La legítima protege al heredero forzoso.

In Spanish inheritance law, la legítima is a legal term for the part of an estate that the law reserves for certain close relatives. So here it is not just the ordinary adjective legitimate used on its own; it is a specific noun used in legal language.

In Spain, this is an important concept in succession law, because it limits how freely a person can distribute their estate.

Yes. In this sentence, legítima is being used as a noun, not just as an adjective.

It is common in legal Spanish for an adjective or shortened expression to function as a noun. You can think of la legítima as a shortened legal phrase, something like la porción legítima. Because the noun is feminine, it takes the feminine article la.

So:

• la legítima = a feminine singular legal noun
• not just legitimate as an adjective

Protege is the third-person singular present indicative form of proteger.

It is used because the subject is la legítima, which is singular:

• la legítima = singular subject
• therefore protege = it protects

The present tense is very natural here because Spanish often uses the present tense to state general facts, definitions, or legal principles.

Because Spanish uses the personal a before a direct object that refers to a person.

Here, heredero forzoso refers to a person, so Spanish requires a:

• protege al heredero forzoso

Also, al is just the contraction of:

• a + el = al

So al heredero means:

• to the heir in form, but in this sentence it is really marking the personal direct object, not an indirect object.

Heredero forzoso is a legal term meaning a person who is entitled by law to a protected share of the inheritance.

In Spanish law, this refers to relatives who cannot normally be left out of the inheritance entirely, except in specific legal circumstances. So it is not just any heir; it is a legally protected heir.

Because heredero forzoso is the established legal expression.

In everyday Spanish, forzoso can mean mandatory, compulsory, or inevitable depending on context. In legal language, it is the standard word in this phrase. It does not mean the heir is physically forced to inherit; it means the law requires that this person be protected in the succession.

Not necessarily. The masculine form can be used:

• for a specific male heir, or
• more generally in legal language

If the heir is specifically female, you would say:

• la heredera forzosa

So the sentence could change depending on the person:

• La legítima protege al heredero forzoso.
• La legítima protege a la heredera forzosa.

This is the normal, neutral order:

• subject + verb + object
• La legítima protege al heredero forzoso.

Spanish can change the order for emphasis, but this version is the most straightforward and natural for a legal statement.

For example, a more marked version could be:

• Al heredero forzoso lo protege la legítima.

That sounds more emphatic. The original sentence is the standard neutral form.

The accent mark shows where the stress falls:

• le-GÍ-ti-ma

Without the written accent, the stress rules of Spanish would suggest a different pronunciation. So the accent is there to show that the stressed syllable is gí.

This matters both for correct pronunciation and correct spelling.