Your partner dies in Spain. Can the bank freeze your joint account?

Plenty of British couples in Spain run their lives through one joint account, with pensions going in and the mortgage and bills coming out. When one partner dies, the survivor can often carry on as normal, though much depends on how the account was set up.

Why the type of account you choose decides everything

Take a British couple who’ve lived in Spain for years, with both pensions paid into one account that also covers the mortgage, the electricity and the weekly shop. Then one of them passes away, and the other has to find out what the bank will actually let them do. The answer starts with the contract, according to the Banco de España. 

Spanish joint accounts come in two main types. In a ‘cuenta indistinta or solidaria’ (an account either holder can use alone), each person can move the money without the other. Or in a ‘cuenta mancomunada or conjunta’ (an account where every holder must sign), and nothing happens without everyone’s approval.

The contract sets which rules apply, and it can also include its own clause on what happens when a holder dies, so it’s the first thing to check.

Survivors can usually carry on with an either-signs account

With an indistinta account, the Banco de España’s good-practice guidance is that the surviving holder can keep using the money as if they were the only holder. They don’t need the heirs’ permission, and the bank doesn’t even have to tell the heirs.

A mancomunada account is a different story. After a death, every operation needs the approval of all the surviving holders and the heirs, so a widow or widower can’t simply carry on withdrawing cash. 

So can the bank freeze it? Not automatically on an either-signs account, though there are exceptions. The bank can hold back if the contract says something different, if the holders have agreed that part of the money belonged to the person who died, or if it receives conflicting orders from the survivor and the heirs. In that last case it’s meant to stay neutral, tell everyone involved and allow no withdrawals until it’s sorted out. 

However, this is a guideline rather than a binding law, so it’s worth asking your own bank how it applies it exactly.

Why being named on the account doesn’t mean you own half 

The regulator treats two questions separately: who can use the money, and who it belongs to. Being allowed to withdraw from a joint account isn’t proof that half of it is yours, or that you’ve inherited your partner’s share.

Spanish Supreme Court rulings say ownership depends on who originally paid the money in, with equal shares only presumed when nothing proves otherwise. If the heirs think the survivor has taken more than their share, that’s a private dispute for the courts, and neither the bank nor the Banco de España decides it.

Bills keep coming out, but the paperwork takes time

Direct debits already set up, such as electricity, taxes and insurance, should usually carry on being paid while the estate is sorted out, so the heirs don’t get hit with surcharges. The regulator doesn’t mention mortgage instalments specifically, so it’s worth asking your lender how they’d be handled.

It’s different if the account was only in your partner’s name. The bank has to block cards, passwords and online banking as soon as it hears about the death, with exceptions for things like funeral costs.

Handing money over to the heirs takes longer. The bank runs its own inheritance file, or ‘expediente de testamentaría’, and the heirs must show that any inheritance tax due has been paid. The regulator doesn’t list any other documents, so each bank’s requirements may vary.

Heirs will also need the certificate of last wills, which shows whether a will exists and which notary holds it. The Ministry of Justice said it can’t be requested until 15 working days after the death, and it takes form 790 plus the death certificate. It can be applied for online with a Cl@ve digital ID if the death was registered electronically after April 2 2009, and official guidance says it’s issued within about 10 working days by post or online.

For the wider picture on wills and inheritance, see our guide on what happens when your spouse dies in Spain.

Pension payments after a death can be claimed back

Relatives must tell Spain’s social security system about a pensioner’s death within 30 working days, attaching the death certificate. The pension for the month of the death is paid in full, according to Seguridad Social. However, anyone who receives payments they weren’t entitled to must repay them, and people who helped make those payments possible can be held liable unless they prove good faith. 

UK payments work in a similar way. If a benefit or pension is paid before the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is told about a death, it can contact the bank and the person handling the estate, and recover the money from the estate. GOV.UK advises not to share out the estate until you know what needs to be repaid. 

So if your partner’s pension keeps arriving after the death, it makes sense to leave it untouched until you’ve checked what’s owed. The best time to prepare is now: check whether your account is indistinta or mancomunada, ask your bank what paperwork it would want after a death, think about what you’d live on in the first few weeks if the joint account were out of reach, and keep your contract, wills and a list of direct debits where your family can find them.