The spouse or partner can be protected by bequeathing him/her usufruct, allowing him/her to continue to live in the deceased’s home and use hi/her assets with the added right of enjoying the fruit of those assets. Bare ownership goes to the children but the use and enjoyment (usufruct), i.e. the right to inhabit the home, goes to the surviving spouse.

In Spain’s common law territories, it is possible to bequeath to the surviving spouse full ownership of an asset that is not part of the estate’s reserved portion, i.e. that is one-third of the estate that can be freely disposed of.

An unmarried couple’s rights can be protected in the same way as those of a surviving spouse, but the couple’s rights are not always the same. Each autonomous community has its own specific legislation and different ways of protecting the spouse. In addition, tax rules vary, depending on the autonomous community and on where the couple live.