Spanish will for non-residents
We prepare your Spanish will, limited to your assets in Spain and compatible with the one from your country, and see you through to signing before a notary.
- · Limited to your assets in Spain
- · Does not revoke your home-country will
- · In person in Spanish, English or Russian
If you own assets in Spain, a Spanish notarial will limited to those assets makes the inheritance easier: it stays in the notary's records, it is entered in the General Register of Wills and nobody has to translate or apostille a foreign will. In it you can choose the law of your nationality (art. 22 of Regulation (EU) 650/2012).
Spanish will
Content, draft with the notary and signing appointment
€199 + VAT/ will
- Review of your case: nationality, habitual residence, family, assets in Spain and any wills you already have
- Proposed content: applicable law, distribution, spouse's usufruct, substitute heirs and executor
- A clause limiting the will to your assets in Spain that does not revoke your dispositions over assets outside Spain
- Draft prepared with the notary and reviewed with you before signing
- Appointment at a notary's office on the Costa Blanca
- If you do not speak Spanish, we explain how the interpreter you choose takes part: the will is written in your language and in Spanish
- A note for your lawyer at home with the mirror clause your will there should carry
- The notary's fees, paid separately under the official scale (Royal Decree 1426/1989)
- Wills or changes covering assets located outside Spain
- Estates already open: if someone has died, our inheritance service handles it
What a Spanish will changes
What happens to your assets in Spain at death, with a Spanish will and without one. Everything here comes from our guide to the Spanish will and the EU Succession Regulation.
With a Spanish will vs without one
| At death | With a Spanish will | Without a Spanish will |
|---|---|---|
| Which law governs the estate | The one you choose in the will: the law of your nationality (art. 22 of Regulation (EU) 650/2012) | The law of the State of your habitual residence at death (art. 21.1); if that is Spain, the Civil Code, with two thirds reserved for children |
| How your heirs find the will | It is entered in the General Register of Wills: the death certificate is enough | A will signed abroad does not appear in that Register: someone has to know where it is |
| Documents before the inheritance deed | Copy of the Spanish will, death certificate and certificate from the Register of Wills | Translate, apostille and have the foreign will recognised; with no will at all, a notarial declaration of heirs with two witnesses (arts. 55 and 56 of the Notaries Act) |
| Time | The Register of Wills certificate can be requested once fifteen days have passed since the death | With no will, the notary cannot issue a copy of the declaration until twenty working days after reporting its start to the Association of Notaries (art. 209 bis of the Notarial Regulation) |
| Cost | The notary's fees for the will, under the official scale (Royal Decree 1426/1989) | Sworn translations, apostilles and powers of attorney for each heir and, if there is no will, the declaration of heirs |
| Inheritance tax | Six months from the death | Six months from the death: the will does not change the tax |
If Spanish law applies and your home-country will leaves everything to your spouse, the children can claim their reserved share, and meanwhile the deed of acceptance cannot be signed and the property cannot be sold.
What we decide with you
Before going to the notary we go through every point of the will with you.
Applicable law
If you want the law of your nationality to apply, we say so expressly, naming the specific legal system when your country has several (arts. 22 and 36 of the Regulation).
Distribution
Who receives your assets in Spain and in what share. If Spanish law applies, respecting the two-thirds reserved share of children and descendants (art. 808 of the Civil Code).
Spouse's usufruct
What rights your spouse will have over the home. Under Spanish law they are entitled to the usufruct of the betterment third, not ownership (art. 834 of the Civil Code).
Substitute heirs
Who inherits if an heir dies before you or renounces, so that share does not end up in intestate succession (art. 912 of the Civil Code).
Executor
Whether you want to appoint someone to carry out the will. Their powers are set by the law governing the estate (art. 23.2 of the Regulation).
Official sources
The rules we cite on this page.
- Regulation (EU) 650/2012 on succession (EUR-Lex) (opens in a new tab)
- Spanish Civil Code (BOE) (opens in a new tab)
- Notaries Act: notarial declaration of heirs (BOE) (opens in a new tab)
- Notarial Regulation: General Register of Wills (BOE) (opens in a new tab)
- Royal Decree 1426/1989, notaries' fee scale (BOE) (opens in a new tab)
- Law 29/1987 on Inheritance and Gift Tax (BOE) (opens in a new tab)
How it works
You order and tell us about your case
You pay online and fill in a questionnaire: nationality, where you live, what you own in Spain, your family and any wills you already have.
We decide the content with you
We propose the applicable law, the distribution, the spouse's usufruct, the substitute heirs and the executor, and answer your questions by email.
We prepare the draft with the notary
We send the notary what we agreed and pass you the draft so you can review it before signing day.
You sign before the notary
Bring your passport or national ID and your NIE. If you do not speak Spanish, bring an interpreter of your choice: the will is written in both languages.
