Bureaucracy is usually just a monumental waste of time and resources... primarily designed to keep some civil servant in a job!

I don't know about Portugal, but my parents passed away in Spain and the paperwork was insane. And "official" bills showed up long after the fact, too... which I was advised to pay, in case I ever were to set foot in Spain again, because my name might be attached with some flag for "illegal activity" for all eternity.

Bureaucracy is truly hateful!