Wills: The Legal Will & Inheritance in Spain

...the process is much simpler if there's a Spanish will."

Posted by The Expatriator

Tagged: legal, property, inheritance, will, notary, lawyer

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


If you find this site helpful, please leave a donation for us. This will encourage us to remove ads, keep responding to your questions and add more great information about living in Spain to SpainExpat.com.


Expat Talkback

Make your comments about this article here. They may also be edited for poor grammar/spelling as may be necessary for readability.

If you'd like to ask a question for discussion, please mosey on over to the Spain Forum. Be sure to stick around and participate with what you can! See our posting rules and instructions here.

Sign-In using OpenID or sign-in with your SpainExpat username to post your comments and questions about this article. See the SpainExpats box on the left.

If you're not a SpainExpat member yet, sign-up now, it's free and we'll keep you in touch with goings on around here. See the SpainExpats box on the left.

20/Jan/2010:
andrewyork9@gmail.com said:

Hi
My wife and I are full residents in Spain we jointly own our property in Spain and jointly own a property in England.We have just contacted an Enlish lawyer in Spain for a spanish will he has stated that our english will covers us and only a certificate from Madrid is nessasary upon death. Do you agree?.

 
21/Sep/2008:
GG said:

Is anyone able to advise ? We have bought an old property in Asturias.We are going to make a Spanish Will. We are married. I have one child, my husband has none. We are both very keen that my daughter inherit our property, is it neccessary that my husband legally adopt my daughter to ensure that she inherits the property?

 
13/Jun/2008:
mill-lane said:

My husband and i have been living in Spain for just over four years now and have made Spanish wills. We were told by the notario when making the wills that my husband's children inherit 50% of the main property that we live in. I have no children at all. This seems very unfair. Especially since my husband's children have their own property in the UK. Where do I stand if I wanted to sell the house and go back to the UK after my husband's death (if he survived me) if his children did not wish to sell their share of the property?

 
28/Apr/2008:
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)

 
06/Apr/2007:
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?

 
26/May/2006:
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

 
17/Apr/2006:
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

 
Recent Discussions
Pregnant and petrified! - By: Roo

Total Views: 91, Last Post On: 03/19/2010 02:56 pm By: Santi


hire car after motor accident - By: brynic

Total Views: 35, Last Post On: 03/19/2010 02:25 pm By: ROB1305


Bringing my shotgun to Spain - By: Chris Beckett

Total Views: 9, Last Post On: 03/19/2010 01:45 pm By: Chris Beckett


Looking to invest in property ! - By: thomscric83

Total Views: 73, Last Post On: 03/19/2010 12:02 pm By: gornanalb


Broadband without phone calls? Is it an option - By: Los Locos Beach

Total Views: 154, Last Post On: 03/19/2010 01:21 am By: Danny


patio tiling - By: davendonc

Total Views: 19, Last Post On: 03/18/2010 11:48 pm By: davendonc


e-baying from Spain? - By: c_mego

Total Views: 3513, Last Post On: 03/18/2010 09:33 pm By: Jasoninspain


Recent Talkbacks
On Jobs in Spain, sharonsanchez68 said:

"I think the link for Barcelona metropolitan is broken, but here is the correct one:
http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/

I found a job through their classifieds section, and also found loads of help on settling in when i first moved here! It was really helpful!"


On Getting Married, Weddings & Giving Birth in Spain, jossy said:

"hi all i am a nigerian married to a spainard for almost 2yrs now i have not been able to get my libro de familia due to a wrong information i got from spainish embassy lagos. my documents has been in the embassy for about 2months now for legalization. can…


On EU Residency in Spain for EU Citizens and Their Family Members, ROB1305 said:

"The official guide

For the Regulations document in English

http://extranjeros.mtin.es/es/InformacionInteres/FolletosInformativos/archivos/VERSION_INGLES.pdf"


Recent Jobs
SpainExpat's jobs in Spain database: most recently posted jobs: