Make Your Will

It's surprising how few people have made wills disposing of their assets when they die.

There are many foreigners of advanced age residing in Spain, and international complications can arise if you do not have a Spanish will.

These are important points to bear in mind in connection with Spanish wills:

• You need to make a Spanish one disposing of your Spanish property in order to avoid time-consuming and expansive legal problems for your heirs. You can make a separate one disposing of assets outside of Spain.

• As a foreigner, you will find that Spanish authorities do not oblige you to follow the Spanish law of compulsory heirs, in which you must leave two-thirds of your estate to your children.

  You can leave your estate to whomever you choose, but you will be subject to Spanish inheritance tax, which is high when property is left to non-relatives.

• There are very few ways around Spanish inheritance taxes and these legal ways require careful advance planning. Spanish law provides no large exemption from inheritance tax. The tax is due after the first € 15,060,-.

• However, if you are an official resident of Spain leaving your property to a spouse, you may be eligible for a 95% reduction in the value of the property for inheritance tax calculation. This is not available to non-residents.

Otherwise you might find that instead of leaving the majority of your assets to your loved ones, more than half will go to the Spanish tax department.

Wills, Inheritance Tax

Spanish inheritance tax starts at 7.65 per cent and the only exemption is on the first € 15,060,-. In addition, Spain's law of compulsory heirs will restrict the distribution of any estate unless there is a carefully-made will.

If you own property in Spain, you need a Spanish will to be sure your wishes are carried out. In fact, if you own property or possess assets outside of Spain, you should make two wills.

One disposes of your assets in your home country and the other disposes of your assets located in Spain.If you do not make a will in Spain, your estate will be divided equally among your children or grandchildren, according to Spain's law of compulsory heirs.

A surviving spouse will receive only the right to continue inhabiting the family home. Legally, this right is the usufruct over one-third of the estate, but in practice it means that the spouse can continue to use the family home Spain.

This spouse cannot sell the property or will it to another person, however. Spaniards are bound by this law.

A foreigner, however, can make a will which leaves their Spanish property to the inheritor of their choice if they wish to avoid the law of compulsory heirs.

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