The preventive succession audit: key to efficient NPL recovery

In today’s property and financial markets, managing portfolios of non-performing loans (NPLs) demands ever greater operational precision. One of the most frequent obstacles is the death of the borrower — an issue that, if not detected in time, can bring court proceedings to a standstill for a very long time.

Leaving the search for heirs entirely to the court usually slows proceedings down considerably. The risks are not only a matter of time, but also legal:

• Strike-out and nullity: there is a real risk of the proceedings being struck out or declared null and void if the borrower died before the claim was filed.
• Registration defects: the registration of the certificate of award may be refused if the actual heirs were not properly notified.
• Impact on time-to-cash: these delays stretch resolution times, which already average 3.5 to 4 years.

At Arias Advocats we have developed a proactive protocol that replaces waiting on the court with a high-precision private investigation. This service makes it possible to:

• Check in advance: identify deaths before filing the claim, to make sure the right parties are sued.
• Fix issues early: provide death certificates and certificates from the Register of Last Wills from the start of the proceedings.
• Protect the proceedings: avoid having to go back to earlier procedural stages and meet the requirements of the Directorate-General of Registries and Article 791 of the Spanish Civil Procedure Act (LEC).

Anticipation is not just legal caution; it is a financial optimisation tool that frees up tied-up capital and increases the value of the portfolio for future transactions. An asset whose succession situation has been clarified is, in essence, a more liquid and more auditable asset.