The sharing of an inheritance can easily turn into a serious conflict when doubts arise about withdrawals, transfers or assets that should be part of the deceased’s estate. This is what happened in a case in France, which once again drew attention to the consequences of an heiress touching a relative’s money before death and the impact this can have on the succession.
A French heiress was ordered to return to her inheritance more than 100,000 euros that she had withdrawn from her father’s accounts before his death, using a bank power of attorney. According to , the woman will also have no right to the part she intended to complain about the hidden values and will also have to pay additional compensation for the damage caused.
Surveys carried out before the death raised suspicions
According to the same source, the father lived in a home and the daughter had the power to take care of his finances. After his death, his brother detected a significant and unjustified drop in his bank balance, which took the case to court.
Analysis of movements ended up showing payments of several thousand euros for travel and large cash withdrawals at a time when the elderly person was no longer able to move. In total, the amounts in question exceeded 100 thousand euros and should have been part of the hereditary assets to be divided between the brothers.
Court considered that there was intentional concealment
Specialist Caroline Baïssas explains that inheritance fraud corresponds to an act carried out by an heir with the aim of altering the balanced distribution of the inheritance. In these cases, the concealment of money or assets may give rise to civil sanctions aimed at restoring the balance between the injured beneficiaries.
It was precisely this reading that prevailed in this process. The brother requested that his sister’s actions be treated as concealment of inheritance assets and the court concluded that, if fraudulent intent was proven, the heiress would have to replace the amounts withdrawn and would lose the right to her share of this hidden amount. This means that you do not automatically lose the entire inheritance, but you are kept away from the part relating to the hidden money.
The decision also took into account the fact that the father was not subject to formal guardianship, a circumstance that, according to the same source, facilitated the abuse of trust. The court also valued the incompatibility between the dates of expenses and the real situation of the deceased, who was disabled and living in a larger center.
In addition to the full return of the amounts to the estate, the sister was also ordered to pay compensation between R$4,000 and R$5,000 for the damage caused. Noticias Trabajo adds that, in these situations, the guilty heir may also lose the benefit of probate regarding the misappropriated value.
What would happen in a similar case in Portugal
In Portugal, a situation of this type can have civil consequences in the inventory process. The law deals with the withholding of assets from the estate in article 2,096 of the Civil Code, and the Official Gazette itself explains that it is the intentional concealment of assets that should be declared, with the penalty being heavy: the heir loses the right he would have over the withheld assets. The allegation of this evasion is considered in the inventory together with the claim for lack of related assets.
If, in addition to concealment in the inheritance, there was misappropriation of money transferred under power of attorney, criminal liability may also come into question. Article 205 of the Penal Code punishes abuse of trust, that is, the illegitimate appropriation of movable property delivered by title that does not transfer ownership.
At the civil level, article 269 of the Civil Code also provides for abuse of representation when someone uses their powers abusively and the other party knew or should have known about this abuse.
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