In an increasingly modern and individualistic society, with fewer offspring and longer life expectancy, something survives, as if time does not pass. They are the rules for the distribution of inheritances, the legacy accumulated with the effort of a lifetime that passes from parents to descendants. A heritage that continues to be tested, with an overwhelming majority, in favor of the children, with whom you no longer want to go live, but who do need company and attention.
The professor at the University of Málaga, Luis Ayuso, has just published the first sociological study, thanks to a Leonardo BBVA Grant, on a subject that is very little talked about in life and is a focus of conflicts in death. It is an unpublished work, and making comparisons with the past is impossible. This study starts from scratch. Questions are asked about whether it is better to distribute during life or after death, preferences between children or what is expected of the heirs once the lots have been received.
And a first surprising fact is that only 10% of the more than a thousand people surveyed in Spain reveal that they have had family conflicts because of an inheritance. not square But there is an explanation for this response, which the author of the study admits is “creaky”. If there is one thing this study has shown, “it is that Spanish society continues to be very familiar”. It is not strange, then, that they refuse to talk about inheritance conflicts in order to protect the family. A similar thing happens with the answer to this question in the behavior of people who seek advice, but say that they collect the information for a friend. If you read the fine print of the survey, things are more accurate when you check that 33% of the respondents do reveal that they are in the case of fights with someone close to them because of an inheritance, and 12% say that “they have many” examples of these conflicts.
There are many family clashes due to an inheritance. Sometimes, for a priori insignificant issues. Luis Ayuso remembers the case of a neighbor from Blanes, enmity with her brothers because of her mother’s wedding dress. “Keeping the piece was taking home his dead mother,” he says. The sentimental issue also has a lot of weight in these conflicts. To prevent them from emerging prematurely, a pact of silence is sealed. The fear of fights in life between siblings explains why 40% of the people consulted in this study (all over 60) confirm that they have never discussed inheritance with their children. And it is not because they have not tested, but because they are afraid that one of the beneficiaries of the inheritance will show discomfort. “Addressing the subject always involves talking about death and money.”
The “familiarism” that still prevails in Spain and to which the author of the study refers is shaped by another fact. 88% of people with descendants consider that their heritage should be passed on to their children. Regardless of what the relationship with them is like. Now the distribution is more balanced because the figure of the “sole heir” is in low hours. The eldest son kept the house and the rest of the property. However, this change in the rules of the game increases the risk of conflicts over inheritances, “since the expectations of what will be received are not as clear as they were decades ago, with the figure of the sole heir”, points out Luis Ayuso .
Among the people consulted who have not yet turned 70, it is detected, on the other hand, that this immortal desire to give to children should not be confused with the handing over of a blank cheque. 24% of those surveyed expect compensation for this inheritance, “a percentage that will surely increase in the coming years”, predicts Ayuso. Although there are no previous studies, in this work it is detected that the respondents who are approaching the age of 60 no longer ask to go and live with their children (only 9% anticipate this), but who expect descendants to visit and care for them. “Loneliness is one of the main fears of the elderly, so company is highly valued and is now taken into account when determining the distribution”. The desire of these people is to be able to finish the day at home, with external help, and not to break into their children’s home. Another inhabitant of Catalonia explained it very graphically to this sociologist: “I don’t want my son to wipe my ass, like I did with my father; I don’t wish that on anyone.”
Despite the fact that the majority of respondents are in favor of distributing the inheritance after death (the increase in life expectancy makes it necessary to retain the maximum resources), the study reveals that part of these legacies are given during life. More than half of those consulted reveal that they helped their children when they left home and 37% claim that they have given them money in the last year. “The social function that these people over 60 years of age perform with their families is the social support of the younger generations, which, if it were not for this, would increase the gap in social inequality in Spain. This aid can also be considered as a “living inheritance” when it refers to the transmission of heritage from one generation to another”, concludes Ayuso.