Have a read here for a basic overview

http://www.costadelaluz-lawyers.com/spanishwill.htm

We are in the process of moving to Tenerife and we were also told to make a Spanish will. We were advised to put the property in the names of our children who are aged over 16 with a clause in our will stating that it is not theirs entirely until both of us die, (in other words they can't kick us out at any time). We were told to do this because by Spanish law even if you have a will the surviving partner has to pay inheritance tax on the portion of the property left to them. By having the property in the childrens names there is no inheritance tax to pay on either of our deaths as it is not actually in our names and the children have the property to do as they wish i.e. sell it and split the money, use it as a holiday home etc. This is why in Spain land and property stays in the family for generations and could be owned by quite a lot of family members,

Regards Jackie

My understanding is that under Spanish law a surviving female spouse does not automaticaaly inherit property even if it is in joint names.

The eldest son can lay claim to the property.

This is intended to prevent property leaving the "family" if the surviving wife were to remarry and this would have precedence IF YOU ONLY HAD AN ENGLISH WILL which would not carry any weight in a Spanish court.

Therefore they advice you to establish your wishes in a Spanish will which of course must be in Spanish and must be Notarised and each partner must have such a will.

Ours cost approx 80 Euros each.

HTH

The worst that can happen is that your assets will be disposed of according to Spanish law.

Wheteher that is good or bad for you will depend on your circumstances (accepting of course that you will be dead ) and how you want your property disposed of.

Wills are very cheap and surely worth the small cost.

Alan

It depends on individual circumstances. Our lawyer said we could make out a will if we wanted to but it would a waste of our money - which he would have got!

I guess the answer is to make the damn thing and then it is done and dusted we have been quoted 180 euros each, hence my question of whether the spanish will is necessary, I am just being tight of course, but good point about me being dead when all this would be academic . However not so if my husband dies and my eldest son turfs me out Not likely I know but having just dealt with my fathers will I cannot belive how things change when money is in the equation

JackieUK-Tenerife

By having the property in the childrens names there is no inheritance tax to pay on either of our deaths as it is not actually in our names and the children have the property to do as they wish i.e. sell it and split the money, use it as a holiday home etc. This is why in Spain land and property stays in the family for generations and could be owned by quite a lot of family members,

Surley if the property is in both your names how can you pay inheritance tax on what is already yours as there is nothing to inherit.

Because if I understand Jackie's first post correctly she only owns half of the property and she would inherit her husbands half of the property if he dies first, she would be then be liable for inheritance tax on what she has inherited.

Jackie is right, inheritance has to be paid on half the value if its in joint names. Think there is an allowance but its very small.

Wills become VERY important if you are not married, even if the property is in joint ownership. If there are children, the property will pass directly to them - bypassing an unmarried spouse. If there are no children, the property (or half a joint property) will pass to the deceased person's closest relatives.
There was a case over here of a guardia civil officer killed on duty, his partner not only lost her spouse but lost her home, car and all their possesiones becausze they were not married, they had not made wills and she didn't get on with his parents.

Judith and Jacky are right. Spain is not like the UK where the surviving partner (if in joint names) would automatically get the other half of the property without paying inheritance tax. This is how it was explained to us and the reason we were advised to put the property in the childrens names with the clause about them not being able to kick us out. It just means that by doing this on mine or my husbands death there would be no inheritance tax to be paid by the other partner as the house would not be in either of our names. Then when we both die our children would not have to pay inheritance tax on the house as it would already belong to them. They could then put the house in their childrens names and the whole process would start again. This is what I meant when I said that properties and land in Spain are owned by generations and generations of the same family. On mine and my husbands death the house would belong to our three children, in years to come on their deaths they may have nine children between them so if it was put in their childrens names the house would then be owned by nine people and so on.

Hope you understand what I have just wrote and that it makes sense. I know what I want to say but don't know if I have explained it clearly.

Regards Jackie

The big problem with puting property in childrens name is one or more may die before you As people are living longer the risk gets greater

Is it just a case of my heirs having to get my english will translated?

Going back to the original post - no it isn't.

Spanish inheritace tax has to be paid within six months - although you can usually get an extension of another six months.

A UK will can be translated and notarised and will then be registered and valid in Spain, but this can't happen until the UK will is probated. So the main problem is time and expense (and fines on top of the inheritance tax if not àid on time). All this will cost far more than making a Spanish will in the first place.

our lawyer said to put it in our own names,and our children to inherite after,but you must state on your english will that you have another in spain ,confusing

That's a point - do you have to state on your english will that you have a spanish will? Would the value of spanish property be included in any inheritence tax your heirs would pay in UK? In other words would your estate include spaish property value for the calculation of uk inheritence tax? If so does this mean you have to pay it twice

Kathml and Rebel

If the property is in your names with your children to inherit then you or your partner will still pay inheritance tax on the half of the property you inherit from the other on one of your deaths. If the property is in the childrens names (16 years or over) and god forbid one died before you then the title deed could be amended on production of a death certificate. If the children did not die before you or your partner then there is no inheritance tax to be paid because they have not inherited it, they already own it.

We were advised this by a solicitor on the Island who; how can I put this delicately? who deals with people on the island who are very well off and would stand to lose a lot more in taxes than me or joe average. He told us various other ways of avoiding certain taxes that wouldn't even apply to us because we are simply not in the same league money wise as some of his other clients.

I know it is a bit of a moribid subject but I stand to pay quite a hefty bill in inheritance tax when my father dies so if there is any legal way to avoid this on mine or my husbands death and save us money rather than pay it in taxes then I will be doing it.

Regards Jackie

Everyone, I'm new on here, I usually go on the Costa Blanca Forum as I'm a Beni addict

Without going in to too much personal detail, I was wondering if any of you ex-pats could clarify a few things regarding Wills.

If someone had lived in Spain since the mid 1980s and married a Spaniard are they entitled to have an English Will rather than a Spanish one?

If they do have a Spanish Will, can they request that it is dealt with in accordance with English law ie. You can leave all your assets to whoever you like rather than than having to leave your children a proportion of your estate under the "Obligitary Heirs" law that they have in Spain.

Do the children, English ones from the first marriage and Spanish ones from the second marriage have to sign to agree to it been carried out under English Law instead of Spanish and if they do sign, are they denouncing their rights under Spanish Law as Obligitary heirs.

What happens if they refuse to sign? Is it then carried out under Spanish Law instead?

If the person obtained Spanish Citizanship, (not sure if they did yet though) do they still have a right for the Will to be carried out under English Law?

In Spain, are you allowed to give a substantial ammount of money away in the 12 months before your death to one child who then uses it to buy property under their name?

What happens if the deceaseds children who live in England are constantly been fobbed off by the Spanish Widow of the deseased about
the Will taking time to be sorted out and then 6 months lapses since the death and they are still in the dark about it, can the Spanish Taxes be paid before the assets are distributed or does everything have to be sorted within the 6 months?

Any help will be gratefully received.

Thank you

Sue

Oh Sorry, Just a couple of other things.

Do Children have a right to a copy of their late fathers Will.

How many Notary's are their in Benidorm?

Can someone who becomes a Spanish Citizen still have an English Passport?

Sue

Sue these links might answer some of your questions.

http://www.spanishwills.co.uk/index.html
http://www.interlex-spain.com/Spain/Wills/
http://www.andalucia.com/property/spanishwill.htm