Making things easier for those who inherit from you

Most of the inheritance cases we deal with fall into one of two categories. Either the family had the essentials ready from day one, making things considerably easy… or we spent weeks, on their behalf, chasing down documents, banks, and other public institutions to help the sort out the estate. The difference rarely comes down to the size of the estate. It comes down to whether the person who passed away had left a few basic things organised beforehand.

The will is the obvious starting point, and it’s worth saying plainly: not having one doesn’t stop your family from inheriting. Whichever law applies to the inheritance (whether Spanish or otherwise) it will set out its own default rules on who inherits, and in what proportion, even without a will. But what this does is add several extra steps, extra paperwork and (if anyone involved is a foreign national) extra certificates and translations too. A will removes most of that uncertainty in one go, and it is worth reviewing every so often, particularly after a marriage, a birth, or buying and selling property.

Beyond the will, the biggest source of delay tends to be simple information nobody wrote down. Which bank do you use. Whether you hold any investments, pensions or life insurance policies, and with which company. Where the deeds to your property are kept, and what the cadastral reference is. Drawing up a simple list of all this takes barely fifteen minutes, yet it can make a real difference to your heirs once you are no longer there to answer their questions.

For many of our clients, this list stretches beyond Spain. A pension in the UK, a savings account somewhere else, a property back home, etc. In some cases, heirs don’t even know where to start looking. Simply noting down where each asset is held, and roughly what it involves, can save them from having to search several countries at once.

None of this has to be complicated. A short list, kept up to date and shared with the right person, goes a long way. If you’d like a hand putting one together, or reviewing whether your will still reflects your situation, at White-Baos Lawyers we’re happy to talk it through. Reach out to us today.

You may be interested in the following services and articles:

Gift that affects the inheritance. Reduction of excessive gifts in Spain. Legitimate share of forced heirs. Legal advice.

Inheritance Tax payment from the deceased’s bank account. Inheritances in Spain. Is it possible?

NIE in inheritances. Who needs an NIE to deal with an inheritance in Spain?.

Carlos Baos (Lawyer)

White & Baos.

Tel: +34 966 426 185

E-mail: info@white-baos.com

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