Inheritances: One of the heirs uses property, preventing division. What now?

What happens when one of the heirs prevents the sharing of inheritances?

When one of the heirs prevents the sharing of inheritances, in this case, of a property by using it: What can be done?  

Who enlightens you is Dantas Rodrigues, in the Notícias ao Minuto column "Work and tax (un)complicated", about topics like work, personal finances, and taxes.

According to the lawyer, under civil law - article 2091 of the Civil Code - as long as the inheritance remains undivided, the rights of the same "can only be exercised jointly by all the heirs or against all the heirs".

In this sense, the heir who uses the property and is preventing the distribution is not the holder of a specific right over this property or any other assets of the inheritance. Only after the distribution can he have any right, if that property were awarded to him, and this right retroactively dates back to the moment of succession, as stated in article 2119 of the Civil Code," explains Dantas Rodrigues.

Therefore, until the division, the inheritance and assets that comprise it are managed by the head of the household, according to article 2079 of the Civil Code. So, the head of the household is the one in possession of the property in question and manages it.

What this means is that, "if the heir does not voluntarily hand over the property, and uses it as if it were exclusively his own, a legal action can be taken against him to claim ownership of the undivided inheritance and return possession to the head-of-household," clarifies the lawyer in the column on Notícias ao Minuto.

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