The Benefits of Having a Spanish Will
If you have assets in Spain whether it be a bank account, property, shares or even a car, it is strongly advisable to have a Spanish will.
Why would we recommend a Spanish will?
- You can choose who you leave your Spanish assets to
- You can mitigate Spanish Inheritance Tax
- If you are a citizen of the European Union, you can choose the law of your country to apply to the distribution of your Spanish estate. This is important as under Spanish law, two thirds of assets go to the children and only a third can be freely disposed of. For example an English person could choose to leave all of their assets in Spain in their Spanish will to their spouse as this is permitted under English law
- Upon death it is cheaper and quicker for your heirs to manage the Spanish estate with a Spanish will
- Not having a Spanish will can lead to delays in accessing monies held in the bank account of the deceased or selling a Spanish property. Also, the administrative costs of handling the Spanish estate increase without a Spanish will.
- If you have assets in other jurisdictions, it is important that your Spanish will works with other wills you may have and be careful not to revoke them when they are updated.
Signing a Spanish will is a straight forward exercise. Consider who you wish to leave your Spanish assets to, let us have those instructions and then we will prepare a draft Spanish will for you. Once you have approved it, we can arrange for it to be signed before a notary either in Spain or in your home country.
For a private discussion about your Spanish will requirements, contact the My Lawyer in Spain team for a free consultation.
