Inheritance in Spain

Common questions

Who needs an Inheritance Report?

If you are a beneficiary of an inheritance in Spain, or someone helping a beneficiary, you may want to understand the process you are about to embark on. The administration of an estate in Spain can be quite complex and can vary widely from case to case. Factors such as the existence or lack of a will, the type of assets included in the estate or the number and relationship of the beneficiaries involved will affect the steps that need to be taken. With our Inheritance Report service, you receive a document at the start of the process giving you an overview of what is likely to be involved in your particular case. It explains the likely steps, lists the documents that will be needed, indicates what is already clear and what may still need to be established, and provides a roadmap and practical guidance on how to proceed.

The beneficiaries can then use the report to move the process forward themselves, discuss the case with their advisers or instruct us to become more involved in the administration of the estate. The Inheritance Report does not commit you to using any of our other services. It gives you the information you need to decide whether you require further assistance and helps you understand the process however you choose to deal with it.

Being aware of the various stages, document requirements, likely timelines and potential costs can remove some of the stress and uncertainty from a process that might otherwise feel confusing or overwhelming.

Who prepares the Inheritance Report?

The report is personally prepared by Javier Pérez-Manglano, the legal specialist behind Inheritance in Spain. Javier has more than 20 years of professional experience involving the English and Spanish legal systems. He is a Spanish lawyer and his professional background also includes many years working in London as a notary public, specialising in matters involving Spanish law and cross-border legal documentation. He has extensive experience in matters relating to inheritance and estate administration in Spain and works with a trusted network of professionals in both countries to facilitate the different stages of the process.

You can find out more about Javier’s qualifications and professional background on the About page.

Do all lawyers who deal with inheritance matters in Spain prepare these reports?

No. An Inheritance Report is not a standardised, compulsory document for the administration of an estate in Spain. It is an informative document that we offer because our experience has taught us that beneficiaries of Spanish estates appreciate having an overview of the process from the beginning. Some lawyers will ask you to leave matters in their hands or provide you with regular or occasional updates. An Inheritance Report prepared specifically for your case can help you understand where you are in the process at any given time and what still needs to be done. It can also help you ask the right questions and understand what options may be available.

What are the main benefits of an Inheritance Report?

The main aim of the Inheritance Report is to help you know what to expect as you embark on the estate administration process in Spain. While you may find general guidance online about Spanish inheritance procedures, the report is tailored to your particular case. This means that the steps, requirements and options it describes will take into account your specific circumstances rather than functioning as an abstract guide.

With this overview, you can discuss the case more easily with the professionals and authorities involved, prepare in advance for document requirements and get an idea of likely timelines and costs. The report will also identify any particular complexities or difficulties in your case so that you can be prepared for them.

As the report does not commit you to using any other service, you can use it as a first step and later decide whether you need further help from us. If, after considering the report, you decide to engage us to represent you for the Spanish estate administration process, the cost of preparing the report will be discounted from the fee for that service. Alternatively, if you decide to continue by yourself or work with other advisers, the Inheritance Report can still be used to keep track of the process and help you ask the right questions.

What does an Inheritance Report look like?

The report will examine your specific case in detail and then provide an overview of the whole process. It will contain as much detail as possible at this early stage regarding the steps to follow, document requirements, timelines and costs. You will receive the report by email as a secure PDF document with clear organised sections.

The report starts with an analysis of the case setting out the circumstances of the deceased, surviving relatives and/or beneficiaries, and whether a will exists. It will then look at the Spanish assets individually, including their likely value where this is relevant. If there is no will, the report will also consider which law is likely to apply when the estate is distributed: Spanish law, English law or the law of another country. This will be followed by a detailed explanation of the various stages, a list of the documents that will need to be gathered, apostilled and translated, and an explanation of the documents that will then be signed in Spain. Where there are different options, the report will explain them — for example, the possibility of granting a power of attorney if the beneficiaries do not intend to travel to Spain. When discussing the tax payments and registration stages, we will provide a range of figures to give you an idea of the likely overall cost, to the extent that this is possible at this early stage.

Finally, if we feel we can help with completing the whole process for you, a quote for this will be included at the end of the report. Instructing us to complete the rest of the process is completely optional but, if you do, we will discount the cost of preparing the Inheritance Report from the total fee for the estate administration process.

Will the Inheritance Report tell me exactly how much inheritance tax or registration fees I will be paying in Spain?

The honest answer is no, you will probably not get the exact figure, as it is often impossible to know it at this stage. At the very beginning of the process, the final value of some of the assets may not yet have been established, and this will affect the final figures. However, if you can provide sufficient information about the Spanish assets from the start, we may be able to give you a good indication of what to expect in terms of inheritance tax, local tax (plusvalía) and registration fees.

There is one interesting thing about inheritance tax in Spain. Unlike the English system, where there is only one tax bill that comes out of the estate, in Spain each beneficiary is responsible for inheritance tax in respect of the assets they receive. The amount each beneficiary pays is linked to what they inherit but also to their relationship to the deceased. Some close relatives can benefit from substantial reductions in inheritance tax. To the extent possible, we will provide and explain calculations and provide an estimate of tax and registration fees, but you should not expect this initial report to be able to confirm at the outset all the costs to the penny.