LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

If you have decided to reside in Spain or have properties in Spain then you are eligible to make a Spanish will. (The only rule is that you must be over 14 years of age). A will and testament can easily be prepared in Spain, you should just ask your fiscal representative to make an appointment at the notary office for you. In Spain it is not possible to make joint wills, they must be separate. The approximate cost of the notary for making the will and testament is €70. You should always find notary that speaks your language as well as Spanish because if you are making your will and testament in Spain then it needs to be in Spanish and English. If you are not of Spanish nationality then you are free to make your will under the same laws as in your own country however the UK doesn't usually like that and they will normally tell you to make your will under the Spanish laws. This is not a problem to do and it makes it easier for inheritance and translation reasons in the long run.

In Spain there are 3 different types of wills that you can make, they are; a holographic will, an open will and a closed will. A holographic will is when the testator handwrites the will, this must be done in front of the testators closest relatives and it must be shown to a judge for him to verify the will. Once the judge has verified the will then it becomes legal. An open will is the most popular type of will in Spain. This will is made before a notary and there must be 2 witnesses present. These witnesses can not be any of the following: A person who is blind, deaf or dumb, a minor or the spouse or close relative. Once the will has been made it then is filed in the notary's office. The Notary will send notification of the will to the central registry of Spanish wills (Registro Central de Última Voluntad) in Madrid. The will itself once written up will be split into 2 with one side being written in Spanish and the other side being written in English (or your chosen language). The third type of will that can be made is a closed will. This type of will cannot be made by a blind or illiterate person. This will is when a person brings their will before the Notary in an envelope and has to declare that they wrote it themselves or a specified third party wrote it, they also have to declare whether it has been signed by you or a third party. The notary then seals the envelope and files it. The notary also sends notification to the central registry of Spanish wills (Registro Central de Última Voluntad) in Madrid.

In Spain if you die then your heirs must receive 2 thirds of the descendants assets. This part of the will is called "la legítima". The heirs can be either the deceased children, his or hers spouse or in the case that the deceased did not have any decedents then it can go to the deceased's ascendants. The deceased may leave the rest of their assets to who ever they wish after la ligitma has been take care of.

Inheritance Tax in Spain:

When you receive an inheritance in Spain there is a tax to be paid on this. Sometimes this tax can be a quite a large amount (can be up to a quarter of the value of the property and if you are not directly relate to the deceased then it can be doubled) however there are ways that you can legally avoid paying all of this money. They are as follows:

• If you can prove hat you have lived with that person for a period of at least 2 year and on the condition that you will keep the property that you have inherited for a minimum of 10 years after inheriting it then the amount of tax you are required to pay is reduced by up to 95%. However this reduction is only available to official residents.
  
  
• If the mortgage on the property is very high then you will have your taxation amount reduced.
  
  
• If you form a family corporation then your tax can be reduced because if somebody should die then you just have to move around the positions of everybody in the company and this way inheritance tax can be avoided however you get other tax costs doing it this way.