Dealing with an inheritance in Spain can be complicated, particularly when the deceased, heirs or assets are located in different countries. Spanish inheritance law, tax obligations, probate procedures and documentation requirements can create significant practical difficulties for foreign families. We provide inheritance and probate legal services in Spain for foreign clients, helping heirs manage the entire process efficiently and with confidence.
We assist foreign nationals inheriting property, bank accounts or other assets in Spain, whether the deceased was resident in Spain or abroad. Our role is to make the Spanish legal process as straightforward as possible, explaining each step clearly and handling the formalities required to transfer the estate to the beneficiaries.
Our services include assistance with Spanish wills and estates, inheritance proceedings, acceptance and distribution of inheritances, probate documentation, heirship procedures, powers of attorney, estate administration and the transfer of Spanish property following death. We can also liaise with notaries, banks, land registries, tax authorities and other professionals involved in the administration of the estate.
For many foreign heirs, travelling repeatedly to Spain is inconvenient or impossible. We therefore provide practical solutions for clients who live abroad, including the use of powers of attorney and remote coordination where legally appropriate. Our aim is to minimise unnecessary travel, paperwork and delays while ensuring that the inheritance is properly completed under Spanish law.
Whether you have inherited a Spanish property, need to administer an estate, require assistance with a Spanish will or are unsure how to proceed after the death of a family member with assets in Spain, we provide personalised legal assistance for international inheritance and probate matters.
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.