Legal Civil law
The civil law area at Asegi Abogados covers contracts and debt recovery, leases and evictions, family law, succession and owners' associations. In inheritance matters we work with the foral legislation of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba and Navarra, where Inheritance Tax is assessed separately by each Provincial Council.
What's included
- Drafting and negotiation of sale, lease, construction and services contracts
- Judicial and out-of-court debt claims, with late-payment interest and recovery costs
- Eviction proceedings for non-payment or for expiry of the term
- Divorce settlement agreements, marital property agreements and liquidation of the community of property
- Wills, succession agreements and gifts designed together with the tax team
- Advice for owners' associations and property managers: claims against defaulters, service charges and amendment of the bylaws
Civil law is what appears when something breaks: a contract that is not honoured, an invoice that goes unpaid, a marriage that is dissolved, an inheritance that divides a family. Our lawyers handle these matters alongside the group’s corporate and tax specialists, because almost none of them is resolved well by looking only at the Civil Code.
Obligations and contracts
We draft, negotiate and review contracts for the sale of movable and immovable property, residential, commercial premises and business leases, construction and turnkey contracts, provision of services, hire purchase of movable goods, and put and call options. When a contract is breached, we claim the debt and the damages, and we handle eviction for non-payment or for expiry of the term.
Debt recovery
Before suing, we assess whether the debt is collectable and which route is fastest. In transactions between businesses, the late-payment legislation allows you to claim, in addition to the principal, the agreed late-payment interest and the recovery costs incurred, something many companies fail to ask for simply because they are unaware of it.
Family
We assist with separations and divorces, settlement agreements, arrangements for children and their subsequent modification, marital property agreements, liquidation of the community of property and support measures for people with disabilities. We give priority to agreement, which is almost always less costly and less damaging than contested proceedings.
Succession and estate planning
We plan wills, succession agreements and gifts while also seeking the best tax treatment in the territory that applies, and we handle estates from start to finish: declaration of heirs, inventory, deed of partition, tax assessment and allocation. We also act in contested estates.
Commonhold property and litigation
We advise owners’ associations and property managers on claims against defaulters, service charges, building works and amendment of the bylaws. We defend their interests at every procedural stage before the Civil Courts, from Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Frequently asked questions
- A client is not paying me. Can I claim anything beyond the debt?
- Yes. Between businesses it is enough for the agreed payment deadline to be missed in order to claim late-payment interest on top of the principal. You can also claim the recovery costs actually incurred, such as the burofax (certified notice) or charges passed on by the bank; if there were none, the late-payment legislation allows a fixed amount of 40 euros to be claimed.
- Who collects Inheritance Tax in the Basque Country?
- The Provincial Council of the territory where the deceased was habitually resident: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa or Araba. Navarra assesses its own under the Economic Convention. That is why the same estate may be taxed differently depending on where the deceased lived.
- How long is there to settle an estate?
- As a general rule, 6 months from the death, with the possibility of an extension. It is best not to leave it to the last minute: assembling the inventory, the valuations and the bank documentation takes time, and the distribution is better decided before the countdown starts to run.
- Can the inheritance of a family business be planned?
- Yes, and it is where the difference is greatest. Foral legislation allows reductions of up to 95% of the taxable base on the transfer of a family business where the requirements are met, which drastically reduces the cost. It requires preparing the corporate structure beforehand and holding the shares for the period set by each territory.