Although it is not obligatory, we strongly recommend you to make a Spanish will in order to avoid future hassle and to facilitate the distribution of your assets in Spain, thus avoiding time-consuming and expensive legal problems for your heirs.
Once you have purchased a property in Spain; although it is not obligatory, you should make a Spanish Will to determine who and how your property and assets will be distributed after your death.
The Spanish civil code allows foreign nationals to make a will in Spain following their own country’s Law.
Therefore; If the Law in your own country permits free disposal of the estate, this frees you from the Spanish Law of Obligatory Heirs, where a testator must leave a proportion of his assets to his direct family members.
As the UK law provide free disposal of assets a UK property owner would not therefore be obliged to leave a proportion of his estate to members of his family as is required of a Spanish person.
The Spanish Will should just deal with your assets in Spain, should be made out in two columns, one in Spanish and one in English or in whatever language the testator speaks, if you have made a Will in your home country, you should make your lawyer aware of the existence of the Spanish Will in order he can ensure that the contents are not in conflict or that your English Will has not inadvertently revoked your Spanish Will.
Once the Will has been signed in presence of a Public Notary, a copy will be sent to the Central Wills Registry in Madrid as an official record, all the Spanish wills are kept on file to ensure that a legal copy can always be found.
When the time for the settlement of the inheritance comes, your inheritors will not have to use the same solicitor you used to set up your Spanish Will.
If you are the lawful heir to some Spanish assets, do not hesitate to contact our Firm, who will deal with all the necessary legal proceedings.
Should there be a will, and in case of agreement of the parties involved, the process would become much easier and could be completed before a Spanish notary.
After having obtained all the required papers, the notary will proceed to divide the inheritance without further delay.
In the absence of a last will and testament, you will need judicial or notary documents declaring you a legitimate heir and, what is more, providing evidence of the laws of the late person’s country of origin in order to justify your claim to the inheritance.
These documents, together with the rest of papers required to formalize the inheritance, will then be taken to a notary to complete the legal proceedings.
If, on the contrary, and whether there be a will or not, the parties involved should not reach an agreement, it would be necessary to take the case to court so as to have the inheritance shared out by a judge.
Please, do not hesitate to contact us.
Our specialised lawyers will study your case, evaluate your chances of success, and inform you about the paperwork required to inherit.
Inheritance Tax in Spain:
When you receive an inheritance in Spain there is a tax to be paid on this.
Sometimes this tax can be a quite a large amount (can be up to a quarter of the value of the property and if you are not directly relate to the deceased then it can be doubled) however there are ways that you can legally avoid paying all of this money.
They are as follows:
If you can prove hat you have lived with that person for a period of at least 2 year and on the condition that you will keep the property that you have inherited for a minimum of 10 years after inheriting it then the amount of tax you are required to pay is reduced by up to 95%. However this reduction is only available to official residents.
If the mortgage on the property is very high then you will have your taxation amount reduced.
If you form a family corporation then your tax can be reduced because if somebody should die then you just have to move around the positions of everybody in the company and this way inheritance tax can be avoided however you get other tax costs doing it this way.
This tax should be paid at the Provincial Tax Office (Delegación Provincial of the Consejería de Economía y Hacienda).
BILINGUAL TESTAMENTS AVAILABLE
ENGLISH
FRENCH (Français)
ARABIC (العربية)
ITALIAN (Italiano) )
DANISH (Dansk)
FEES:
Single person: 200.00 €
Couples: 150.00 € each.
FAQS
Wills & Inheritance in Spain
– Does the legal concept of trust exist in the Spanish Law system?
No. Spanish Law does not have an equivalent to the trust. The closest entity would be a foundation, which in Spain must have a public purpose, so that the beneficiary must be the general population. Unlike the trust, if a foundation is dissolved, its assets are not distributed among the beneficiaries.
– Is there a deadline to pay the Inheritance Tax?
Yes. Inheritance Tax must be settled within six months from the date of death. An extension for another six months can be granted upon request of the taxpayer. The application for the extension has to be made within five months as to the date of death and it will have to be approved by the relevant Tax Department. If the extension is granted, default interest shall accrue.
– Are the heirs responsible to pay the debts of the deceased?
Yes, unless the inheritance is accepted under benefit of inventory, in which case the debts are paid and the remainder, if any, will be inherited.
– What is a lifetime usufruct?
Usufruct is the exclusive right that someone has to use and enjoy during lifetime an asset whose ownership is not held by the person in question. In these cases the owner (called bare owner) holds the ownership, but cannot use or enjoy it while subsisting the usufruct. The most common usufruct happens when one spouse dies having named as heirs their children. The surviving spouse becomes the beneficial owner and holds the right to use and enjoy the property during his/her lifetime.
– Could the surviving spouse waive their inheritance rights in favor of their children?
Yes. They need to agree this disposition in a public title deed.
– Can the heirs divide the estate in a different way than such set by the testator in the will?
Yes, provided that all the heirs are of legal adult age, agree to do it and are legally capable.
– Could I sign several wills? How do I revoke a will if my circumstances change?
Yes, you can sign and revoke as many wills as you want. When you sign a new one, those signed before are automatically revoked. Wills executed before a Spanish Notary Public will be registered in the Register of Last Wills in Madrid. Upon your decease, the only valid will be that one appearing on the register as the last signed.
– Do I need to indicate all my Spanish assets in my will?
It is not necessary. When the testator is a foreigner individual non-resident in Spain, it is customary to refer to the properties and rights that he/she may have here in general, without specifying any. Thus, if the assets change, it will not be necessary to execute another will.
– Where is my Spanish Will kept once it has been signed?
The original will shall remain in the protocol and under the custody of the authorizing notary. You will get a copy stamped by the notary. Furthermore, execution of the will shall be recorded in the Register of Last Wills in Madrid. In this way, beneficiaries may have access to it from death, upon request.
– I have under age children. Can I appoint a guardian in my Spanish Will? If so, can they dispose of the goods until my children are of full age?
Yes, you can appoint a guardian in your Spanish Will, but he/she will have to accept the position later. The guardian will need judicial authorization to perform acts of disposition of the minor’s assets.
– Can a bank freeze accounts of a deceased person?
Money deposited in accounts is an asset of the estate and, therefore, the bank is legally bound to block them until it has been confirmed with the proper documents who the legal heirs are and only when the inheritance tax has been settled. In any case, the accounts will usually be operative, i.e., money can be deposited in them and standing orders and direct debits will still be charged against them.
