Spanish Wills.
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Much confusion abounds over the whole question of Spanish Wills, 
whether one should be made, and their legality in general with 
regard to UK/Spanish laws.

Firstly, let me stress it is not a legal requirement to make a Spanish
Will. If you have a British Will this may stand for all your worldly
goods and so include any assets you hold in Spain. However, we
recommend that for the majority of British people who own property
and/or other assets in Spain, it is a good idea to prepare a Spanish
Will - I shall be explaining why shortly.

Both resident and non-resident UK citizens can make a Spanish Will.
Spain has different inheritance laws from the UK; basically, Spanish
citizens, i.e. people with Spanish nationality, are obliged to leave a
percentage of their Estate to their next of kin before they can dispose
of their assets as they wish. In the UK we have freedom of choice as to
who receives what. If a British person makes a Will in Spain, the
Notary will recognise the nationality of that person and therefore will
accept the content of the Will in accordance with British laws. Even if
you have taken Spanish Residencia, and your domicile is now Spain, you
are still a British citizen, so a Spanish Will can be drawn up to
distribute your Estate as you wish. However, it should be pointed out
that there is legal entitlement to challenge the Will by your next of
kin if they think they have a right to the inheritance which you have
bequeathed to someone else, and they can take the matter to Spanish
Court. Whether the claim would be upheld is something I cannot give an
opinion on, and it would really depend on the strength of the case and
the views of the Court. However, as most people leave their chattels to
their next of kin, in any event this situation is largely hypothetical.
If you do have a complex family situation, I recommend you seek advice
from a qualified professional before making a Spanish Will.

It is usually preferable to make a Spanish Will because basically it is
much simpler at a difficult time when there are so many other tasks to
attend to. If someone with Spanish assets dies without a Spanish Will,
there are a number of additional documents and procedures to be carried
out before the UK Will can be accepted (I shall be explaining this in
more detail in my next article). It is very easy to make a Spanish Will.
Most asesores will be able to assist with this, or you can arrange to
prepare the Will at the Notary's Office direct. You can choose whether
your Will is to be valid for your worldwide assets or just your assets
in Spain. If you are non-resident and still hold assets in the UK, it
is usually easier to prepare your Spanish Will for your Spanish assets
alone. This Will is complementary to your existing British Will and
does not supersede it. Your UK Will should therefore exclude any assets
in Spain. However, if you permanently reside in Spain and have no other
assets outside the country, you may wish to prepare your Will for all
your possessions. This becomes your last sworn Testament and will take
precedence over all other Wills previously made. It is not possible to
make a joint Will in Spain, and the current Notary charge per Will is
approximately 70 Euros. The Will can be prepared in both Spanish and
English, depending on which Notary's office is used, so check this
point beforehand if you would like a dual language Will.


It is not usual to name Executors in Spanish Wills, but you may do so
if you wish, although any Executor will need to actually be present in
Spain to deal with matters relating to the Will. In addition, the
Executor must not be one of the beneficiaries of your Will. If you do
not name an Executor it is assumed that a surviving spouse, relative or
legal representative will deal with your affairs. Obviously, you need
to decide to whom you wish to leave your assets. If you leave
everything you own to your husband/wife, you should then name a
substitute beneficiary in the unfortunate event your spouse dies before
or at the same time as you. As" an example, let us look at the details
of Mr X's Will. Mr X has a wife and three children. His Will states
that on his death all his assets are to go to Mrs. X. In the event she
is no longer alive, or dies at the same time or within 30 days of Mr X,
then the Inheritance passes to each of his siblings - they will inherit
one third each. Should any of the children have also died, Mr X has to
decide whether he wants their share to be divided amongst his surviving
siblings, or go to any offspring of the deceased benefactor/s (i.e.
grandchildren). Mr Y, on the other hand, has a wife but no children.
Like Mr X, he decides to leave his assets to his wife but in the event
of her death the Estate is to pass to his two sisters, who will have
one half share each. Should either of the sisters pre-decease him, then
he decides the surviving sister should inherit the other half share.

So, as you can see, there is freedom to stipulate your wishes in a
Spanish Will, and specific bequests of money, jewellery etc may also be
included if you wish. Once the details of your Will have been confirmed
to the Notary, you will need to attend his/her office to formally sign
the official document. As always when attending the Notary's Office,
you will need to present your passport and, if applicable, your Spanish
Residencia. Once the Will has been signed, you will receive a Copia
Simple (copy), the original document is held at the Notary's Office,
and a notification will be sent to the Central Registry in Madrid to
advise that you have prepared a Will at that Notary's Office. Any
future changes or 'cancellations of your Will should be similarly
prepared in front of a Spanish Notary in Spain, or at a Spanish
Consulate in any part of the world. This is important in order that the
Central Registry in Madrid are informed of where your LAST Will has
been prepared. I suggest if you have prepared a Will complementary to
your UK Will, a copy of the Spanish document is also lodged with your
UK solicitor for their information. On a final note, it really is
important to address this subject and not put it to one side to deal
with another day. Everyone should make a Will, be it Spanish or British,
as the complexities of dealing with the Estate of someone who has died
Intestate (without making a Will) can be horrendous and may take years
to resolve. In my next article, I shall be discussing Inheritance Tax,
together with the legal procedures that need to be addressed, when
someone with Spanish assets dies.