Arranging a Spanish Will with caveats, any help greatly appreciated?!

Hi there to all

I've used this site a couple of times and those who've replied have been very helpful, indeed lifesavers!  Thank you

If anyone has had experience of this problem or can direct me to someone who can help , please do -

My husband and I arrived in April - it's our six-month anniversary this weekend :) - and are still going through the process now here after everything in UK to gain our NLVs.

The main - and very worrying - thing we are stuck on is to arrange Spanish Wills. We of course wish to leave the estate to each other and bypass the Forced Heirship Rule as we have no children. We have been waiting for around six months to now be told we cannot leave to charity here as the final option (when one outlives the other then dies.....) Our  legal firm say we need a person to leave it to in order for them to then distribute the assets to the named charities (which frankly are already on our UK wills but of course don't count here)

Bizarrely enough, we've googled it and AI replies you can state you want the residual estate to be deal with as UK law, as being British entitles the estate to return to British Charities as states in the UK will.....? However our notary has thrown it back (before we'd googled the way forward) saying it cannot be done and has to go to a person......??

So, we've already emailed our solicitor to see if they can act as executor and distribute funds but had no reply.....not sure if that means they can't do it or won't do it..? Also we have thought of friends to help but, candidly speaking, we are all  in our 60s so it's a big ask for someone to be executor at this stage in our lives......the option of leaving to family is out, ie there isn't any.......?

We just cannot leave alone as if this wasn't deal with, a death would trigger the six-month rule, and, let's face it, it has taken six months to get our TIE cards when we were told it should happen within 28 days so the thought of the Spanish Goverment receiving it all is giving us sleepless nights!!,

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Jan and Mark 
 

Maybe you should be speaking to a different sollicitor? It sounds to me as if they are either out of their depth on this matter or just not interested.

Of course you can stipulate that you wish UK law to apply to your inheritance. Make sure a good solicitor helps you get the wording correct and watertight though. Spanish inheritance taxes would still apply, mind you.

Dear Jan & Mark, 

Dear Jan and Mark,

I'm Paula, a Spanish lawyer specializing in foreign investments in Spain, handling sales, rentals, residence permits, wills and other matters. 

If I've understood your question correctly, you want to make a Spanish will, only for assets in Spain and that these be left to charities in the event of both of your deaths. Yes, a foreigner can leave their assets in Spain to charities and if they want the law of their country of origin to apply, they must expressly mention this in the will.

Perhaps I can help you better if you explain your case to me (COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE) so that you can resolve this matter as soon as possible and enjoy your stay in Spain without worrying about these types of issues. 

You can find me on facebook or instagram with the name "Keylaw Spain", please, feel free to contact me I'll be happy to assist you. 

Paula. 

That´s it.

Under Brussels IV (EU Reg. 650/2012), as UK nationals resident in Spain you can choose the law of your nationality (e.g., England & Wales) to govern your entire estate in your Spanish wills (professio iuris).

If that law doesn’t impose forced heirship, Spain won’t apply Spanish legítimas—so you can leave everything to each other and, ultimately, to charities. Note: this doesn’t change Spanish inheritance tax treatment.

Practical tip: include an explicit choice-of-law clause in each Spanish will; without it, the default is your habitual residence (Spain) and Spanish legítimas could apply. If a notary resists, ask for wording that cites Brussels IV and (if needed) a brief certificate of UK law.