Spanish Wills

[christine]

Can anyone tell me if it is law to have a Spanish Will if you are a resident and a fiscal resident owning property in Spain, or is an English Will sufficient and accepted in Spain?

[ian.wilson]

It is much better if you have a Spanish Will, an English Will is OK but the red tape may cause months if not years of delay just when you do not need it!

Friend of mine just had to wait 18 months for the English will to be actioned in Spain, they lost a property sale due to the delay.

I would advise everybody that owns property in Spain to have a Spanish Will.

[Alan-LaCala]

If you die intestate, your Spanish assets may be disposed of according to spanish law, which may not be to your wishes.

It is not worth taking that risk as they do not cost much.

Alan

[rafiki]

We have a complicated family structure and it is not our wish for all our 'kids' to inherit equal share in our assets in Spain. Our Spanish solicitor advised that a simple will will only accommodate equal share amongst them and it becomes very complicated to divi up unequal shares or even no share. This seems strange, was she talking rubbish?

[Lorraine - Mijas]

When we made our wills we where told that in Spain it is the norm to have wills where everything is left to the kids or direct descendents and that even the spouses of family members do not normally get anything, which would explain why in Spain land and property are often owned for generations by the same family.
Another thing we where also told is that we could NOT have a joint will as is common in the UK, we had to make 2 seperate ones
As we only have 2 children we didn't encounter the problem of different shares.

[MiriamO]

As I understand it, you are actually not allowed under Spanish law to totaly disinherit one of your children. This doesn't mean he/she has to have an equal share with the others and you can specify 1% to him or her and the other 99% split between the others. I'm sure an abogado would soon set you right on that and it doesn't cost much at all.
I've never heard of a joint will. How on earth does that work?

[rafiki]

But is it possible to have 'back to back' wills in Spain as in UK whereby on the first demise the surviving spouse inherits and then' on the second demise the kids inherit (equally or unequally)? (We do have our Spanish house in joint names.)

[rafiki]

As I understand it, you are actually not allowed under Spanish law to totaly disinherit one of your children. This doesn't mean he/she has to have an equal share with the others and you can specify 1% to him or her and the other 99% split between the others. I'm sure an abogado would soon set you right on that and it doesn't cost much at all.

I guess that's what our solocitor meant then. I think we can proceed on that basis. TVM.

[El Cid]

Spanish inheritance law does not apply to foreigners so long as they have a will that is consistent with the inheritance laws in their country.

If you die intestate then Spanish law will apply.

There is no legal requirement to have a Spanish will and not having one does not affect the inheritance rules. A Spanish will makes it easier to get probate and sort out the estate and is highly recomended - and yes, you must have seperate wills.

Under Spanish inheritance laws you are very restricted in who you can leave your assets to but, by concession, the home laws will apply unless one of the family contests the will in which case it is possible that the estate will have to be disposed of under Spanish law.

Sid

[Bongtrees]

Spanish inheritance law does not apply to foreigners so long as they have a will that is consistent with the inheritance laws in their country. Sid

Sid are you saying that one could make a Spanish will that specifically refers solely to carrying out the wishes and bequeaths contained in the UK will without mentioning what they are?

[MiriamO]

I think Sid means that if you have a UK will and it complies with British inheritance laws (I don't think we actually have particular laws where a will is concerned anyway in the UK) then Spain will honour that for your Spanish possessions too and not apply Spanish inheritance law to your Spanish possessions. Hope this is right Sid, it's the basis we are working on anyway!

[El Cid]

Sid are you saying that one could make a Spanish will that specifically refers solely to carrying out the wishes and bequeaths contained in the UK will without mentioning what they are?

No, what I said was that you do not HAVE to have a Spanish will so long as you have a UK will but it is adviseable to have a Spanish will as well.

If you do have a Spanish will it should refer solely to assets in Spain and be quite specific about the beneficiaries.

Your UK will should cover any assets in the UK only and it should make reference to the fact that you have a Spanish will.

Blevins Franks wrote a very good article on the subject and I will email it to you if you wish - its a bit too long to post here.

Sid

[christine]

This is all very helpful..thank you. Can I now query then that if a person has an English will covering property in Spain, on their demise,would this will have to be legally translated, as any legal document is ( and not just by a Spanish speaking person) for the Spanish authorities and probate?

[El Cid]

It's a lot more complicated than a mere translation - that is why it is so important to have a Spanish will dealing with the Spanish property.

Sid

[neilinalcaucin]

I had a will for my wife drawn up and a will for me also, it cost for the both of us about 75euros' and the solicitor took us to the notary and it was all complete and translated and produced in both languages for that fee.
Now i don't want to offer a really quick and simple way to resolve the problem highlighted in this string but - call a solicitor - give them a copy of your english will and tell them you want the same in Spanish - give em 100 euros - problem solved

peace of mind - all very simple

good luck
Neil

[Martin Page]

My wife and I have just recently made Spanish wills Both identical - If either dies then the remaining recieves all. - In the event of both deaths the spanish estate is liquidated and transfered to the UK estate.

This was fine except Spanish Will have a 'Parent' priority - If either parents are alive they can contest any will made. (and usually suceed)- I have had to make arrangement from both sets of parents to lodge a signed disclaimer to the Will - Reluctantly the notary has accepted this. To enable us to achieve our wishes !

If you have No parents this will not be a problem - If you do - just check it out !