Unmarried partners (parejas de hecho): rights when your partner dies

Terms used

• Pareja de hecho — A pareja de hecho is an unmarried couple who live together as a partnership, often recorded in a regional register.
• Padrón — The padrón is the town hall register of where you live; its certificate proves your shared address.
• INSS — The INSS is the national Social Security institute that decides pensions, including the widow's pension.
• Instrucciones previas — Instrucciones previas are an advance directive stating your health wishes and naming who decides for you if you cannot.
• Acta de notoriedad — An acta de notoriedad is a notary document recording that a fact, such as your relationship, is publicly known.
• Vecindad civil — Vecindad civil is your regional civil status, which decides which regional inheritance law applies to you.

Key rules

• Will: Outside a few regions, an unmarried partner inherits nothing without a will.
• Widow's pension: You need registration or a public deed at least two years before the death, plus five years' shared address.
• Lease: You can take over a rented home if you notify the landlord within 3 months of the death.
• Region: Your rights depend on the region where you live, so check its law first.

The short answer

Spain has no single national law for unmarried couples. What you can claim depends on your region, on whether you registered as a pareja de hecho, and on whether your partner left a will. Check the law of the region where you live together before you plan anything.

How your region changes things

Some regions, such as Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura, only recognise a couple that has registered. Without registration, you are not a couple in law there.

In Catalonia, Aragon and Navarre, registration is only one way of proving the relationship. You can also prove it by living together for a set time or by having children.

Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country give surviving partners real inheritance and housing rights. Regions whose registers are only administrative give few civil rights. Valencia tried to give inheritance rights, but that law was struck down, so do not rely on it.

Health decisions

If your partner cannot decide for themselves, hospitals can ask a family member or a person linked to the patient in fact. An unmarried partner counts. The law sets no strict order, so you may be consulted and may consent. Some regional laws give registered partners explicit status.

The safest step is for your partner to sign an advance directive (instrucciones previas) naming you as their representative. That choice prevails. Hospital practice varies, so a registered partnership plus a written directive reduces disputes.

If your partner is incapacitated for the long term, a court appoints a guardian or support measures. You can be considered, but it is not automatic.

Staying in the home

Rented home. You can take over the lease for the remaining term if you lived with your partner for at least two years before the death, or less if you had children together. You must tell the landlord in writing within 3 months of the death, with the death certificate and proof of your relationship. Proof of two years living together is usually enough.

Owned home. Nationally, you have no automatic right to stay if the home passes to other heirs. A married survivor's legal usufruct does not apply to you. Some regions help: in Catalonia you may live in the home for one year, sometimes longer; Aragon gives a right to stay for a year; Navarre and the Basque Country give a right of use. A will can also leave you the right to use the home (a legado de usufructo or habitación).

Inheritance

Under the common civil law you inherit nothing without a will. Heirs are descendants, then parents and grandparents, then the spouse, then more distant relatives, then the State. Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country give qualifying partners rights similar to a spouse's. In most of Spain, a will is essential. Which regional law applies depends on the deceased's regional civil status (vecindad civil).

Widow's pension

You can receive a widow's pension from Social Security only if all of these apply:

• The partnership was registered in the regional register, or formalised by a public deed, at least two years before the death.
• You lived together continuously for at least five years, shown by a padrón certificate.
• Your partner had paid the required contributions.
• Your income passes the income test. Your income in the previous year must be below 50% of the couple's combined income the year before, or below 25% if you had no common children. The test does not apply if your income is below 1.5 times the minimum wage.

Registration or a public deed is mandatory. An unregistered partner is generally refused, however long you lived together. Ask the INSS whether your income qualifies.

If you are not registered

You can still prove the relationship for the lease and, in some regions, for local rights. Useful proof includes a padrón certificate, a joint rental or mortgage, shared bank accounts, children's birth certificates, joint insurance or utility bills, photos and witness statements. A notary can also issue an acta de notoriedad, or a court can declare the relationship. None of this replaces a will or gives you the pension.

The documents, timeline, checklist and questions below walk you through the steps.

Timeline and deadlines

• Gather the death certificate and proof that you lived together: right after the death, before you write to the landlord

Documents you need

• Death certificate, needed to tell the landlord you are taking over the lease.

• Proof that you lived with your partner for at least two years before the death, or less if you had children together, to take over a rented home. A padrón certificate (the town hall record of who lives at an address) is the usual proof.

• Certificate of registration in the regional register, or a public deed (a notary document) formalising the partnership at least two years before the death, for the widow's pension.

• Padrón certificate showing continuous shared address for at least five years, for the widow's pension.

• Other proof of the relationship if you are not registered, such as a joint rental or mortgage, shared bank accounts, children's birth certificates, bills in joint names or an acta de notoriedad (a notary statement recording that you were a couple).

Checklist

• Find out whether your region requires registration for a partnership to exist, or accepts proof of living together.

• Check whether your partner left a will, since without one you generally do not inherit outside a few regions.

• Ask for a padrón certificate showing five years of shared address.

• Ask the INSS whether your income allows a widow's pension.

Frequently asked questions

Does registering as a pareja de hecho make me an heir?

Registering makes you an heir without a will only in some regions, such as Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country. In most of Spain an unmarried partner has no right to inherit without a will, registered or not. A will is the safe way to protect your partner.

Can I get a widow's pension if we were never registered?

No, an unregistered partner is generally refused the Social Security widow's pension, because registration or a public deed is required.

Can I make medical decisions if my partner cannot decide?

Yes, as a partner living with the patient you can be consulted and can give consent, even if you are not registered. A written advance directive naming a representative prevails over this. Registration and a written directive reduce disputes with the hospital.