Asset Protection: Post-Mortem Recognition of a De Facto Union – A Case Study

We safeguarded the continuity and control of a high-value family estate against succession claims brought by third parties.

Case Background

A prominent Ecuadorian business family faced succession claims from third parties following the death of the family patriarch. These claims threatened the integrity of the estate accumulated over more than three decades of cohabitation and joint economic activity.

Legal Objective

To obtain post-mortem judicial recognition of a stable and monogamous de facto union, with full civil and patrimonial effects, in order to protect the hereditary estate, neutralise external claims challenging the legitimacy of the union, and ensure the continuity of family governance while safeguarding the rights of the immediate family.

Our procedural strategy anticipated a favourable judgment at first instance, confirmation on appeal, and a strong defence against any cassation challenge.

Case Team

M&Z Strategy

Evidentiary Architecture

We structured a robust evidentiary package combining witness testimony, documentary and photographic evidence, and socioeconomic context to prove public and notorious cohabitation and family integration.

Multi-Instance Coordination

We maintained a coherent legal theory across first and second instance proceedings, and presented a technical defence at the cassation stage focused on preserving the trial court’s evidentiary assessment. Our arguments were grounded in the constitutional and civil protection of the family and the life project, emphasising the prohibition against re-evaluating evidence in cassation.

Risks and Complexity

The posthumous nature of the claim heightened the evidentiary burden:

• passage of time,

• witness memory deterioration, and

• intrafamily tensions required meticulous direction of examinations and cross-examinations.

Divergent accounts from third parties (other women and extra-family children) demanded particularly strict consistency control. On the patrimonial side, assets accumulated during the cohabitation were vulnerable to dilution without a strong judicial declaration.

Outcome and Precedent

We obtained a favourable judgment confirmed on appeal, followed by the dismissal of the extraordinary cassation appeal. The case strengthens a modern interpretation of Family Law:

Infidelity or the existence of extramarital children do not invalidate a de facto union nor deprive the faithful partner of legal protection, thereby preserving the family estate.