Search

En este trabajo se analiza con especial atención la Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo de 24 de mayo de 2022, dado que con ella el TS ha venido a perfilar su doctrina sobre la falta de relación y de afecto familiar como causa de desheredación de hijos y descendientes. Desde hace ya años, se trata de una causa que está siendo invocada por padres y abuelos para privar a sus hijos y nietos de la legítima, y que ha encontrado apoyo en la doctrina emanada de algunos pronunciamientos de nuestro Alto Tribunal, entre los que destaca la sentencia de 27 de junio de 2018. El propio TS reconoce que, aunque sigue siendo necesario expresar una justa causa de desheredación para privar de la legítima a los legitimarios, la sala ha admitido una interpretación flexible de las causas de desheredación para adaptarlas a la realidad social del momento en que vivimos. No obstante, nuestro derecho vigente no permite configurar una nueva causa autónoma de desheredación por vía interpretativa. Ahora bien, el TS reconoce que la falta de relación familiar continuada e imputable al legitimario desheredado, en la medida que haya provocado daños en la salud física o psicológica del causante, puede reconducirse a la causa legal del “maltrato de obra” prevista en el art. 853.2ª CC., This paper analyses with special attention the Supreme Court Judgement of 24 May 2022, given that with it the Supreme Court has come to outline its doctrine on the lack of relationship and family affection as a cause for disinheritance of children and descendants. For years now, this has been a cause that is being invoked by parents and grandparents to deprive their children and grandchildren of their legitimate share, and which has found support in the doctrine emanating from some pronouncements of our High Court, among which the judgment of 27 June 2018 stands out. The Suprem Court itself recognises that, although it is still necessary to express a just cause for disinheritance in order to deprive the legitimated beneficiaries of their legitimate share, the court has admitted a flexible interpretation of the causes for disinheritance in order to adapt them to the social reality of the times in which we live. However, our current law does not allow a new autonomous cause of disinheritance to be configured by way of interpretation. However, the Supreme Court recognises that the lack of a continuous family relationship attributable to the disinherited legitimated beneficiary, insofar as it has caused damage to the physical or psychological health of the deceased, can be brought back to the legal cause of “mistreatment by deed” provided for in Art. 853.2ª CC.

In 2017, I learned that my estranged mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. This article explores the conflicting emotional responses I have had following the decision not to reconnect with my mother, not to provide care for her during her illness, and not to attend her funeral (when the time comes). This study combines my own creative explorations of child neglect, through  autophenomenography, with examinations of autobiographical accounts of mother-daughter relationships and literature on family estrangement and the loss of a parent. I suggest that I already ‘read’ myself as a motherless daughter, and that caring, (re)mourning, and (re)grieving for my mother would entail reentering a dysfunctional dyad and opening up past wounds. There appear to be few resources to draw on regarding how to navigate this particular emotional terrain. This article does not intend to provide a prescriptive model for this type of loss, but rather aims at opening up for queer modes of grieving and mourning and suggests that, in some cases, the denial of care for an estranged parent translates into self-care and self-preservation.&nbsp

In 2017, I learned that my estranged mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. This article explores the conflicting emotional responses I have had following the decision not to reconnect with my mother, not to provide care for her during her illness, and not to attend her funeral (when the time comes). This study combines my own creative explorations of child neglect, through  autophenomenography, with examinations of autobiographical accounts of mother-daughter relationships and literature on family estrangement and the loss of a parent. I suggest that I already ‘read’ myself as a motherless daughter, and that caring, (re)mourning, and (re)grieving for my mother would entail reentering a dysfunctional dyad and opening up past wounds. There appear to be few resources to draw on regarding how to navigate this particular emotional terrain. This article does not intend to provide a prescriptive model for this type of loss, but rather aims at opening up for queer modes of grieving and mourning and suggests that, in some cases, the denial of care for an estranged parent translates into self-care and self-preservation.&nbsp

In 2017, I learned that my estranged mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. This article explores the conflicting emotional responses I have had following the decision not to reconnect with my mother, not to provide care for her during her illness, and not to attend her funeral (when the time comes). This study combines my own creative explorations of child neglect, through  autophenomenography, with examinations of autobiographical accounts of mother-daughter relationships and literature on family estrangement and the loss of a parent. I suggest that I already ‘read’ myself as a motherless daughter, and that caring, (re)mourning, and (re)grieving for my mother would entail reentering a dysfunctional dyad and opening up past wounds. There appear to be few resources to draw on regarding how to navigate this particular emotional terrain. This article does not intend to provide a prescriptive model for this type of loss, but rather aims at opening up for queer modes of grieving and mourning and suggests that, in some cases, the denial of care for an estranged parent translates into self-care and self-preservation.&nbsp

Loss of sibling relationships is a common experience across international jurisdictions for children entering public care. This is the case despite statutory guidance that emphasizes the need to place siblings together when in their best interests, and increasingly robust evidence of the protective nature of sibling relationships when children face adversity. Research on the experiences and outcomes of siblings in care has thus far focused predominantly on placement and contact patterns, particularly of siblings in care concurrently. This study extends this research by comprehensively mapping sibling networks both within and outside the care system and measuring sibling estrangement (living apart and lack of contact) over time. Drawing on administrative and case file data within the Children's Hearings System in Scotland, the circumstances of 204 children and young people from 50 sibling networks were examined longitudinally. The study found very high rates of sibling estrangement with seven in 10 relationships between a child in out-of-home care and a sibling classified as estranged and half of all siblings classified as strangers (siblings having never lived together and no record of any communication or meetings between the child and sibling). Moreover, sibling estrangement increased significantly as children moved through the care system. We argue that continued effort is needed to improve the accuracy with which aspects of sibling relationships of children in care are recorded and measured in order to assess the longer-term impact of state interventions on children's lives and the capacity of child welfare agencies to meet policy goals.

Loss of sibling relationships is a common experience across international jurisdictions for children entering public care. This is the case despite statutory guidance that emphasizes the need to place siblings together when in their best interests, and increasingly robust evidence of the protective nature of sibling relationships when children face adversity. Research on the experiences and outcomes of siblings in care has thus far focused predominantly on placement and contact patterns, particularly of siblings in care concurrently. This study extends this research by comprehensively mapping sibling networks both within and outside the care system and measuring sibling estrangement (living apart and lack of contact) over time. Drawing on administrative and case file data within the Children's Hearings System in Scotland, the circumstances of 204 children and young people from 50 sibling networks were examined longitudinally. The study found very high rates of sibling estrangement with seven in 10 relationships between a child in out-of-home care and a sibling classified as estranged and half of all siblings classified as strangers (siblings having never lived together and no record of any communication or meetings between the child and sibling). Moreover, sibling estrangement increased significantly as children moved through the care system. We argue that continued effort is needed to improve the accuracy with which aspects of sibling relationships of children in care are recorded and measured in order to assess the longer-term impact of state interventions on children's lives and the capacity of child welfare agencies to meet policy goals.