Wills: The Legal Will & Inheritance in Spain
Posted by The Expatriator
Information about Spanish wills.
If you own property in Spain, you should have a Spanish will; it is an expensive and slow process to get your foreign will recognized in Spain. For your heirs to get your property transferred to their names, the process is much simpler if there’s a Spanish will. If there is no Spanish will registered at the Registro de Actos de Ultima Voluntad, then your property could, in the worst case, pass to the local and regional government.
When you receive a copy of your Spanish will from a notary, it’s a good idea to have another copy sent to your embassy.
Please consider taking the advice and assistance of a lawyer for these matters. Too many expats have experienced the (often) nightmare of the Spanish legal system.
Last updated 03 04 2006
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SueinSpain said:
My husband & I own our property 50/50. He has 3 children from his 1st marriage, we have none together and I have no children at all. Am I correct in saying that should my husband die first, if I wanted to sell the house and move to a smaller place I would not be able to rely on the full value of the house because his children will be entitled to a significant amount. Seems a little unfair as both my husband & I have put alot into the property and his children have very little to do with their father. Also, as they are not my children then do I have to include them in my Spanish Will?
disktone said:
Hi I live in spain now, retired. i am wondering what will happen when my mother passes away. i estimate her estate will be worth upto 300K, how will uk and spanish inheritance taxes affect this?
Also my wife and i own our property 50/50 and i wish to leave my 50% to my children from a previous marrage in the uk, how will this affect them, i assume my children will have to pay the tax on my death even if my wife stays living in our house until her death.
This is all a bit messy as we both have children from previous marrages but none together, so any advice would be greatly recieved
jacken said:
We are pensioners and in moving to Alicante we have our NIE and have applied for our residencia. I am told that we should also have an empadronamiento for administrative and health registration purposes. How and where do we obtain it and what documentation is required to support our application? A difficulty is that we shall be living with family and thus do not have our own documentation to prove an address in Alicante. Thank you
Lucy_ said:
disktone, you should make a Spanish Will stating that. It would be highly advisable for your mother too in order to protect her interests and assets in Spain, including the property.
SueinSpain, you don´t have to include the children in your Spanish Will if you don´t wish to.
Feel free to e-mail me should you have more queries.
(Lucia)