Death of a spouse
 

A good friend has just lost her husband, and I was wandering if anyone can tell me what things she needs to do now to comply with Spanish law and minimize her tax liability.

I know that the funeral has been taken care of and the death was attended by an ambulance, so presumably the death certificate was issued.

But what practical steps does she need to take now? They owned their house - I don't know if there is a mortgage or any outstanding debts on the house or if it was in joint ownership or just in one name only.

I believe that they had a joint bank account, so does anything need to be done about that?

He was 65 and in receipt of a pension from the navy and a state pension, so who needs to be notified now?

Are there any benefits she can claim from the UK or Spain?

Really what I'm looking for is "idiots guide" to help her. I've looked at the British embassy web site but i can't anything on there that helps.

Thanks

Re: Death of a spouse
 

She needs to tell the UK authorities ASAP, and contact the Navy pension people, she will almost certainly qualify for part of her husbands pension, usually 50%. She must check whether she is on the deeds as a joint holder, and tell the mortgage people. if there is one. as they may have taken out insurance cover to pay of the mortgage in the case of the death of eother one of them.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Please give my sincere condolences to your friend. I lost my husband last year so have relevant experiences that may help, however as is usual here in Spain it may be different according to the area. I have sent you a pm with some information.

Rosemary

Re: Death of a spouse
 

She should be made aware that when the death of a Spanish account holder becomes known, the account will be frozen until the inheritance tax is sorted.

Normally, she will have to pay tax on her share of the inherited house first.

Was there a Spanish or an English will?

I would advise not rushing into anything until her financial position is secure enough to allow her to survive the intervening period until everything is settled, the Navy and other pension will adjust the amount payable once they receive official notification.

It would be pointless to pay into, or leave very much in an account that is about to be frozen. It can take a long time for that money to be released.

It could be a good time to rely on trustworthy children back in the UK.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I have just read on another forum that there has just been a new EU directive concerning inheritance tax the upshot being that you can decide whether to come under British or Spanish inheritance laws. I know nothing more. The person did say that they would post a link but haven´t done so yet.

I am very sorry to hear about your friend. Very sad.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

[QUOTE=Chiclanagir;10672073]I have just read on another forum that there has just been a new EU directive concerning inheritance tax the upshot being that you can decide whether to come under British or Spanish inheritance laws. /QUOTE]

It has nothing to do with inheritance tax - it is about the details of who you are allowed to leave your assets to.

In the past you could specify in your will your bequests and they, by concession, would not be governed by Spanish law which is very restrictive.

The new directive seeks to clarify the situation and you will now have to state quite clearly in your Spanish will which countries laws you wish to apply.

It doesn't become fully effective until 2015. Some existing wills may already have a suitable clause included but if not a new will will be required.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

You might find this post on another forum will help.

http://www.andalucia.com/forums/view...p?f=42&t=27487

Re: Death of a spouse
 

[QUOTE=Fred James;10672227]Still confused.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Thanks to everyone for your help and advice, I will pass it on to her.
Fortunately she has a friend who is fluent in English and Spanish, so she is able to deal with the Spanish authorities, and her son in the UK can deal with the relative pension providers.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

When my wife died I found from the old British embassy web site that I was entitled to a year of widowers benefit. I also told my bank who did not freeze the account. Please tell your friend to get plenty of copies of the Justice department death certificates at the time of issue, as I needed a total of 10. For some reason nearly every place that requested one kept it even though I asked for them to be returned.
Be warned that insurance companies demand a certificate showing the cause of death before they pay out.
My wife worked for 19 years for an insurance company and had small life insurance with them. After 5 months I phoned them to ask why they hadn't paid out, only to be told that it was because the UN approved death cert from the Justice department did not give a cause of death. The original hospital cert showing cause of death is kept by the justice department. The clown I spoke to in the insurance company said it was because might have had a pre-existing illness that did not declare when she took out the policy in 1982 luckily I was able get a copy of the original from the people who arranged the funeral.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Someone told me today that you cannot pay for the funeral on a credit card but only is acceptable? If this is true it could cause a lot of problems.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I had to go to the bank the day after my husband died and pay for the funeral by bank transfer and then take the receipt to the funeral (on the same day) to prove that I had paid. My understanding was that as you say it was not possible to do this with a credit card but I am not 100% sure of that. I would recommend that people ensure that they have either an insurance to cover the cost or sufficient available funds.

Rosemary

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I know someone in Marbella who paid with a credit card. Was 5 years ago.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

So what would they do if you didn´t have the cash available?

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I believe cash or bankers draft are acceptable, I had to pay no later than the day of the funeral.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I was told the funeral would not go ahead and the body would go back in storage, at a cost, till bill paid in full.

Yes I remember taking receipt from the tanatorio to the crematorio as proof paid and allow the funeral to go ahead.

Basic cremation costs about 2000 euros and upwards the more you require. Having a separate account in your name for paying for a funeral here is a good idea. In fact keeping separate accounts is a necessity I think.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I have no idea. That is why I advise people to be prepared.

Rosemary

Re: Death of a spouse
 

I think a bankers draft is the next option as most people do not have the amount of cash available that is needed. In the UK if the deceased has a building society account and you take in details of the costs on proper letterhead from the funeral director, death certificate and passbook will release the required funds immediately prior to probate/wills. If this lady has supportive adult children at home in the UK they may be able to organise something for her.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Hi

If you genuinely can not pay for the funeral, I have been told that a pauper´s funeral is arranged.

Luckily in my area, there is a funeral director that has completed all the formalities and was quite happy when I came along a week or so later with the 3,004€ in cash. He only needed the money when he was asked for it by the various official bodies.

Davexf

Re: Death of a spouse
 

As a matter of interest who is the funeral director that you used.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Hi

I have replied by pm which is probably best in these circumstances - and I am not connected to the funeral directors.

Davexf

Re: Death of a spouse
 

For me too Dave please.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

As I said originally, the funeral was taken care of, they had an insurance policy to cover the cost. But I'm sure that the info is of interest to others.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Hi, Sparky,

Sorry to read about your friend's husband.
Re electrics: please could you e-mail me your e-mail
address ? B.Expats will not give it to me. I want to pick
your brains !
Buena Suerte,
Roberto (currently in beautiful (!), downtown Birmingham
but, God Willing, soon to be in Coy.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Hi roberto.e ,

I've removed your email address, it is best not to post it on a public forum for spam bots to pick up. And while I understand you may wish to ask another remember a question it's frowned upon to ask another person to divulge their email address when you don't know them. If a member wishes to be contacted privately then they will have set their account preferences accordingly. Each member has a "Profile Page" in which they can be contacted if they have chosen to do so.

To be honest though what is your question? As we've got loads of members here and I'm sure that others will also be happy to share their experiences.

Re: Death of a spouse
 

Hello, I am a bit confused by the proposed EU directive coming into effect in 2015. If I specify in my will that I request that my UK assets be covered by UK IHT laws then if they fall under the existing threshold I will not be liable for any tax on those. Am I reading into this correctly?
Thanks

Re: Death of a spouse
 

If you are tax resident in Spain with UK assets NO!

Re: Death of a spouse
 

If you are tax resident in Spain then your worldwide assets will be subject to Spanish IHT - and possibly UK IHT as well.

What you have put in your will only affects who inherits the assets and of course they will be liable for the Spanish tax even if they are not Spanish tax residents. The upcoming EU directive has absolutely nothing to do with IHT.

Simple really - resident in Spain and everything you own or earn is liable to Spanish tax.