works, applying for judicial division. We explain each step and what a sibling can (and cannot) block.

Until it is divided: the community of heirs

From the death until the partition, the estate belongs to all the heirs jointly. This is the so-called community of heirs (comunidad hereditaria): each sibling has a share in the whole (for example, a third, under the rules we explain in how an inheritance is divided by law), but none of them yet owns a specific asset. The courts apply the rules on co-ownership to this situation, so that, while it lasts:

  • To sell a flat or close an account you need, in general, everyone’s signature.
  • Decisions on ordinary administration (letting the home on normal terms, carrying out necessary repairs) are taken by the majority of shares, not of people, and if there is no majority the judge can decide (Article 398).
  • Each heir can use the shared assets, but without preventing the others from using them too (Article 394). If one of them has stayed on living in the family home, they can carry on using it, but cannot exclude the others from it.

In short: a sibling can hold up the sale and a division by mutual agreement, but cannot prevent the estate from being divided for ever.

First step: each sibling accepts or renounces

Sometimes the deadlock is not a “no” but a silence: the sibling neither accepts nor renounces, and without knowing who the heirs are the estate cannot be divided. That is what the notarial demand under Article 1005 of the Civil Code is for: any interested party can ask the notary to notify the heir that they have 30 calendar days to accept (outright, or under benefit of inventory (a beneficio de inventario)) or renounce. If they do not reply within that period, the inheritance is deemed accepted outright.

It is worth the sibling knowing this, because accepting in that way means also being liable for the deceased’s debts with their own assets. If the estate has debts, each person must weigh up whether it suits them better to accept under benefit of inventory (the debts are paid only out of the inherited assets) or to renounce before a notary.

Negotiate first: dividing by mutual agreement

The quickest and cheapest route is still an agreement. If all the heirs are of age and have free administration of their assets, they can distribute the estate as they see fit (Article 1058), even if not in exactly equal shares, provided they all sign. The division is set out in a partition document (cuaderno particional) and formalised in a public deed before a notary.

Many deadlocks are not about substance but about mistrust: who valued the house, who controls the accounts, who has paid the expenses. A written inventory, an independent valuation and a specific proposal for the division tend to unblock more than any argument. In addition, since 3 April 2025 Organic Law 1/2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025) requires, as a general rule, an attempt at an appropriate means of dispute resolution (negotiation between lawyers, mediation, conciliation…) before most civil claims are filed, so that attempt is not wasted time: it is a compulsory prior step.

The appointed estate partitioner: breaking the deadlock without a trial

If there is no agreement and the will did not name anyone to carry out the partition, there is a middle route that many people are unaware of. Article 1057 of the Civil Code allows heirs and legatees who represent at least 50% of the estate to ask the notary (or the court clerk (letrado de la Administración de Justicia)) to designate an appointed estate partitioner: an independent professional who inventories, values and divides, with the other heirs being summoned.

The partition they carry out needs the approval of the notary or of the court clerk, unless all the heirs and legatees expressly confirm it. It is useful, for example, when two of four siblings with equal shares want to divide and the other two will not cooperate. If those who want to divide do not reach half, the court route remains.

Judicial division of the estate

When all of the above fails, any co-heir can ask the court for the judicial division of the estate, governed by Articles 782 onwards of the Spanish Civil Procedure Act (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil). Broadly, it works like this:

  1. The application is filed with the death certificate and the document proving heir status (will or declaration of heirs (declaración de herederos)). If requested and appropriate, the court may order the assets to be placed under supervision and an inventory to be drawn up.
  2. The court clerk calls the heirs to a meeting to appoint a partitioner by common agreement and, if needed, experts to value the assets. If they cannot agree, they are chosen by drawing lots.
  3. The partitioner presents the partition operations: list of assets, valuation, settlement and allocation to each heir. The law gives them a maximum of two months from when they begin.
  4. The heirs have ten days to object. If nobody objects, they are approved; if there is an objection and no agreement is reached at the hearing, the matter continues under the oral trial procedure (juicio verbal) and the judge decides.

This procedure requires a lawyer and a court representative (procurador), and the partitioner and the experts can ask for an advance on their fees, so it is worth comparing the cost with what is at stake and asking for a written quote beforehand.

What happens if one of the heirs doesn’t want to sell their share?

This is the most common situation: the estate is, above all, a house, and one sibling refuses to sell it. The law does not oblige them to sell their share, but nor does it allow them to keep the others tied in indefinitely:

  • If the asset cannot be divided or loses a lot of value when divided, it can be awarded to one of the heirs, who compensates the others in money (Article 1062 of the Civil Code).
  • But it is enough for a single heir to ask for a sale at public auction, open to outside bidders, for that to be done (same article). As an auction offers no guarantee of achieving the market price, this possibility often pushes people to negotiate.
  • If the partition has already been done and the house was left in undivided co-ownership (proindiviso: each sibling with their percentage), the tool is the action for division of jointly owned property: no co-owner is obliged to remain in co-ownership and, if the thing is indivisible and there is no agreement to award it to one who compensates the others, it is sold and the price is shared out (Articles 400 and 404).

In the meantime, any heir can sell their hereditary right (their share, not a specific asset) to a third party, but the others can take it over by paying the buyer the same price, provided they do so within one month of being notified of the sale (Article 1067).

How long can an inheritance go undivided?

In civil law terms, there is no maximum period: the action to ask for the partition does not become time-barred between co-heirs (Article 1965 of the Civil Code). An inheritance can go years without being divided. The exception is where the testator has expressly prohibited the division, and even then the law provides grounds for ending it (Article 1051).

What does keep running are the tax deadlines, and they do not wait for the division:

  • Inheritance tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones) is filed within six months of the death, extendable by another six if the extension is requested within the first five.
  • The municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía municipal) on urban properties, also within six months, extendable up to one year at the heir’s request.

Filing them late means surcharges and interest, even if the delay is the fault of just one sibling. You can get an idea of the tax with the inheritance tax calculator.

If your family’s inheritance has been stuck for some time, you can tell an inheritance lawyer about your case: we put you in touch with a specialist who will assess which route fits best (notarial demand, estate partitioner or judicial division) before the deadlines expire.

Frequently asked questions

Can one heir stop the others from enjoying their inheritance?

They can delay it, but not prevent it indefinitely. Without their signature there can be no sale or division by mutual agreement, but the others can serve a notarial demand on them, ask for an appointed estate partitioner if together they hold at least half of the estate, or apply for judicial division.

Can I sell my share of the inheritance without my siblings’ permission?

You can sell your share of the estate, not a specific asset in it. If you sell it to an outsider before the partition, your siblings can take it over by paying the same price within one month of being notified.

Does inheritance tax have to be paid even if the estate has not been divided?

Yes. The six-month deadline runs from the death, not from the division, and a lack of agreement between siblings does not stop it.

Do you need a lawyer to divide an inheritance?

For a division by mutual agreement before a notary it is not compulsory, although it is advisable if there are properties, debts or mistrust between heirs. For judicial division, in general, a lawyer and a court representative are needed.