This is how Balearic civil law will change: More rights for those who provide care and more options to leave an inheritance during one's lifetime

PalmaThe Parliament has initiated the processing of a reform of Balearic civil law that expands succession agreements between spouses and certain stable couples, develops the economic rules of marriage, and strengthens figures such as compensation for dedication to the family. The bill, promoted jointly by all parliamentary groups, passed its consideration stage last Tuesday with the support of all and the abstention of two non-attached deputies.

The proposal stems from the work of the Advisory Council on Civil Law and seeks to deploy a regulation that until now was very schematic. Civil law specialist lawyer Miquel Àngel Mas (DMS) summarizes it as follows: “The current compilation has four or five articles that regulate the entire economic property regime.” The reform, he explains, allows for the specification of issues that until now remained poorly defined and to “provide greater legal certainty.” Mas especially values that the specific civil law of the Balearic Islands is being deepened.

Inheritances in life also between spouses and stable couples

One of the main new features is the expansion of succession pacts between spouses. The reform allows for certain succession rights linked to the legitimate portion to also be ordered during one's lifetime between husband and wife, a possibility that until now was limited to descendants. The text extends this option, with specific requirements, to certain stable couples.

In the case of couples who are not married or formally registered, the proposal requires a minimum cohabitation of ten years and common offspring. "It is a particularly significant modification at a time when many young couples do not marry or formalize their relationship," explains Mas. The lawyer emphasizes that the reform recognizes concrete legal effects for these unions, without generally equating them to marriage and registered couples.

More room to agree on the economic regime

The reform also unfolds in greater detail the matrimonial economic regime and orders the possibilities of agreement between spouses. Marriage settlements may be formalized before or after the wedding, while prenuptial agreements must meet certain requirements to have legal effects.

In the Balearic Islands, separation of property continues to be the general regime, but the proposal better specifies some limits and protection mechanisms. One example is the family home: even if it is the property of only one of the spouses, certain decisions that affect it cannot be adopted without the consent of the other.

The proposal also develops compensation for dedication to the family. It is about recognizing situations in which one of the spouses has assumed a greater share of care or family tasks, and as a consequence, this dedication generates a patrimonial imbalance or a loss of professional opportunities. According to Mas, this figure already began to be incorporated with the 2007 reform and is now regulated in more detail.

Córdoba claims the work that has been done from Formentera

The deputy for Formentera, Llorenç Córdoba Marí, has defended in Parliament the practical utility of the reform and emphasized how it will affect economic relations within marriage. During his speech, he especially highlighted the cases of people who reduce their professional activity to care for children and dependent relatives, or who collaborate for years in their partner's business without sufficient remuneration. The proposal specifies the criteria for assessing these contributions, while maintaining the separation of property as the default regime and the freedom of spouses to agree on how they want to organize their assets.

Córdoba also wanted to acknowledge the participation of professionals from Formentera in the drafting of the text, including Ángel Custodio Navarro Sánchez, general secretary of the Island Council, and Shadia Nasser Garcia, notary of the island, as well as the work of the civil law advisory councils. “Preparing such a regulation requires reviewing each provision and its consequences on people's lives and assets,” he remarked.

A different civil law for each island

One of the most unique features of the reform is that it does not aim to standardize Balearic civil law, but rather to maintain the specific peculiarities of each island. The compilation itself is already based on this differentiation and the proposal preserves this scheme, with specific regulations for Mallorca and Menorca and a separate title for Ibiza and Formentera.

“We are islands and each island has its own characteristics,” points out Mas, who recalls that until the 20th century the Islands had almost no exchange between them, so each one had its own history and developed in its own way. A fact that, as he explains, is reflected in the construction of their own civil law. Therefore, he considers that each island must be free to choose between the continuity and the development of its own local law.

In the case of Ibiza and Formentera, the proposal develops its own institutions such as the 'espolits' and the inclusion in the fourth part of improvements, and also specifies issues related to family burdens, the protection of housing, and the rights of the surviving spouse. Córdoba has defended that this update should respect the Pityusic peculiarities. The initiative has antecedents dating back to 1998 and the work of drafting the text began in 2004. The Advisory Council for the Civil Law of Ibiza and Formentera endorsed the proposal on July 13th and, subsequently, the plenary session of the Formentera Council approved it unanimously on July 30th before submitting it to the parliamentary groups.

The protection of the surviving spouse

Among the modifications affecting Mallorca and Menorca, the protection of the surviving spouse is also strengthened. The reform develops the so-called 'year of mourning', a figure that allows the surviving spouse to continue temporarily occupying the family home, even if the dwelling is not their property. The objective is to prevent the death of one of the marriage members from leaving the other, immediately, without the possibility of continuing to reside in the family home.

A job of more than 20 years that reaches the Parliament

The proposal is the result of a process of more than two decades, with the participation of civil law advisory bodies and professionals from the islands. In addition to the changes regarding the matrimonial property regime, the text also updates the regulation of stable couples and plans to organize Balearic civil law into a consolidated text, while maintaining the specific particularities of each island.

Mas places the reform within a broader objective: to prevent Balearic civil law from becoming "fossilized" and to adapt it to new forms of family and property relations. With the consideration approved, the proposal now enters parliamentary processing and may still incorporate changes. The underlying debate is how to update civil law without losing the legal singularities that distinguish the Islands.