The right to family heritage is a general and personal claim right, transferrable to the heir of the deceased spouse.
The issue of family heritage has been controversial since its adoption, and one of the controversies is the transferability of heritage upon the death of a spouse.
Madam, married, lives with her lover. She bequeaths to him the universality of her assets. After obtaining a divorce, she dies before the appeal period expires. The incidental measures and the division of the heritage are then declared by judgment, without legal effect.
The lover turns to the Court* and claims the rights that Madam possesses in the family heritage, to which the husband opposes. The judge recalls that this law intended to remedy injustices to which certain categories of women may be victims and that the provisions on family heritage must receive a generous interpretation.
The court concludes that the right to family heritage is a general and personal claim right, transferable to the heir of the deceased spouse, and, in this case, the lover of Madam. This right can also be devolved to the creditors of the deceased spouse by way of an indirect recourse.
Unlike the deceased spouse's private domain, the rights in the family heritage will survive. Many would surely wish that the death of a spouse would allow access to the secrets of their domain and that it would take away the family heritage.
* C.S. 500-09-009918-004, 2002-04-29
