Wills and estate planning

It is for people who are thinking about moving to Spain, preparing to move, or already settling in. You will probably arrive with a home-country will and common-law habits. Spain works differently, with notarial wills, protected shares for children and, in some regions, their own civil law. These decisions come before anyone dies, so the aim is to help you set things up now.

Start with "Do you need a Spanish will if you have one at home?" It helps you decide whether to make a Spanish will alongside your existing one or instead of it. The other pages build on that choice.

This Topic does not cover settling an estate after a death, inheritance and gift tax, planning for incapacity, or the mechanics of notaries and powers of attorney.

Key rules

• Children's forced share: Under the common Spanish rules, children and descendants are protected for two thirds of the estate, leaving one third freely disposable.
• Default law: The law of the country where you were habitually resident at death governs your whole estate, unless you chose your nationality's law in your will.
• Handwritten will: A handwritten will must be verified by a court within five years of death.
• Spanish will: Most residents and property owners should make a Spanish notarial will alongside their home will.
• Foreign will: A home will alone only works for Spanish property after legalisation, translation and extra certificates.
• Residence permit: A residence permit alone does not prove where you live for inheritance purposes.

Wills and estate planning: the whole process, step by step

• Check whether your home-country will works in Spain (read: Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?): before you rely on it, while you are alive

• Decide which country's law governs your estate and whether a Spanish will is worth making (read: Which country's law decides who inherits from you in Spain?, and Do you need a Spanish will if you have one at home?): early on, once you live in Spain or own Spanish assets

• Plan around protected shares and regional rules (read: Forced heirship (legítima) in Spain and how much freedom you really have, and Regional inheritance rules): before you sign any will

• Make gifts with the clawback in mind (read: Lifetime gifts and the forced-heirship clawback (colación)): before any lifetime gift; gifts made many years before death can still be reduced if a claim is brought in time

• Request the certificate of last wills (read: Wills registry (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and will types): no earlier than 15 working days after the death, with the death certificate

• Apostille, translate and protocolise a foreign will, then sign the deed accepting the inheritance (read: Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?): after the death, once the certificate of last wills is in hand

• Bring any claim over a disinheritance or an excessive gift (read: Can you disinherit a child or other heir in Spain?, and the lifetime gifts article): as soon as possible after the death; the period is generally argued to be 5 years from the death in common-law territory, and some regions set longer periods, such as 10 years in Catalonia

Documents you may need

Translations and legal papers

• A sworn translation into Spanish by a traductor jurado — Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?
• Protocolisation of the will before a Spanish notary — Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?
• A sworn translation of the will into Spanish — Do you need a Spanish will if you have one at home?

Other documents

• The will
• Certificate of last wills
• The death certificate from the country of origin — Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?
• The Spanish deed of acceptance and allocation of the inheritance — Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?
• The death certificate of the person who made the will — Do you need a Spanish will if you have one at home?
• A certificate of last wills from the home country — Do you need a Spanish will if you have one at home?
• Death certificate of the deceased — Wills registry (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and will types
• Application form 790 — Wills registry (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and will types
• Death certificate of the account holder — Joint ownership and survivorship for Spanish property and accounts

Each article lists the other documents it asks for, where you need them.

Wills and estate planning: questions that cross several articles

Is a will I made abroad valid in Spain?

Yes, a will made abroad is generally valid in Spain in form if it follows the rules of the place where it was made, your nationality, your domicile or habitual residence, or where your property is. What it can contain is still limited by the law that governs your estate. Read "Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?" and "Which country's law decides who inherits from you in Spain?".

What extra steps does a foreign will need before Spanish heirs can use it?

A foreign will usually needs an apostille, a sworn translation into Spanish, the death certificate and a certificate of last wills from the foreign country. It is then protocolised before a Spanish notary and the heirs sign a deed accepting the inheritance. Read "Will your home-country will be valid and usable in Spain?" and "Wills registry (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and will types".

How is habitual residence decided if I live partly abroad?

Habitual residence is decided by an overall look at where your life is centred, not by a single document. Notaries and courts weigh how long you stay, family and social ties, where your main assets are, tax residence and the padrón (the town hall residents' register). A residence permit alone is not decisive.

Does living in a region like Catalonia change my will planning?

Yes, if you are governed by a regional civil law, the protected share and your spouse's rights can differ from the common rules. Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, the Basque Country, Galicia and the Balearic Islands all have their own rules. Read "Regional inheritance rules (derecho civil foral) in Catalonia, Navarra and beyond" and "Forced heirship (legítima) in Spain and how much freedom you really have".

How long do heirs have to challenge a gift or a disinheritance?

The period is generally argued to be 5 years from the death under the common rules, but case law varies and some regions set longer periods, such as 10 years in Catalonia. Bring the claim early and ask a Spanish succession lawyer. Read "Can you disinherit a child or other heir in Spain?" and "Lifetime gifts and the forced-heirship clawback (colación)".