Wills in Spain: making a Spanish will as a foreign property owner

How wills in Spain work

Spanish law recognises three kinds of ordinary will. For foreign owners only one really matters.

With an open will, the notary checks your identity and your capacity to make a will. The document can be bilingual, with English and Spanish side by side. If you don't speak Spanish well, the notary will require an interpreter. Bring your passport and NIE number. The notary keeps the original. You get an authorised copy.

Choosing your national law: EU Regulation 650/2012

Since 17 August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation decides which country's law governs an estate in Spain. The main rules:

• Default: the law of the country where you were habitually resident when you died governs your whole estate, wherever the assets are.
• Choice: you can choose instead the law of your nationality (article 22). The choice must be made in a will or similar declaration.
• Universal: Spain applies the regulation even when the chosen law is from a non-EU country, such as the UK or a US state.

This matters because Spanish law has forced heirship: a fixed share (the legítima) goes to children, or to parents if there are no children, and the surviving spouse has rights too. Some regions, such as Catalonia and the Balearics, have their own versions. English law has no forced heirship. A British national living in Spain who wants to leave everything to a spouse would usually choose English law in the will. Someone who lives in the UK and owns a holiday home in Spain is already covered by UK law by default, but many lawyers still include the choice to avoid doubt if they later move.

The choice of law affects who inherits. It does not change inheritance tax in Spain, which is charged on Spanish assets whatever law applies.

UK will vs Spanish will

A valid UK will can pass on Spanish property. But to use it in Spain your heirs need:

1. the grant of probate and the will, with an apostille;
2. an official sworn translation into Spanish;
3. often, a lawyer's certificate on the content of English law.

That takes months and costs more than most Spanish wills. A separate Spanish will covering only your Spanish assets avoids it. The notary can act on it directly.

If you have two wills, they must fit together. The common mistake is a new will that starts "I revoke all previous wills". Each will should say which assets it covers and that it does not revoke the other. Ask your UK solicitor and your Spanish lawyer or notary to check both.

The Spanish wills register

Every notarial will made in Spain is reported to the Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad, part of the Ministry of Justice. After a death, heirs ask the register for a certificate showing whether the person made a Spanish will, where and when. The request can be made 15 working days after the death, with the death certificate. The fee is €3.86, paid on Modelo 790 code 006, and it can be done online or by post from abroad.

The register lists only wills made before a Spanish notary or a Spanish consul. A UK will does not appear, which is another reason heirs benefit from a Spanish will. For EU residents, some countries link their registers through the ENRWA network.

Spanish will cost

These are typical figures in 2026, not fixed prices:

You can go straight to a notary without a lawyer. Many notaries on the coasts deal with foreigners every day. A lawyer is worth it if your estate is complex, spans several countries or involves children from different relationships. See notaries in Spain and property lawyers in Spain.

Making a will in Spain: what to decide first

• Which assets the Spanish will covers: usually all assets in Spain.
• Whether to choose your national law, and say it expressly.
• Who inherits, and substitutes if they die before you.
• Whether a surviving spouse gets full ownership or a life interest (usufructo). A life interest can cut the tax paid by children, but check the regional rules.
• An executor (albacea), if you want one.

Dying without a will in Spain

If there is no will, the law decides. If Spanish law applies, the order is broadly: children and descendants; then parents and ascendants; then the spouse; then siblings and nephews and nieces; then other relatives up to the fourth degree; finally the State. When there are descendants or ascendants, the surviving spouse gets a life interest in part of the estate, not ownership.

Heirs must first get a declaración de herederos abintestato. For close relatives it is done before a notary, with the death certificate, the wills register certificate, family documents and two witnesses. Only then can they accept the inheritance, pay the tax and register the property. It adds weeks or months, and it is where family disputes often start. Accepting may need a power of attorney if the heirs live abroad.

After the will: the property itself

A will passes what you own, so it helps if the records are right. Check that the land registry and Catastro describe the property correctly and in your name; see the nota simple. For a second look, enter the address or referencia catastral on our free property check and we'll get back to you by email.