Spanish Inheritance Tax Home > Inheritance in Spain Without A Will

 

Approximately two-thirds of people in the UK die without making a will. 

It is an unfortunate fact that many foreign nationals with assets in Spain fail to make a valid will either in Spain or in their country of origin and as a result their assets must be distributed according to the rules of intestacy.

Normally the  rules of intestacy are those of their country of origin i.e. Scotland or Republic of Ireland for example. 

At times however the Spanish rules of intestacy apply - typically where the deceased was domiciled in Spain. To determine if a person is domiciled is a very technical legal question but often if a person is living in Spain with only Spanish assets and no financial or other ties to any another country may they be considered to be domiciled in Spain.

To find out how the fact that there is no will may affect the distribution of assets requires looking at the rules of intestacy. Below is a summary of what needs to be done where the deceased did not make a valid will (either in Spain or elsewhere).

1) The first step to take if there is no will is to apply to the probate registry for Letters of Administration. Normally, if there are no complications, this should take approximately three to five weeks. 

As well as completing the relevant forms and payment of the administration fee, it is necessary to send the death certificate. The forms that you need to complete depend upon where the application is being made, but in the UK they can be downloaded from:

HM Courts Service (choose probate from the list).

2) One you are in receipt of the letters of administration the next step is to have them legalised and then translated into Spanish for use in Spain. Translation can be carried-out by the Spanish consular office and the Apostille stamp arranged by any registered notary public.

3) Once you have arranged the letters of administration and had them legalised by carrying-out step 2), the same procedure is followed as where there is a will in terms of documentation etc. 

The major difference is that, as there isn’t in fact a will, the distribution must be made as per the rules of intestacy in the country of origin of the deceased. Click on the link for more information on the rules of intestacy of the UK, Ireland and Spain.