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

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.

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

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.

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.

[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.

You might find this post on another forum will help.

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

[QUOTE=Fred James;10672227] Still confused.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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