Wills and Inheritance Tax

Wills and Inheritance Tax

Wills and testaments are a matter for everyone, whether you are Spanish or a foreigner, resident or non-resident.

We always recommend making a will in Spain when owning a Spanish property, although it is not necessarily but just to prevent an expensive and lengthy process as the inheritance proceedings and documents have to be translated into Spanish and then legalised. This will is always personal and individual and it is not possible for spouses to make a joint will.

If there is no will at all (in Spain or any other country) court proceedings have to be started either in your home country or in Spain depending on each case. The Spanish will should clearly state that it disposes only of the assets in Spain. It is totally compatible with any other will made abroad for different assets.

Foreigners are free to dispose their assets as long as they do so in accordance with their own national law, and only if their law allows free disposition.

The Spanish succession law does not apply automatically when a foreigner dies without having a Spanish will. The will made abroad is valid as long as it is in accordance to their national law. If there is no ´other´ will though, the Spanish succession law may apply or it may result in a legal conflict which would only be resolved by the rules of international private law.

A benefit of having a Spanish testament is that it will always reduce time and costs and can be used as a tool to reduce taxes. One of the recently implemented laws in Andalucia is the possibility to make a ´Living Will´ as a clause when making a will in Andalucia. It means that a testator can make provisions regarding medical care and health treatments in case he loses his capacity to make such decisions in future. We recommend making an Open Will which is carried out before a Spanish notary in order to follow the formalities as established in Spanish legislation. These formalities make the testament a valid document and include identifying the testator, the beneficiaries, the date of the will and the wishes of the testator. It will then be kept in the notary’s Official Books (confidential) and you get to keep a copy.

For more information on property or legal questions on property in Marbella, Puerto Banus or anywhere on the Costa del Sol please contact us on the numbers on the left, or fill in the contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.