[Anonymous]

I have read somewhere that it is important to make a Will in Spain if you own a property here. One does not have to be a Resident for this. Can you explain how this works and if it is true or not.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Dear Jane,

Yes, you can doa will in Spain if you are non resident here, actually you should do your will here if you already own a property in Spain. As a lawyer I do inheritances for clients and having a will in Spain helps a lot, it makes the inheritance process quicker and cheaper for the heirs as you avoid the apostille to make your english will valid abroad and you also avoid official translations.
You should contact a local lawyer or the lawyer who helped you buy the property, it is not expensive and it doesn’t take longer than a week to arrange it.
oh, and a will in Spain is a personal document , if you are a couple owning the property you have to do a separate will.

Regards,

Jose Maria Sanchez
lawyer-Abogado
Fuengirola, Málaga
tel/fax 95.2479268 mobile 619.886542

[Anonymous]

Dear Jane,

Christopher Lee of Domenech Abogados in Barcelona has this answer to your question:

It is generally a good idea to make a Spanish will in Spain to cover Spanish property interests. But care needs to be taken not to revoke any previous wills made outside Spain (except to the extent that those could affect Spanish property). It is not only a question of saving “apostilles” (also known as “legalising”) and translation costs that make a Spanish will a good idea. But each case is different and we would want a detailed discussion with anyone thinking of making a will here before deciding on whether it’s a good idea for them, and exactly how the will should be written. We would also want to consider the risks that the Spanish rules of “forced heirship” may pose, and for that we’d need to know exactly what marital history the person making the will has, whether they have children and (if so) who with.

All Spanish wills are made by signature before a Spanish public notary, after which the fact that a will has been made is noted in the central Spanish wills registry.

Anyone with Spanish property should consider the tax treatment on death in Spain of that property. This is very different to the position in the UK on inheritance tax.

Christopher Lee
Solicitor
Tel. (direct) – (34) 93 416 06 66
Tel. (switchboard) – (34) 93 415 06 77
E-mail – cl@domenechabogados.com

[Anonymous]

Dear Independent and Mark,

Many thanks for this information .. it has been a great help to me. I see that it is important to consider the options!!

I have found this Site very interesting and informative.

Thanks again.

Jane

[Author]

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