# Advice needed following death



## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

Sadly, I have to report that my husband died last Thursday in San Juan hospital.

We had the funeral/cremation yesterday in Villajoyosa.

What I need is some guidance and advice on what I need to do now - both here in Spain and also in the UK. Can anyone who has been through this please give me some pointers.

I am going to UK on Friday for a few days to visit family. I know I need to contact DWP about his pension but what else should I be doing while there. Is there anything urgent I should do here in Spain before I go. What will I need to do when I get back? 

Should I employ a gestor to help me through all this?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DunWorkin said:


> Sadly, I have to report that my husband died last Thursday in San Juan hospital.
> 
> We had the funeral/cremation yesterday in Villajoyosa.
> 
> ...


That must have been difficult to write. What a sad time for you.

I'm sorry I can't really help you. I know that in the UK you have to send death certificates to the bank (and they are expensive) , but I seem to remember some people saying don't do it straight away because they can freeze the account??
Driving licence?
Tax authorities in Spain?

Madliz and xabiachica will be able to help you.


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## Simon22 (May 22, 2015)

Having gone through this with my mother recently I can only suggest engage a solicitor. Tax and government paperwork is daunting at the best of times. 
I'm sorry for your loss.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I'm so sorry for your loss. One thing you probably should do is to contact the UK Embassy or Consulate. They should have some information on what's required to report the death of a UK citizen abroad.
Cheers,
Bev


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

DunWorkin said:


> Sadly, I have to report that my husband died last Thursday in San Juan hospital.
> 
> We had the funeral/cremation yesterday in Villajoyosa.
> 
> ...


This period will be so difficult for you, so sorry.

While you are in the UK you can get an official form to cancel your husbands passport. 

If you go on the UK government website there is information on there you could follow. 

www.Gov.uk 

Steve


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Sorry for your loss


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I'm really sorry to hear about your husband's death, how sad.

I dealt with the administration of my late father's estate in the UK without needing a solicitor apart from the conveyancing of the sale of his house, so possibly I can be of some assistance there.

If your husband had assets in the UK such as bank accounts, property, life insurance policies, etc., you will need to apply for a grant of probate. Firstly, you will need multiple copies of the death certificate. Contact all the parties involved (banks, insurance companies, pension providers, etc) and advise them of the death and they will tell you exactly what they need from you, but in all cases they will want an original copy of the death certificate. You will need an accurate figure of balances in all accounts, including accrued interest as at the date of death, for the probate application form.

My father's bank paid the funeral director's bill from his account, but apart from that the account was frozen and as executors we had to open a new account called "Estate of the late xxxxxx xxxxxxx" which the funds from his bank and building society accounts, life insurance policy and from the house sale had to be paid into and then disbursed to the beneficiaries, after which it was closed. Banks are well used to this and will advise you what to do.

If you had joint accounts, the account may not be frozen, I am not sure

Download the probate application form and guidance notes from the website (I will post a link). Unfortunately I believe the probate application fee has been increased and is now much higher than it was. If a property is involved, you will need a written valuation for probate (most estate agents will provide this for a small fee)- You then complete the probate application form and one of the executors of the will can be named as a future contact if the others can't or don't want to be involved further (my brother did that as I had to go back to Spain and it was better for me not to have to fly back for the interview which is required). It takes a few weeks for the grant of probate to come through and you have to specify on the application how many copies you require (one for each institution you are dealing with). When they arrive, they need to be sent to all the relevant companies and they will release the funds which can then be paid out to the beneficiaries. 

http://www.probateforms.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PA2-How-to-obtain-probate-leaflet.pdf

That's how it works regarding UK assets. The procedure in Spain is different and I would definitely use a gestor to sort that out (cheaper than a lawyer and just as good, for this purpose, I'd say). We had some involvement in helping the sister of my husband's oldest friend who died and bequeathed his house in Spain to her. The inheritance tax due had to be paid within 6 months of the date of death, and once the tax was paid an Escritura de Herencia is drawn up (deed of inheritance) and signed at the notary's office. This deed enables the property to be transferred into the name of the beneficiary and also authorises banks, etc. to release the funds to the beneficiaries.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

I do not know if you have to register a death in Spain in the Uk as well?

However, my mum died in Feb this year. When we went to register her death they offered a free service whereby they contacted all the relevant authorities of mums death, Inland revenue, pension, council Etc Etc.

