Spanish wills and inheritance

01Spanish inheritance law and forced heirship §

Spanish succession law operates on the principle of legítima — reserved shares. A substantial proportion of an estate is reserved for descendants, with rights for a surviving spouse that are different from outright ownership.

The practical effect is that a will written at home saying "everything to my husband" can, under Spanish default rules, not achieve that outcome for Spanish assets. Children can end up with entitlements that neither parent intended, and a surviving spouse can find their position weaker than they assumed.

This bites hardest where there are children from an earlier marriage, an unmarried partner, or a blended family — exactly the situations that are common at this stage of life and that nobody wants to discuss over lunch.

02Choosing your national law in a Spanish will §

Since the EU Succession Regulation took effect, the law that governs your estate is by default the law of your country of habitual residence at death. If you live in Spain, that means Spanish law.

But the Regulation also gives you an express right to elect the law of your nationality instead. Choose it, and your estate is governed by the rules you grew up with — including full testamentary freedom where your country provides it.

• The election has to be made expressly. It does not happen because you are foreign.
• In practice it is recorded in a Spanish will, signed before a notary and registered centrally.
• It governs succession, who inherits. It does not change which country charges inheritance tax.
• A will made at home may or may not be effective here, and relying on it untested is a gamble taken by your family, not by you.

The asymmetry is what makes this worth doing now: the cost of a Spanish will is a few hundred euros, and the cost of not having one has run into tens of thousands for families we have met.

03Spanish inheritance tax for foreign residents §

Spanish inheritance and gift tax is charged on the beneficiary, not the estate, and the rules are set regionally on top of a state framework. That regional layer matters enormously.

The Comunitat Valenciana, which covers the Costa Blanca, has substantial reliefs for spouses and direct descendants — enough that many families pay little or nothing where they qualify. Whether they qualify depends on residency, on the relationship, and on the value and structure of what is inherited.

Two things to know, both counter-intuitive:

• Because the tax falls on the beneficiary, where your children live can change their bill.
• Because reliefs are regional, where in Spain you are resident can change it too. Moving from one region to another is a genuine planning factor.

There is also the practical point that Spanish inheritance tax is generally payable before assets are released, which is why families are advised to hold accessible funds rather than have everything tied up in one villa.

04How to make a Spanish will §

1. Have your existing will read by a Spanish lawyer alongside your Spanish assets. Not summarised — read.
2. Decide whether to elect the law of your nationality, with advice on both estates rather than one.
3. Sign a Spanish will before a notary. It is registered centrally and located instantly when needed.
4. Model the inheritance tax on your family’s side, region by region and beneficiary by beneficiary.
5. Keep a plain, unglamorous file: deeds, policies, account details, and where the wills are. The kindest hour you can spend.

Do this in the first year, not the fifth. It is the one part of the process where delay has no upside at all.