Our legal counsel has been helping our clients in difficult times for decades. We guide and help you resolve all legal issues related to the inheritance of a loved one in a professional and agile way so that you can deal with important things.
Obtaining all documentation related to the estate such as death, birth and marriage certificates, Last Will Registry certificate, life insurance coverage certificate, etc.
Obtaining the will, if there is one.
Processing inheritances with a European Certificate of Succession for cases of European decedents leaving property in Spain.
Elaboration of the inventory and distribution of assets.
Processing of the deed of acceptance and distribution of the estate or the notarial or court declaration of heirship as the case may be, including the processing of the court partition of inheritance in the case of conflict of interest among heirs.
Advice and settlement of related taxes (Inheritance Tax, Municipal Tax, etc.).
Registration of title of property in the corresponding Property Registry.
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Con este documento te podrás orientar inmediatamente y paso a paso de la secuencia de trámites que tendrás que realizar para tramitar la herencia que tienen entre manos.
How do I know if there is a Will?
In Spain, normally people go to the notary to make a will and, once granted, the notary sends the will to the Last Will Register, an office of the Ministry of Justice. In order to know if a person has granted a will, a certificate of Last Wills from this Registry must be obtained. You will need it for any process related to the estate even if it is stated that no Will was granted.
The same thing happens with the Certificate of Life Insurance Coverage, that can be obtained from the same organism; do not forget to request it at the same time! If the Certificate of Last Wills tells you that the person granted a Will, you will have to contact the notary who authorized it to give you a copy (it is called “authorized”), find out its contents and continue with processing the estate according to the wishes of the testator. We can handle all these procedures.
What is an open testament?
It is the Will made before a notary, the type used most in Spain because of the advantages of doing so. In addition to its low cost, the notary certifies who gives the Will and the date on which it was granted; thus there is no doubt concerning when the last Will was granted if there are several, and no doubt as to its contents. The custody of the Will is also guaranteed as it remains in the archives of the notary to be recovered only when the testator passes away.
When is a declaration of heirship required?
This is the case of an intestate situation. That is to say, you have obtained the Certificate of Last Wills and it states that the decedent did not grant a Will. In this casein order to continue to process the estate to go to a notary or a court procedure, depending on your relationship with the decedent. If you are a son or daughter, father or mother or spouse of the deceased, the process of declaration of heirship is simplified substantially because it is done with a notary.
In all other cases, the declaration of heirship will be processed by court process and in this case the involvement of a lawyer is mandatory when the assets of the inheritance exceed € 2,404.05.
A colleague of mine in Stockholm referred me to Isabel del Alamo to assist me and my clients to settle the estate of a Swedish citizen in Spain. Powers Abogados gave us complete service from the appointment with the Spanish Consulate in Stockholm for powers of attorney, to practical legal advise on every legal implication entailed in transferring the estate, calculation and explanation of the inheritance and income taxes involved, the use and translation of the Europen Certificate of Succession, signing the notarial estate distribution deed on behalf of the clients, registration of title in the Spanish Property Registry, etc. It has been very helpful to have Isabel as the one single contact helping with just about everything we required and keeping us regularly informed of progress and developments.
Powers Abogados has helped our family resolve a broad range of issues over a ten year period. Elizabeth and her staff have always been extremely courteous and ethical, but most of all, have always represented our interests successfully. We could not have achieved our objectives without their help.