# Spanish Inheritance Tax



## Janec (Nov 4, 2010)

My husband and I live in Andalucia, we are both residents here. We have two children each from our previous marraiges. We do not get on with my husbands children but we have been told that we cannot disinherit them.

We have made wills, I leave my half of the property to my children but my husband can still live in the house. He has left his half of the property to me, but to my children if he should die after me.

We have been told that his half would automatically go to his two children and not to mine as stated in the will.

Is this correct??


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Janec said:


> My husband and I live in Andalucia, we are both residents here. We have two children each from our previous marraiges. We do not get on with my husbands children but we have been told that we cannot disinherit them.
> 
> We have made wills, I leave my half of the property to my children but my husband can still live in the house. He has left his half of the property to me, but to my children if he should die after me.
> 
> ...


The inheritance laws are complicated here!! Please go and see an abogado/solicitor and get the correct information. I'm not even sure that wills, unless made in spain are valid here???!!!

Jo xxx


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

Janec said:


> My husband and I live in Andalucia, we are both residents here. We have two children each from our previous marraiges. We do not get on with my husbands children but we have been told that we cannot disinherit them.
> 
> We have made wills, I leave my half of the property to my children but my husband can still live in the house. He has left his half of the property to me, but to my children if he should die after me.
> 
> ...


Jo is right. See a lawyer and get a Spanish will drawn up foth of you. I don't know about the Spanish law, but under UK Law your husband's children can only lay claim to 1/3 of the movable estate.

Getting an expert's advice will ensure the wishes of both you and your husband are carried out.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

dunmovin said:


> Jo is right. See a lawyer and get a Spanish will drawn up foth of you. I don't know about the Spanish law, but under UK Law your husband's children can only lay claim to 1/3 of the movable estate.
> 
> Getting an expert's advice will ensure the wishes of both you and your husband are carried out.


I'm sure I've heard that under spanish law kids can't be disinherited


definitely see an abogado


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> I'm sure I've heard that under spanish law kids can't be disinherited


That is true; neither can the spouse. But if you have an English will you can get it notarised in Spain and it will be respected - you can disinherit the whole family and leave it all to a cat sanctuary if you so wish.

When the deceased has not left a will, the Spanish Law of Succession determines who shall inherit, in the following order:


The descendants of the deceased inherit in equal shares.
If there are no descendants, the spouse inherits.
If there is no spouse, any brothers or sisters of the deceased inherit in equal shares. If any brother or sister of the deceased has predeceased and left children, the children inherit their parent's share in equal shares.
If there are no brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, then cousins, if any, inherit.
Finally, if none of the above family members exist, then the deceased's estate is inherited by the Spanish Government.

There is a very good summary article here:

Spanish wills: Strong Abogados law firm

This bit is relevant for your case:

_When a foreign property owner dies with no will (intestate), Spanish law must be applied to their Spanish assets as a result. Be aware that this differs from countries such as the UK. The deceased in Spain must leave two thirds of their estate to their compulsory heirs.

If however the property owner makes a will, they can bequeath their Spanish assets to anyone they please as long as the laws of their home country permit this. The Spanish Civil Code states that the assets that the foreign deceased had in Spain at the time of their death will be governed not by Spanish law but by their own national law._

Inheritance tax is payable by the surviving spouse, but the conditions vary according to which _communidad_ you live in.


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## Janec (Nov 4, 2010)

Thanks a lot for your comments. We have both made a Spanish will as worded above.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Janec said:


> My husband and I live in Andalucia, we are both residents here. We have two children each from our previous marraiges. We do not get on with my husbands children but we have been told that we cannot disinherit them.
> 
> We have made wills, I leave my half of the property to my children but my husband can still live in the house. He has left his half of the property to me, but to my children if he should die after me.
> 
> ...


Well, I'll give my opinion gained from speaking to solicitors in UK and Spain, but you should seek legal advice yourself

Firstly, you should have wills in Spain and the UK mirroring each other. The Spanish one will be notarised.
When the inevitable happens, although IHT will be due here in some form or other, due to inter country agreements your UK will will override your Spanish one as far as inheritence is concerned, i.e. your goods and chattels are left to who you want them to be. If you were Spanish citizens then it would be different, but I am assuming you are both UK citizens residing in Spain

Having said all that, please seek legal advice, but I have read this in various informational books, web sites etc as well as confirmed by my solicitor

Its worth noting that if I peg it tomorrow, my wife pays nothing in IHT because thats how it's done in Valencia. Not sure if the same arrangement is where you are.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> Its worth noting that if I peg it tomorrow, my wife pays nothing in IHT because thats how it's done in Valencia. Not sure if the same arrangement is where you are.


