Espin & Rodriguez lawyers, solicitors, estate planning, in Spain

If you own any assets which are Spanish-based; e.g. Property, Bank Accounts, Investments, Securities, Business Interests, etc. – then you should definitely, positively, choose to have a Spanish Will drawn up and certified during your lifetime.

If you don’t, the consequences for the beneficiaries of your estate can become extremely complicated and expensive. For most of us, what we leave behind is the result of a lifetime’s work, and the last thing we want is to see any of it soaked up by the legal system – still less the Government. But, that’s exactly what could happen, if you do not have a Spanish Will in place to protect your Spanish assets.

The good news for expatriates is that you are entitled to have any Will you have registered in your Country of Origin executed in Spain, and to distribute any of your Spanish assets according to the Law of your own Country. The bad news is that this can only happen after a lengthy and potentially expensive process has taken place, as follows:

1. The Will from your own Country must be translated into Spanish..

2. The original, and the translation, must then be certified by a Notary.

3. The entire documentation as explained above must then be certified as “legal”, by one of two different sources, including – possibly – the Consulate of your country of origin or a Spanish Court. Either of which is extremely time-consuming and relatively expensive.

In the meantime, until this process has been completed, bear in mind that all your Spanish assets will be “frozen”. So your beneficiaries will have no title to any property (so no property can be sold), no access to Bank Accounts or other assets in order to release any cash. It is not unknown for this process to take a year or more. And, in the meantime, expenses mount up, not least from the inevitable Taxman. In Spain, Inheritance Taxes are due within 6 months of death. Without release of assets, Loans might have to be negotiated, or Interest Charges imposed in order to keep the Taxman at bay.

The alternative, of having a Spanish Will in place to deal with your Spanish assets, is relatively inexpensive to set up, and extremely quick and easy to execute, leaving your beneficiaries with fewer headaches and much faster access to assets.

We are able to guide you through this entire process of preparing a Spanish Will, including local Tax advice, right through to legal registration of your wishes. Talk to us in an initial consultation, at no cost. It’s worth your time.