Dear Lawyers,
My mother has properties in Costa Blanca but cannot fly out to Spain for health reasons. She has not made a Spanish Will and she wants to make one. Could you please inform if there is a way she can make a Spanish Will without travelling to Spain? Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for your email.
In many of our previous articles we have explained to our readers how recommendable it is to draft a Spanish Will when you have any asset, or share of it, here in Spain.
The advantages of having a Spanish Will are several, including:
.-A Spanish Will drafted in accordance to the new European International Inheritance Regulation 650/2012 recently approved, will allow your National Law to apply to your inheritance in Spain, and will reduce the possibility for your Spanish Will to be contested.
.-A Spanish Will speeds the probate or inheritance process in Spain, and could be drafted in a way that minimises the Inheritance Taxes to be paid
There are many other advantages, therefore we recommend your mother to grant a Spanish Will.
Regarding your consultation for the possibility to grant a Spanish Will outside of Spain, we can confirm that this is certainly possible, in fact, it is a service we frequently perform for our clients.
The simplest way would be to grant the Spanish Will in front of a Public Notary in the country where your mother is, or in front of the Spanish Consulate in that country.
If you decide to grant it in front of a Public Notary, i.e. in the UK, we normally draft the Spanish Will in Spanish and English, so the notary and our client will understand what they are signing, and also it would be understood in Spain at the time of its administration, and we will also save the cost of a later sworn translation.
After some other formalities, we will also take care of the registration of that Spanish Will granted out of Spain at the Central Registry of Wills ( Registro de Ultimas Voluntades).
Do not forget that in any case, the most important thing it is not just to have a Spanish Will, it is to have a good Spanish Will, according with your national law, and with the formalities of the Spanish Civil Code, and also the European Regulations, etc.
We can assist you in preparing a Spanish Will in English and Spanish, according with the Spanish formalities, in order for your mother to sign it abroad and register it here with the relevant authority.
If you or any of your relatives or friends, find yourselves in this or a similar situation, please let us assist you.
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues.
We kindly invite you to visit and comment about this article in our blog and facebook (White-Baos-Abogados-Solicitors).
White & Baos
Tel: +34 966 426 185
E-mail: info@white-baos.com
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