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Quesada Focus
This month we take a look at the very important topic of making a Spanish will.
Since setting up all my offices in Alicante province, I have been surprised by the amount of people who have come to me to ask whether it is convenient to make a will in Spain concerning their Spanish assets. Do I need a Spanish will? The answer to this is most definitely yes. It is especially important for all property owners to make a will but others need to consider their position as well. In the U.K. if you do not make a will, then the law has special rules (intestate) that will determine the distribution of your assets. These rules could mean that your assets are distributed in a very different way from how you would have liked, and your estate will have to go through probate procedure. In Spain the situation is the same, with an additional factor. Your heirs will have to deal with a foreign language and a different legal system, including the need for each to obtain an NIE and paying Inheritance Taxes depending on the personal circumstances (fiscal resident, non resident and the value of the assets). All the more reason to leave everything as well organised as possible.
Some people include their Spanish assets in their English will. This is legally possible, but your English will would have to be executed in Spain once you went through probate, so it could be legalised in Spain. The inconvenience of this situation is that it is a long and costly procedure.
What is your best advice? My advice on the subject is to have either two separate wills, one in the U.K. for your English assets and one in Spain for your Spanish assets or alternatively, you could make one in Spain that covers worldwide assets. Drawing up a will in Spain does not take long and is not expensive, and will definitely save your heirs a lot of time, problems and money. Do not forget to ask your solicitor the tax implications of it (inheritance tax planning) which will vary depending on several issues: residency of the deceased and heirs, inheritance value and number of properties to inherit, number of heirs and relationship within the family, place of residence, etc…
What is the procedure? Your lawyer will draw up a rough draft and following the client’s agreement, he will organise an appointment at the Public Notary to sign the final document, which will make it public. The information will be sent to the Central Registry in Madrid, which will change if you change your will again and make it public. This service is different to the UK, but has obvious benefits for all concerned. If you would like to change your English will while you are in Spain, and you do not want to travel back to the UK for just this purpose, my recommendation is for you to ask your Solicitor to draw up an international will which will be valid in Spain and in the UK. The will has to be drawn up in English and Spanish and will mention that it covers worldwide assets.
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