# What Documents



## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

Hi all,

My folks have been living in Spain for several years now and are getting on a bit, they are residents and own a property however I am not as I do not live there.

My question is what documents would I need in the event of death to handle the estate?

It was brought up a while back and I think NIE was mentioned but unsure.

Any advice would be great.

Morbid topic I know so apologies.

Thanks


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

londonmandan said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My folks have been living in Spain for several years now and are getting on a bit, they are residents and own a property however I am not as I do not live there.
> 
> ...


Death is the only certainty in life, so best to be prepared!

You definiteñly need a NIE. Presumably you are mentioned as executor, too?


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Yes agree. You definitely need to have an NIE and also you will need to open a Spanish account to deal with various payments. I know as this happened with my mother in law who lived here. On her death all the children had to get NIE and an account had to be opened as her account was frozen etc and legal Bill's had to be paid. The apartment required a appointment with the Notary to change deeds plus the funeral had to be paid for. A bit of a nightmare as no one had ever bothered to think about it, do good to be looking into these things now.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

As well as obtaining an NIE and opening a Spanish non-resident bank account, as has been said, would your parents be open to preparing a list of their assets for you (ie what accounts they have with what banks, with account numbers, if they own property a copy of the escritura (title deed), any other investments they have with account or reference numbers, pension providers with relevant reference numbers or NI numbers in the case of UK state pensions, with phone numbers for them all), details of any insurance policies and a copy of recent utility bills so you or the lawyer dealing with the estate will know who to contact. It would save a lot of time and stress if you have all that to hand, and keys for their property. And it would make sense if you, rather than your parents, held their Wills if you are the person who will be dealing with their estate. If they're not keen to hand over all this information, at least make sure you know where they keep all the relevant documents and will have means of access to their property if you have to start searching for them.


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## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

xabiaxica said:


> Presumably you are mentioned as executor, too?


Not too sure, I am the eldest so would guess so


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## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

kaipa said:


> You definitely need to have an NIE and also you will need to open a Spanish account to deal with various payments.


Can I get the NIE from outside of Spain say in Dubai or the UK or will I have to fly to Spain to get it?

I guess the banks do online opening?


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## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

Lynn R said:


> As well as obtaining an NIE and opening a Spanish non-resident bank account, as has been said, would your parents be open to preparing a list of their assets for you (ie what accounts they have with what banks, with account numbers, if they own property a copy of the escritura (title deed), any other investments they have with account or reference numbers, pension providers with relevant reference numbers or NI numbers in the case of UK state pensions, with phone numbers for them all), details of any insurance policies and a copy of recent utility bills so you or the lawyer dealing with the estate will know who to contact. It would save a lot of time and stress if you have all that to hand, and keys for their property. And it would make sense if you, rather than your parents, held their Wills if you are the person who will be dealing with their estate. If they're not keen to hand over all this information, at least make sure you know where they keep all the relevant documents and will have means of access to their property if you have to start searching for them.


I think they may have that already done, I know my mum mentioned that they have wills etc so I will check....


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

londonmandan said:


> Can I get the NIE from outside of Spain say in Dubai or the UK or will I have to fly to Spain to get it?
> 
> I guess the banks do online opening?


I imagine you can get a NIE from a Spanish embassy


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

It's grossly selfish, unfair, and irresponsible for elderly folk living in Spain (or elsewhere in for that matter) to not arrange their affairs to cause the least hassle to their survivors when they shuffle of the mortal coil.

Even with Spanish wills the processes for winding up a dead persons affairs can be horrendously drawn out and complex and that's without the death toll from Covid clogging the system.

Case in point, a friend who's husband died in 2019 had his affairs as in order as it's possible to be yet she is still waiting for probate 2 years later.

If you haven't done it do it tomorrow!


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

MataMata said:


> It's grossly selfish, unfair, and irresponsible for elderly folk living in Spain (or elsewhere in for that matter) to not arrange their affairs to cause the least hassle to their survivors when they shuffle of the mortal coil.


Hola 

My children already own the house and have a lasting power of attorney in both the UK & Spain. However, there are always things to learn from others, so thank you 

Davexf


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