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One of the grounds for extinguishing a maintenance obligation is the manifest and sustained absence of any family relationship between the person liable to pay maintenance and the beneficiary, provided that absence is attributable exclusively to the latter.
This is established by Article 237-13 of Book II of the Catalan Civil Code, which, when listing the grounds for extinguishing the maintenance obligation, includes in subsection (e) the fact that the maintenance recipient, even if they do not hold the status of a forced heir (legitimari), has incurred in one of the grounds for disinheritance set out in Article 451-17 of Book IV of the Catalan Civil Code.
The reference to a general ground for extinguishing the maintenance obligation on the basis of conduct amounting to a cause for disinheritance is not new: the former Catalan Family Code already provided for this circumstance (Article 271(d)), cross-referencing the grounds for disinheritance set out in the then-applicable Catalan Succession Code, specifically Articles 370.1, 2 and 3.
However, when we compare the grounds for disinheritance under the former Succession Code with those now governed by Book IV of the Catalan Civil Code, it becomes clear that the latter represents a significant expansion of the scope of conduct that may legitimately give rise to a claim for extinguishing a maintenance obligation. Under the former Succession Code, the grounds for disinheritance included unworthiness to inherit, failure to provide maintenance to the testator, their spouse, or the testator's ascendants or descendants when there was a legal obligation to do so, and/or serious physical mistreatment or serious insults directed at the testator or their spouse. The new framework introduced by Book IV of the Catalan Civil Code adds a further ground: the manifest and sustained absence of any family relationship between the deceased and the forced heir (legitimari), provided that absence is attributable exclusively to the latter (Article 457-17.2(e)).
Case law establishes that this provision must be interpreted restrictively ("grounds for disinheritance, as provisions that restrict rights, in this case the statutory right to maintenance between relatives, are to be interpreted narrowly": Barcelona Provincial Court, Section 18, Judgment 267/2014, of 22 April 2014).
Furthermore, it must be demonstrated that there is a complete absence of family relations between parents and children, that this estrangement is manifest (i.e., openly known), continuous and consistent over time, that there is no contact or communication of any kind between them, and that the cause is attributable exclusively to the son or daughter without any involvement on the part of the parents. In other words, it must be possible to prove that the parent made genuine efforts to communicate and remain informed about the child's daily life (SAP Tarragona, Section 1, 20/2014, of 28.01.2014).
With regard to a minor child, case law holds that the absence of a relationship is presumed to be attributable exclusively to the child when that estrangement continues after they reach adulthood through clear acts of avoidance, such as failing to inform the parent about their studies or place of residence, or other equally significant matters such as a change of surname that the child carried out without notifying the parent, claiming they did not consider it important (SAP Barcelona, Section 18, 192/2012, of 15.03.2012).
During the child's minority, it must be proved that the estrangement is attributable to the child by demonstrating a clear and repeated pattern of detachment, alongside evidence that the parent actively sought to restore the relationship or, at the very least, made efforts to maintain communication and contact with the child.
The legal basis for this provision rests on the principle of family solidarity, which breaks down when one of the grounds for disinheritance is present. This constitutes an exception to the statutory maintenance obligation and operates as a sanction against a person whose conduct within the family unit is considered an affront to dignity, morally reprehensible, and deserving of legal consequence (SAP Barcelona, Section 18, 267/2014, of 22.04.2014).
In short, the new regulatory framework seeks to prevent a person from being legally compelled to provide maintenance to someone whose behaviour towards them has been socially reprehensible, and through no fault of their own. This addresses the injustice of maintaining an obligation that has lost its underlying rationale and purpose.
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