I would be very grateful for any advice regarding Spanish wills.
My wife and I are British nationals and live in the UK. We jointly own a property in Barcelona.
We have made Spanish wills which include our wishes that our respective residuary estates should be dealt with by English law. Our instructions regarding our estates are identical to our UK wills.
Our solicitor in the UK has advised us that we should revoke the Spanish wills and re draft our UK wills to include the necessary ‘choice of law’ clause on the basis that as they stand the current Spanish wills would revoke our UK wills and it would probably be difficult to admit the Spanish wills to probate in the UK.
It was always our intension that our UK will should takes precedence.
If we retain the Spanish wills how can we amend them to ensure they are compatible with the UK wills?
The main point is: Only a Spanish Judge (Notary) can dispose of your property located in Spain. A Judge in the UK cannot do this. Thus, you must have a Spanish will that includes only your property located in Spain. Then a Spanish Judge can transfer title of that property to your heirs. Do not include your UK property in the Spanish will. A Spanish judge cannot dispose of this property because it’s in the UK. Put your UK property in your UK will. Then there will be no problem with ‘compatability’. Just remember: A judge in country ‘A’ does have the power or ‘jursidiction’ to pass title of your real property located in country ‘B’. Questions? Contact Mark Carr at info@spainadvisors.com
My husband and I own a Spanish property, we have made a will here in Spain which is registered in Madrid, we are full residents. We do not own any property in uk. How do we tie in an existing uk bank account to this please? Or do we have to make a separate will in UK? Also we have a Spanish bank account, how do we tie this in? do we have to tie it in with the Spanish property in a separate will?
I have 2sisters and mum had dementia and has always said she would leave the property to the three girls but has just left it to 1 the2nd will was made in 2003 when mum couldn’t walk very well and was not in the right frame of mind can you please advise us also how long do we have to contest the will thank you
My husband’s father remarried in 2000 at the ripe old age of 72. His new wife, 14 years younger, automatically insisted he updated his English and Spanish wills.
His Spanish will leaves his apartment in Lanzarote completely to the new wife. My husband is destitute as he had always been told the apartment would be his. On top of this his father was on the verge of updating his Spanish and English wills when he died suddenly – he had asked my husband for help to contact the Spanish consulate to have a new will drafted.
There is a comment at the start of the will that says he is a British National and subject to English law but there is no mention of the disposal of the property also falling under English law. Is this enough for my husband to contest the Spanish will or for it to fall into Spanish law leaving him as heir or joint heir?
This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by DesperateForHelp.
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