 |  |
HELP US TO
GROW ROSES IN
SPANISH LAND
Coming soon!!
GROW ROSES IN
SPANISH LAND
Coming soon!!
Spanish wills and inheritance |
| SECOND.- WHICH LAW IS APPLIED TO THE INHERITANCE?
The Spanish law recognises that, in the case of an English person, English law is to be applied in order to regulate his inheritance. So, in theory, the position should be relatively simple: UK inheritance law applies to a UK national who dies owning property in Spain. The complication arrives when UK inheritance law actually provides that the disposal of immovable property (land and buildings, household and personal goods) abroad is governed by the law of the country where the property is situated (other rules apply to other types of assets such as bank accounts and investments). So UK law actually says that Spanish law should apply to Spanish property! |
 |
|
But, WHY IS SO IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY WHICH LAW IS APPLIED IN THE INHERITANCE?.- Because there are big differences between the Spanish and the UK law regarding the inheritance. The most important difference is that the Spanish have the figure of the "Compulsory or Obligatory Heirs" (Herederos Forzosos), which means that the person, cannot dispose of the full inheritance freely, and in whatever circumstances, he must leave the 66% of his inheritance for determinate persons (mainly descendants and spouses). This is totally difference from the UK law which allows the free disposal of assets, transferring will total freedom the inheritance set at the entire wish of the person. In this situation, could occur that an UK citizen, with two sons, and with a property in Spain, can make a Spanish Will leaving this property to his friend, and that this last will cannot be executed because Spanish laws are applied, and the 66 % of that property should be transferred to his sons. Nevertheless, Spanish law helps avoid any problems in the majority of cases by providing in Article 9 of the Spanish Civil Code that, when a foreign property owner dies, having made a will in either Spain or his country of nationality (even if he holds an official residence permit (residencia) in Spain), the disposal of any assets he owns in Spain will be governed by his own national law, not Spanish law. If his own law permits free disposal of the assets, this frees him from the Spanish inheritance law [but not from Spanish inheritance tax]. Anyway, this must be studied carefully with your Solicitor, because, it will depend on how many assets has the person, and where, in order to define what law is in application. |
 |
- Conveyancing
- Searches to make in
the property - Payments
- Preparation for complation
- After complation
SERVICES OFFERED BY TLA
Copyright TLACORP - Thalassa 2009 Todos los derechos reservados
All rights reserved Licencia de TLACORP -Thalassa