What a Spanish will does that yours cannot

If you own property in Spain and have a will at home, you may assume the Spanish property is covered. Legally it often is. Practically, your heirs will spend a year and a great deal of money proving it. A short Spanish will, limited to your Spanish assets, is one of the cheapest pieces of planning a foreign owner can do.

What the Spanish will adds

• It is a notarial document registered centrally, so the Spanish notary handling the estate can find it and act on it immediately.

• It can choose the law of your nationality to govern the succession, avoiding Spanish forced heirship rules.

• It names the heirs in the form Spanish institutions expect, which shortens the inheritance deed and the tax filing.

• It can appoint an administrator in Spain, so heirs abroad do not have to travel or grant powers in a hurry.

How the two wills work together

The home will keeps governing everything outside Spain; the Spanish will governs only the Spanish assets and says so expressly, so neither revokes the other. We coordinate the wording with your home lawyer, because the one real risk is a later home will that unintentionally revokes the Spanish one.

What to do now

Send us a copy of your current will and a list of what you own in Spain. Drafting and signing a Spanish will takes one meeting at the notary, with us beside you, and can be done through a power of attorney if you are abroad.