Wills and inheritance taxes

No matter what nationality or if you are resident or non-resident, Spanish inheritance tax is applied to all Spanish assets when the owner dies. This tax must be satisfied before the takeover of ownership is made. There are three factors to bear in mind when calculating how much inheritance tax has to be paid:

• 1. The relationship between the beneficiary and the deceased.
• 2. Your status of resident or non-resident in the European Union.
• 3. What Spanish autonomous region the property is located in.

Based on these factors the inheritance tax to pay may vary considerably.

In Spain, In order to get a valid will and have it registered at the Last Will Registry, it has to be signed before a Public Notary. Following the information gotten from you ,our staff will make two versions of your will, one in your own language and another one in Spanish, we will send it then to the Notary office for it to be reviewed.

CE Consulting Empresarial Torrevieja will coordinate an appointment at the Notary and a member of our company will translate everything to you. The cost of this service is 110 € per will, including preparation, translation and Notary expenses. Your passport is mandatory, you may also bring your residency card or NIE number at the Notary.

Inheritors will be informed of all the documents they have to provide and how to manage with Spanish bank accounts and also with change of name issues. CE Consulting Torrevieja staff will make sure that the inheritors receive clear and detailed explanations on paying inheritance taxes and transmitting the ownership of property or other possessions involved to their name.

If the inheritors are unable to travel to Spain, CE Consulting Torrevieja recommends that they sign a Power of Attorney. It can be done in Spain or, if they prefer not to travel abroad, in their home country. This will give permission to our team to act on their behalf during the inheritance procedure.

There is no need for your inheritors to have a N.I.E. number when you name them in your will and sign it. However, as they will have to pay for the inheritance tax, they will have to be fiscally identified upon receiving their inheritance and that means that they will need a N.I.E number at that time. A special clause can be added to the Power of Attorney endowing us with the power to apply and obtain their N.I.E number in Spain without them travelling here.