On 16 September 2026, the Comisión Notarial del Derecho Civil de Galicia (the notaries' commission on Galician civil law) handed the Xunta, the Galician regional government, a proposal to reform Ley 2/2006 on Galician civil law. It runs to almost 200 articles, the result of five years of work and 60 sessions. The change that has made the most headlines concerns inheritances with debts: anyone who accepts an inheritance would only be liable for the deceased's debts with the assets they receive, never with their own money.
It is not law yet. Here is what it proposes, where it stands and what you can do today if you inherit an estate with debts.
Who presented it
It was presented in Santiago by the regional minister for the Presidency, Justice and Sport, Diego Calvo, together with the director general of Justice, José Tronchoni, and the dean of the Galician Association of Notaries, José María Graíño, who sits on the commission. Notaries from Vigo, A Coruña, Santiago, Ourense, A Estrada and Cervo-Burela worked on it, along with civil law professor Miguel Ángel Pérez.
The current law dates from 2006 and was last revised in 2017.
Inheritances with debts
Today, in Galicia and the rest of Spain, the Civil Code applies. If you simply accept an inheritance (outright acceptance), article 1003 says you are liable for the deceased's debts with your own assets too. If the estate has more debts than assets, you can end up paying the difference out of your own pocket.
To avoid this there is acceptance with the benefit of inventory. With it you are only liable up to the value of the assets inherited (article 1023). Since 2015 it has been done before a notary, who draws up the inventory and summons the creditors. The deadlines are short: if you already hold the estate's assets, article 1014 gives you thirty days from when you learn you are an heir to request it.
The Galician proposal would make that protection the rule rather than something you have to ask for. That is why many outlets have summed it up as "inheritances without debts". The headline is inaccurate: the debts do not disappear. They are paid out of what the deceased leaves, not out of the heir's money.
Digital will and digital executor
The text defines digital assets: websites, online accounts, social media profiles and virtual financial assets. It would let you decide in your will who gets those assets and appoint a digital executor to manage them after your death.
Unmarried couples
Registered unmarried couples (parejas de hecho) would have their own title in the law. They could agree on their property arrangements, work in the home would be recognised and, if one partner dies, the other would have the same rights the law gives a surviving spouse.
Waiving the forced share and the life-care contract
The Civil Code does not allow anyone to waive a future forced share (article 816). Galicia already has the apartación, an agreement under which an heir entitled to a forced share is left out of the inheritance in exchange for assets received during the other person's lifetime. The proposal adds the option of waiving the forced share during one's lifetime.
It also strengthens the vitalicio, the contract under which a person hands over assets in exchange for maintenance, assistance and care. What each party commits to would have to be set out from the start, and the contract could be terminated if it is not fulfilled. The text focuses on people with disabilities, older people and those living in unwanted loneliness.
When it could apply
There is still a way to go. The Xunta has to draft the bill, approve it in the Consello da Xunta (the regional cabinet) and send it to the Galician Parliament, where amendments can be tabled. It would come into force once published in the Diario Oficial de Galicia. No date has been announced.
When it arrives, it will affect inheritances governed by Galician civil law, which depends on the deceased having Galician civil residence (vecindad civil), not on where the assets are or where the heirs live.
What to do if you inherit now
Until the reform is approved, the usual rules apply. If you suspect the estate has debts, do not simply accept it. You have three options:
- Accept with the benefit of inventory before a notary, keeping an eye on the deadline.
- First request the certificate of last wills, the insurance certificate and the Bank of Spain's CIRBE credit report to find out what debts there are.
- Renounce the inheritance, also before a notary.
At Notaría Online we coordinate these procedures with registered notaries, including if you live outside Spain. See our inheritance service or our renouncing an inheritance service.