My mum lived in lanzorte and England half the year and sadly passed away recently. I have inherited her property in lanzorte. It seems a very long and expensive process to sort out the legalities. Please can anyone help or advise me?

Sorry for your loss.
Where was you mum resident?
Where is the will registered Spain or UK.
All of Spain has inheritance tax. The law is set out in this law. The rates are set by each Comunidade Autónomas. It is in Spanish and legal speak, sorry but that is the way it is.
https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1987-28141
what you need is good legal advice and that will not be cheap. The British government website has some links that may be of help. https://find-a-professional-service-...k/find/lawyers
You may find one near your location in the UK.

Thank you for your advice.
She was a resident in lanzorte and had a Spanish will. I have been on the website and I am trying to find a lawyer to help me but I have no idea what a good one is!
I am very worried about how I am going to pay for the lawyer and the inheritance tax and was wondering what the options are?

White-Baos is a Spanish law firm who I used. They are familiar with uk/ Spanish inheritance systems and speak English. Under Spanish law you will be taxed depending on location and relation to deceased. You will need the death cert and the will. The most important thing to do is report the death within 6 months. You can get an extension after this but don't delay the initial registration. I have a feeling that Tenerife probably has a very generous tax system -meaning that tax won't start until all the assets are over 1 million euros. Basically you will probably only pay for the legal work and translations and the cost will be max around 1700 euros. If there is only a Spanish Will and assets in spain it is not too complicated

I can only assume that if the British government has listed them then there should not be much trouble.
Here is a guide on what to do. Some points will not apply to you. https://www.ageinspain.org/post/when-someone-dies
Do not forget that there maybe some things to do in the UK too.
What options do you think you may have?

I have done most of the legalities in the UK and I'm now trying to organise things in Lanzorte. I tried to contact a couple of lawyers in Lanzorte yesterday but I haven't received any response yet.
I don't know what my options are other than paying the inheritance tax outright and this is alarming as from looking on the Internet, these costs are tens of thousands and have to be paid before I can sell.
There's also people who are renting my mum's apartment at the moment and I don't know if I am allowed to continue with that arrangement, but that's something I would like to continue if possible.

Sorry Cleo but not much happens in Spain in August due to the summer holidays so don't expect an immediate response from the solicitors - you may need to phone them as against email and remember time differences and the fact they probably close in the afternoon.

Don't panic about the costs until you have the facts it may not be as bad as you think - good luck, hope it all works out.

It seems that the Canary Islands do not have very generous tax allowances on inheritances. Children aged 21 or over get an allowance of €23,175. There is an exemption of 99% for the main home up to a maximum of €200k but as the OP states that the property is rented out, that could be problematic. If it is found to be applicable, the beneficiary would need to retain the property for at least 5 years to qualify.

Inheritance tax in the Canary Islands. How does it affect your family? (blevinsfranks.com)

Does anyone know what happens to the rental income money under these circumstances?

What a great question - until the property is "inherited" or transferred , who is the legal owner for tax purposes I wonder?

What if they refuse the inheritance?

Obviously they can give the tenants notice and then sell but that's only after it's been inherited

Surprisingly it does not seem to be covered under Spanish law! According to this, the beneficiary should inform the tenant who to pay the rent to.

Fallecimiento del arrendador. Qué pasa con el alquiler. (miabogadodeconfianza.es)

Thanks, Snikpoh - I have my moments! hahaha

Thanks, Lynn a fountain of information as always.

Yes you are right. I assumed that the new local government was PP- who, as in Valencia, have effectively abolished IHT unless over 1 million. It appears that in Canarias your tax on inheritance depends on your relationship to deceased etc but more worringly your existing wealth!. Now this can make things hard because whilst you might have assets you might not have the liquidity to cover the tax which is required to paid after 6 months. OP definitely needs a good lawyer- and one in Canaries. You can reject the inheritance though!

Thanks, Ronnyone, I had missed these changes for Alicante/Valencia - unfortunately I was looking for a better deal for my sisters if they inherit my Spanish assets but they do not seem to be included. I would love to know how many Great grandparents inherit from younger generations! (or have I misunderstood?)

More here for anyone in Valencia region https://expatsmagazine.org/pp-and-vo...donations-tax/

This change is quite important for uk nats who are residents in spain as it means that if you have only a Spanish Will and are not domiciled in UK your children can inherit without any IHT ( if total assests are less than 1 million euros). If you have a UK will then uk iht will kick in after 325,000 pounds. Previously in Valencia IHT kicked in at 50% of anything you received- so there is now a huge difference.