A team of 15 civil servants works daily to manage these intestate estates. Jonatan Ferreras, Director General of Heritage, explains that the Generalitat only inherits assets if no relatives up to the fourth degree of kinship (cousins or uncles/aunts) are found. The process of verifying heirs and accepting the inheritance typically takes over two years.
A notable case involves the auction of the FADAIC cannelloni factory in Ripollet. The owner, Manuela Marimon, died on July 16, 2019, without descendants. After the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital rejected the legacy, the Generalitat was declared universal heir in 2023. The factory is set for auction on February 25.
“"We find out that a deceased person may not have heirs because we are notified by citizens, property administrators, city councils, courts... because IBI payments or community fees stop being paid."
The inherited assets, which currently include 259 properties, are not retained by the administration. Ferreras confirms they are either converted into protected housing through the Agència de l’Habitatge de Catalunya or auctioned, with the net proceeds dedicated to welfare, social, or cultural purposes, as mandated by law. Since 2017, 78 apartments have been transformed into social housing units.
