{"id":211456,"date":"2026-03-21T10:23:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T10:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/taking-money-from-a-family-member-before-their-death-seemed-like-a-smart-tax-strategy-but-it-wasnt\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T10:23:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T10:23:44","slug":"taking-money-from-a-family-member-before-their-death-seemed-like-a-smart-tax-strategy-but-it-wasnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/taking-money-from-a-family-member-before-their-death-seemed-like-a-smart-tax-strategy-but-it-wasnt\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Money from a Family Member Before Their Death Seemed Like a Smart Tax Strategy, But It Wasn’t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Illusion of Tax Evasion through Inheritance Law<\/h2>\n

Why should an additional tax be paid for receiving money as an inheritance for which the deceased was already taxed? Many are tempted to dodge the Donation and Inheritance Tax through various gimmicks, with the most common being the practice of draining a family member’s bank accounts before death. Spoiler alert: this approach often backfires.<\/p>\n

The Case of the Deceased Sister<\/h3>\n

A recent case<\/a> from the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid illustrates that these misguided beliefs can be extraordinarily costly. Attempts to evade the Treasury can lead to paying even more than initially required. In this case, a woman was an owner or authorized person on several bank accounts belonging to her sister, who died in September 2017 without leaving a will. When the General Directorate of Taxes investigated, they discovered that the deceased possessed significantly more assets than her sister had disclosed.<\/p>\n

Disappearing Assets<\/h3>\n

As of December 31, 2016, the deceased\u2019s three bank accounts held considerable balances: \u20ac9,217.08, \u20ac51,216.58, and \u20ac132,644.53, all with the sister listed as a joint owner. Adding to this, the deceased had received \u20ac45,000 in April 2017 from selling a property she shared with her sister. However, by December 31, 2017, the accounts were empty. The Treasury calculated that the inheritance, including other assets, was valued at \u20ac122,931.67. This raised suspicions about the whereabouts of the money.<\/p>\n

The Denial of Assets<\/h3>\n

The sister initially denied that her deceased sibling had any assets. Over three years later, she presented a notarial document renouncing the inheritance, claiming ignorance of her sister’s finances. She argued that her withdrawals were merely payments for her sister’s nursing home care. However, the court eventually disagreed.<\/p>\n

Tacit Acceptance of Inheritance<\/h3>\n

In Spain, one does not need to sign documentation to be legally recognized as an heir. Under Article 999.3<\/a> of Spanish law, tacit acceptance of an inheritance occurs when an individual manages or acts on a deceased’s assets. This can include withdrawing funds or selling property, which legally amounts to an acceptance of the inheritance.<\/p>\n

The Legal Implications of Money Management<\/h3>\n

Unfortunately, many individuals are unaware that actions speak louder than words. The Supreme Court has long upheld that any conduct showing an individual acts as an heir invokes the same legal and fiscal consequences as an explicit acceptance of the inheritance. In this instance, the court ruled that the sister’s movement of funds was tantamount to accepting her sister’s estate.<\/p>\n

Paying the Price for Misjudgment<\/h3>\n

Ultimately, the TSJ of Madrid ordered the sister to pay \u20ac26,217.11 in Inheritance Tax. However, the court annulled a fine of \u20ac17,999.73, concluding that the Treasury could not demonstrate that she had intended to deceive them.<\/p>\n

Conclusion: Think Twice Before Trying to Evade Taxes<\/h2>\n

The case serves as a cautionary tale that entices individuals to rethink their approach to estate management. Rather than attempting to sidestep legal responsibilities, it is often wiser to understand the laws governing inheritance and seek legal advice to navigate taxes legitimately.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Illusion of Tax Evasion through Inheritance Law Why should an additional tax be paid for receiving money as an inheritance for which the deceased was already taxed? Many are tempted to dodge the Donation and Inheritance Tax through various gimmicks, with the most common being the practice of draining a family member’s bank accounts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":211457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[1103,1014,1632,1371,6063,9418,36,6033],"class_list":["post-211456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-death","tag-family","tag-member","tag-money","tag-smart","tag-strategy","tag-tax","tag-wasnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211458,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211456\/revisions\/211458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}