I checked the IHT situation for Andalucia just the other day. Full details here:
Inheritance tax Spain, Marbella lawyers, legal services, Spanish wills, Costa del Sol, Spain.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I've just thought of smth...
If I'm still British when "the inevitable happens" as stravinsky puts it, but I have nothing of monetary value in the UK (no money, property, car etc), but I do have family, will a tax of any sort have to be paid? Does anything need to be done?? Sorry for the stupid sounding question, but strange things happen (like Americans who have to go on filing tax returns every year even though they haven't worked there for 20 years or more??!!)


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I've just thought of smth...
> If I'm still British when "the inevitable happens" as stravinsky puts it, but I have nothing of monetary value in the UK (no money, property, car etc), but I do have family, will a tax of any sort have to be paid? Does anything need to be done?? Sorry for the stupid sounding question, but strange things happen (like Americans who have to go on filing tax returns every year even though they haven't worked there for 20 years or more??!!)


Surely not, inheritance tax is only applied when there is something to inherit.

Do you own property in Spain though?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Surely not, inheritance tax is only applied when there is something to inherit.
> 
> Do you own property in Spain though?


I didn't mean inheritance tax, I meant any kind of tax. For all I know there's a tax for not living in Britain! We do have to pay tax on ridiculous things sometimes, let's admit it. Here, in a bid to get more money, the ayuntamiento introduced a tax according to the width of the entrance into your property called, I suppose, The Width of Entry Tax.

Yes, we are house owners.


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## morlandg (Jun 8, 2008)

Here, in a bid to get more money, the ayuntamiento introduced a tax according to the width of the entrance into your property called, I suppose, The Width of Entry Tax.

Sorry Pesky but this makes my imagination run wild!"·$"·$%·%
I'll slap my own wrists!LOL


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

morlandg said:


> Sorry Pesky but this makes my imagination run wild!"·$"·$%·%
> I'll slap my own wrists!LOL


:whip:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

morlandg said:


> Here, in a bid to get more money, the ayuntamiento introduced a tax according to the width of the entrance into your property called, I suppose, The Width of Entry Tax.
> 
> Sorry Pesky but this makes my imagination run wild!"·$"·$%·%
> I'll slap my own wrists!LOL


Really morlandg, I don't know what you are referring to!!

Article on silly taxes...The Weirdest Taxes of All Time


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Pesky, you _do_ have wills in both the UK and Spain that reflect each other dont you?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> Pesky, you _do_ have wills in both the UK and Spain that reflect each other dont you?


No


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> Pesky, you _do_ have wills in both the UK and Spain that reflect each other dont you?


But do I need to make one in the UK?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> But do I need to make one in the UK?


that's exactly what I was thinking

if you have no finacial ties to the UK at all - why would you need one?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> that's exactly what I was thinking
> 
> if you have no finacial ties to the UK at all - why would you need one?


Because unless I'm very much wrong, if you dont have a UK will, then dont you revert to Spanish law and then the goods and chattels are divided up etc etc .... of course that may not matter to you anyway I realise


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> Because unless I'm very much wrong, if you dont have a UK will, then dont you revert to Spanish law and then the goods and chattels are divided up etc etc .... of course that may not matter to you anyway I realise


No, I don't think I need to do anything. I've got some family members in the UK, and a current account, but nothing else.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Lets hope its a long long time away then


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> Because unless I'm very much wrong, if you dont have a UK will, then dont you revert to Spanish law and then the goods and chattels are divided up etc etc .... of course that may not matter to you anyway I realise


nope - wouldn't matter to me at all


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> nope - wouldn't matter to me at all


It might if your kids went back to the UK sometime in the future though 
There was someone on this forum or another a while back who's parent had died in Spain whilst they lived in the UK and there was no will in the UK ... it had turned into a bit of a nightmare iirc


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> It might if your kids went back to the UK sometime in the future though
> There was someone on this forum or another a while back who's parent had died in Spain whilst they lived in the UK and there was no will in the UK ... it had turned into a bit of a nightmare iirc


well yes in that highly unlikely event we'd have to look at it

you know my kids though - dd1 is more likely to end up in the US at some point than the UK - but I doubt that would be permanent

which begs the question - would we then have to think about US rules of inheritance - especially since we are far more likely to own property there than here


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## Beachcomber (May 10, 2009)

Inheritance tax regulations in Spain may be due for a shake up:

EUROPA - Press Releases - Taxation: Commission requests Spain to change its discriminatory inheritance and gift tax provisions


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