Historic maximum of donations from parents to children due to the housing crisis: "They can be the solution"
The aging of the population means that inheritances arrive later and later, in many cases when the beneficiary is already retired
Financial or property donations signed before a notary have grown by 20% to "all-time highs," and the Notarial College of Catalonia links this to the housing crisis and the need for assistance to buy a home. "They respond greatly to the desire to help a son or family member who wants to acquire a home, and donations can be the solution: either money to buy one or property if parents are fortunate enough to have more than one," explained the vice-dean of the College, Raquel Iglesias, at the presentation of the data from the V Notarial Observatory of Catalonia. "Donations out of pure generosity, without need, do exist, but we don't see them as much," she clarified.
Specifically, during the first quarter of 2026, donations registered in Catalonia grew by 20% – 8% in Spain – compared to last year. Thus, this beginning of the year has consolidated the trend that also pointed to the data from the annual balance of 2025: in Catalonia, 22% more donations were made than in 2024, while in Spain they grew by 13%. The volume of donations authorized in Catalonia last year represents up to 10% of the total made in Spain.
By age, most people who received an inheritance last year were between 56 and 70 years old (25,885), followed by the 41 to 55 age group (17,412) and 71 to 81 (10,499). "Age is increasing more and more due to the aging population," said Iglesias, who explained that this fuels the voices advocating for the elimination of the forced heirship that requires reserving a portion for the closest relatives. "Many forced heirs inherit when they are already retired," she explained, adding that parents of the generation who are now "potential homebuyers" – meaning, under 40 years old – are now between 50 and 60 years old. "Many have saved and perhaps have inherited, or perhaps they already own their own home and when they receive their mother's or father's house through inheritance, it can be donated to their child," Iglesias suggests.
According to data from the Notarial College of Catalonia itself, made public in March, in 2025 the total was 15,738 lifetime donations from parents to children, higher than the just over 12,000 of the previous year. Regarding the total donations – whether from parents to children or not –, the increase in 2025 placed them at 22,980, and it represents a significant jump compared to 2024 (18,801). In contrast, in previous years the data fluctuated less, between 18,963 in 2021 and 17,669 in 2023.
Inheriting after retiring
For every living donation made in Catalonia, six wills are authorized – last year there were 144,140, 3% more –, although Iglesias has insisted that there is no more favorable option in the fiscal field, but rather that it depends on each case. Last year wills continued to rise (3% more), but 2% fewer inheritances were awarded. Furthermore, Catalonia continues to be the community where the most preventive powers are formalized, with 12,822 in 2025, 8% more than in 2024 and almost double that of five years ago.
Wills made in Catalonia represent 19% of the total in Spain, which Iglesias attributes to "the tradition of Catalan society, which is concerned about its succession." More than half of inheritances have a value between 100,000 and 500,000 euros, and the average is 237,000 euros. Many times the inheritance is a home, which may or may not be accompanied by savings. Notaries have also accounted for about 2,400 inheritances between 1 and 5 million euros, 225 inheritances of more than 5 million euros, and also a small group of inheritances exceeding 100 million euros.