Pourquoi avez-vous besoin d’un testament espagnol pour des actifs en Espagne
Being an owner of a property or any other asset; bank account, investments, car, etc. in Spain, is reason enough to have a Spanish Will drafted irrespective of your nationality as there are many additional advantages to having a Spanish Will.
At White Baos Abogados we can advise you in all matters related to making a Will in Spain. You could find more information in our website: in our service about Wills, Probate and IHT in Spain.
Some of these advantages are:1.) The existence of a Spanish Will is a cost effective means of simplifying the handling of your affairs. Many people rely upon their national Wills or even worse, on their national Intestacy rules where there is no Will at all to deal with their Spanish estate. Unfortunately however, without a Spanish Will no action can be taken in Spain until the Grant of Probate of your English estate has been finalized (or the equivalent in another countries). This can take a very long time, will be more expenses in translation and implementing a foreign Will in Spain for your Spanish assets.
2.) As per the European Regulation 650/2012 you can chose your national law to apply to your succession. By making a Will you will be able to choose your national law to apply for your inheritance in Spain, and that is good, as you can avoid Spanish Law to govern your Spanish inheritance, as the Spanish Law forces to leave the majority of the assets (2/3) to the descendants, no being able for example to leave them to your spouse.
3.) A closely related topic is Inheritance Tax. Having a Spanish Will will allow you to fulfil your tax obligation in the 6 months, that as per the Spanish law you have to pay the IHT in Spain. Without a Spanish Will is possible that it takes more than 6 months to get the Grant of Probate, so, making a Spanish Will will save you from paying delay interests on the taxes.
Also, with a proper Will explanation and tax strategy, you can minimise the future Inheritance Tax for your beneficiaries. As per our last articles, and bearing in mind the last court precedents of the Spanish Supreme Court, even after the Brexit, the UK citizen will be able to enjoy the same inheritance tax benefits like the residents in Spain, so, bearing in mind the new courts interpretation, a Spanish Will could be done minimizing the IHT, without the need of setting up companies or other IHT tax advice that long terms are not tax efficient.
4.) Sometimes (due to the amount of the estate etc) when an English person passes away there is NO need to get a Probate as long as he has a valid Spanish Will BUT if this person does not have a Spanish Will then normally the Spanish authorities will need to see the Grant of Probate before dealing with the Spanish estate.
5.) You can also use the Spanish Will to name a Spanish Albacea, equivalent to the executor, this could help your Will to be executed properly and to make sure that your wishes are fulfilled, and will simplify the whole process, as for example if your heirs are out of Spain, the executor could prepare all the documents, and get all the certificate ready for the inheritance to be signed by your beneficiaries, without the need to come to Spain several times to get the documents needed.
If you want a real expert advice about making Spanish Will and how to minimize IHT in Spain, as per the Spanish Law and the last court precedents, contact us and we will help you.
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues.
Carlos Baos (Lawyer)
White & Baos.
Tel: +34 966 426 185
E-mail: [email protected]
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