Independent English-Speaking Inheritance & Probate Lawyer in Spain
Inheriting property or financial assets in Spain after losing a loved one can feel overwhelming, especially when you are dealing with an unfamiliar legal system from abroad. As independent Spanish inheritance and probate lawyers with over 20 years of professional experience, we assist foreign heirs, executors and international families with Spanish inheritance matters throughout Spain. We provide direct, personal and confidential legal representation, with all legal advice and communication provided in fluent English, allowing you to deal with the entire Spanish inheritance process without having to navigate it alone or make unnecessary trips to Spain.
Spanish inheritance procedures involve specific legal requirements and strict statutory deadlines, which can be particularly challenging when the deceased, heirs and assets are located in different countries. Having an independent inheritance lawyer acting exclusively in your interests can help you avoid unnecessary delays, protect your rights and ensure that the estate is properly dealt with under Spanish law. I can manage the process on your behalf, from reviewing the will and identifying Spanish assets to obtaining NIE numbers, preparing powers of attorney, coordinating with notaries, banks and authorities, completing the necessary inheritance formalities and registering inherited property, allowing you to handle your Spanish inheritance efficiently from wherever you are.
There are three kinds of wills in Spain.
The first one and the most common of them is the open will which has to be signed in any Spanish Notary or Spanish Embassy. The notary reads careful the content before the signing as is the case in any other notary signature event, and after it he sends it to a central registry in Madrid where a copy of all wills and life insurances are kept. In addition a copy of every single document signed in a notary is sent there including the wills, so the client gets only a copy of it (not the original), after the signature. The main point of that is even though the client looses the will, he can always get another copy in the notary, and if he passes away, there is available a registry with all the wills.
This sort of will is written by the client in a paper and delivered to the notary, who makes sure of the client’s identity and puts it in an envelope that remains closed until the person passes away. At this point, the heirs would have access to its content that would be read by the notary.
This sort of will involves more risks than the others. It doesn’t have to be signed in the notary, and it can be written in a piece of paper and signed by him. The main point here of course, is about proving that the document belongs to the person, in the event the heirs disagree about the content. If that happens, a long process takes place to proove through experts and witnesses that the author was the one who signed it, so we don’t recommend choosing this option unless the person can’t meet a notary for any reason.
As we wrote above, the notary will check the person identity, will make sure that he understands his language (otherwise a translator will be required), but above all, will check to ensure that he is a good mental state to be able to write his will. If the notary finds out that he is not, then he is obligated not to allow the individual to sign, and if the client has a mental disease but in several moments he recovers his sanity, he will be able to sign a will during those moments. However, if an heir finds that the person signs a will having lost his mind and the notary doesn’t realize it, he will be legitimated to apply for a will cancellation.
Once we have news about a relative’s death, it is very important to start all the inheritance stages, because we will have only six months to submit the tax statement, although before that, we will need to find out if we are heirs or not.
The first step is to apply for a death certificate in the Civil Registry of the town where the relative died, and anyone can get it, since it is from a public registry. After this, we need to go to the last Will Registry in order to get a last will certificate. This document is essential as it will show every single will signed by the relative, as well as any life insurances. This documents, will also state which notary has the will, so the heir can go there, get a copy, and start the state acceptance process.
Once the heirs are in the notary, they will have to sign “state acceptance deed”, but they have to make sure they reject any debt from the deceased relative. Otherwise, they will be obligated to pay it with their own funds (“Aceptación a beneficio de inventario”). After the inheritance deed is signed and delivered, then it could be used for changing the property ownership, or for funds withdrawal.
If you are dealing with an inheritance in Spain, contact us for professional legal assistance tailored to your circumstances.