They also offered if purchased at the time cheaper Death Certificates I think they we 5 pounds each, so we purchased several as the financial companies and banks required original not copies and the financial company ( legal and General) also required a certified copy of the will

I am not sure if this helps


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

DunWorkin said:


> Sadly, I have to report that my husband died last Thursday in San Juan hospital.
> 
> We had the funeral/cremation yesterday in Villajoyosa.
> 
> ...


I am very sorry to hear your sad news. Please accept my condolences. I would definitely advise you to seek professional help as, unfortunately, there will be some red tape to deal with. My mother died while staying with us in Spain about nine years ago so I have some experience in dealing with these matters. Did your husband have Wills in the UK and Spain? If so, you need to identify the Executor/s and, if this is not you, they will handle most of the duties. About a week after my mother's death I had to collect an International Death Certificate from our local Ayuntamiento (the funeral director had already notified them). You will need certified copies of this as you will have to supply originals to various organisations, including State and private pension providers. If your husband had assets/investments/bank accounts in the UK you may need to apply to a Court for Probate and any UK solicitor can help you with this. A gestor or abogado will handle this in Spain for you and they will obviously need the death certificate and the Will as a starting point. I hope this information is of some help.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Sorry for your loss  

My dad died in Spain & everything he had was in the UK & he was resident in the UK, my husband died in the UK & was a resident of Spain.

Spain issues International death certificates (in many languages) which made things easy in the UK as far as my dad's estate was concerned. The UK doesn't, only in English, so that was an added complication here.

I echo what others have said about getting legal assistance, especially if there are assets in two countries, or even if not assets, pensions from the UK 

I speak Spanish & am used to dealing with red tape, but I wouldn't have attempted to deal with either without professional help at that time.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

The Guide to Obtaining Probate in the UK which I posted a link to does say that if a property was owned jointly and bank accounts, etc. were in joint names then it may not be necessary for probate to be obtained in order for the assets to be passed to the survivor, so I would certainly check with the UK bank regarding that before you go to the expense of engaging a solicitor to apply for probate. In the case of small amounts again probate may not be necessary - my father had what was called a Penny Policy with Prudential Assurance which his parents had taken out for him when he was born, and paid a penny a week until the policy was made "paid up". The policy document was quite a work of art, almost like an illuminated scroll, and I said to my brother that it would probably be worth more framed than the policy would pay out. I was really surprised when Prudential said it would actually pay out just over a thousand pounds, and they didn't need to have the grant of probate to do it!


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*.death*



DunWorkin said:


> Sadly, I have to report that my husband died last Thursday in San Juan hospital.
> 
> We had the funeral/cremation yesterday in Villajoyosa.
> 
> ...


This will be a sad time for you. You don't explain exactly what you need sorting out.
My husband and I had a joint bank account in the UK with HSBC and when he died last November I phoned the bereavement no in the UK and they asked for the Death Certificate to be sent on to them. As some other poster mentioned the Spanish certificate comes with various languages, so the bank took note and returned it several days later and statements now arrive only in my name.
When I first came on to this forum I read that it is safer to have individual bank accounts which is what we did, so when my husband died I just took his card to the bank and emptied the account. Admittedly there wasn't lots of money in it, but I saw no need to tell the bank.
With his car I did have to go to a gestor to change the car to my name before I could sell it. That cost me around 300 euros which seemed expensive but cheap if one has ever been through the drag of standing in queues in 'el trafico'.
I hope this sheds some light on your situation


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## rspltd (Jul 5, 2016)

There is some good advice here but the most important think to know is whether your husband had assets in Spain and UK, whether he had a Spanish Will and/or a UK Will and whether you are the beneficiary. Life gets rather complicated if he had neither or only some of these. The best advice seems to be don't tell your Spanish bank until you have withdrawn all the money in the account (although some more benevolent Spanish bank managers have ignored this).


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

Sorry for your loss.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

My condolences. I'm so sorry for your loss. I know your husband was struggling with his health for a very long time, but I didn't know it was so serious. I've had a friend and an aunt die here in Spain, and I think one of the worst things is how fast the funeral happens. It's too quick to digest properly. Like in the UK, the process is much longer in Canada. Huge hugs to you.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

I am sorry for you loss and your both in my prayers tonight.


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