It is registered
The notary keeps the original, gives you an authorised copy and reports the will to the General Register of Wills.
You may also need
Inheritance · CV vs Murcia (ISD compared)
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Free calculator
Gifting a home to your children (Valencia region · Form 651)
If you would rather pass the home to your children during your lifetime, compare a gift with an inheritance.
€499 + VAT / deed · 1 recipient included
Inheritance tax calculator
Work out what your heirs would pay on the assets in Spain.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Spanish will if I already have one at home?
Legally no; in practice it almost always helps.
A foreign will can govern assets in Spain, but your heirs will have to obtain it, translate it, apostille it and have it recognised before a Spanish notary signs the deed of acceptance. A Spanish will stays in the notary's records, is entered in the General Register of Wills and is the natural place to choose the applicable law.
Which law governs my estate if I say nothing?
The law of the State of your habitual residence at death.
Since 17 August 2015, Regulation (EU) 650/2012 applies to the whole succession the law of the State where you had your habitual residence at the time of death (art. 21.1), even if it is not a Member State (art. 20). If that State is Spain, the Civil Code applies, with its reserved share for children.
Can I choose the law of my country?
Yes, the law of your nationality, and only that.
You can choose the law of a State whose nationality you hold when you make the choice or at death (art. 22.1 of the Regulation). It must be stated expressly in the will (art. 22.2). You cannot choose the law of the place where the property is. If your country has several legal systems, the specific one is named: "the law of England and Wales", not "British law" (art. 36).
Does choosing my national law change Spanish inheritance tax?
No.
The Regulation does not apply to tax matters (art. 1.1). Spanish inheritance tax is charged on assets located in Spain whatever law governs the estate (art. 7 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act), and it is filed within six months of the death (art. 67.1.a of the tax's Regulation).
What is the reserved share (legítima)?
The part Spanish law reserves for certain heirs.
If Spanish law applies and you have children or descendants, two thirds of the estate is their reserved share: one third strict share and one third for betterment, which you can distribute among them; the remaining third is freely disposable (art. 808 of the Civil Code). Your spouse also has the usufruct of the betterment third (art. 834).
Do I need to speak Spanish to sign?
No.
If you express your wishes in a language the notary does not know, an interpreter of your choice attends and the will is written in both languages, stating which one you used (art. 684 of the Civil Code). If you express yourself in a foreign language, the will is written in that language and in Spanish even if the notary knows yours (art. 698 of the Civil Code).
What do I need to bring to the notary?
Your passport or national ID and your NIE.
Besides your passport or national identity document and your NIE, you need the full names and details of the people you appoint and a clear description of what you own in Spain. We tell you what is missing when we review your questionnaire.
How much does the notary charge?
Whatever the official scale sets for that document.
Notary fees follow the scale approved by Royal Decree 1426/1989 and depend on the document, so we do not quote a figure from memory: we ask the notary for a quote for your will before signing. They are paid separately from our price.
Can my Spanish will cancel my home-country will, or the other way round?
Yes, if they are not drafted carefully; that is why we take care over the clause.
A later will revokes an earlier one unless it says the earlier one stands (art. 739 of the Civil Code). Your Spanish will states that it covers only your assets in Spain and revokes nothing else, and we give you the mirror clause for your will at home. Before signing another will anywhere, tell whoever drafts it that you have a Spanish one.
What if a relative has already died?
Then it is not this service: it is an open estate.
This service is for your own will. If a relative has died with assets in Spain, the heirs have six months for inheritance tax and the acceptance must be completed before a notary: our inheritance service handles that.
Who stands behind this service
Valery Grinkevich
Licensed economist · tax adviser
20+ years of experience · Torrevieja, Costa Blanca
- A will designed to live alongside the one from your country, not to replace it
- Signed before a Spanish notary: original in the notary's records and entered in the General Register of Wills
- We assist you in person in Spanish, English or Russian, and by email in your language
Put your Spanish will in order
One notary appointment during your lifetime saves your family translations, apostilles and notarial deeds when the time comes.
Related guides
- Inheritance
Spanish Wills and the EU Succession Regulation: Which Law Governs Your Estate
Regulation (EU) 650/2012 applies the law of the State where you were habitually resident at the time of death (art.
Read the guide → - Inheritance
Inheriting a Property in Spain: the Step-by-Step Guide for Heirs Abroad
Inheriting a Spanish property runs in a fixed order: death certificate, the last-wills and insurance certificates from Madrid, the will or a notarial declaration of heirs, a NIE for every heir, an inventory valued at the Catastro reference value, a notarial deed of acceptance, inheritance tax and plusvalía within six months of the death, then Land Registry and Catastro.
Read the guide →