We explain what a natural or natural person is, its differences with a legal or moral person and the characteristics of both.
Natural person and legal person
In the legal and administrative sphere, a distinction is often made between a natural or natural person and a legal person or moral. Both are individuals capable of carrying out transactions, invoking legal rights or even committing crimes.
This distinction lies in the very nature of the individual. It is essential when establishing their rights, duties and the procedures in which they can be involved.
In this way, a natural person or natural person is any member of the human species capable of acquiring rights and contracting obligations. These are individuals of existence real, tangible, conscious and autonomous, subjects of law in the face of the law.
Depending on the legal system, This concept can have a place in this concept absolutely all members of the human species, whether they have been born or even are about to be born. Therein lie numerous debates regarding the point of origin of the fundamental rights of the human being.
Any human being that occurs to us serves as an example of a natural person, as long as he is alive, in enjoyment of his fundamental rights. The dead were natural persons, but they no longer exist.
On the other hand, a legal person or moral person is an individual with verifiable legal existence, that is, endowed with rights and duties. It does not exist in the same way as a natural person, but is a institution or organization created by natural persons to comply with a objective social (profit or non-profit).
De facto legal persons can be made up of a group of natural persons, as well as a set of assets assigned as common property.
This type of person is born from a legal act or act of constitution, or due to the recognition of some other institution, authority or administrative body of the Condition. Examples of legal persons are: Business public and private, non-governmental organizations, the foundations and the State itself.
This distinction between natural persons and legal persons can also be expressed in the terms of individual legal persons or collective legal persons, respectively.
Natural person and legal person
These terms are basically synonyms of natural person and legal person, respectively. They differ legally and fiscally in the following points:
- Denomination. While natural persons simply use their name and identification number to carry out procedures and declarations, legal persons, on the other hand, are distinguished from each other by a business name, which refers to the activity that the company or organization carries out.
- Tangibility. Natural persons, made of flesh and blood, possess a mobile and tangible body, whereas legal persons do not. However, both can exercise rights and own property, in accordance with the law.
- Legal limitations. Each case has its limitations according to the current law, such as the age of majority for legal procedures in the case of natural persons, or a higher tax burden and greater formal requirements in the case of legal entities.
- Different tax regimes. The State does not rate individuals and legal entities in the same way and according to the same rules, generally for the benefit of the former.