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Question re making a will
Can anyone please advise me on this.
I am shortly going to draw up a will. I'm a UK citizen but Spanish resident. My assets are 50% in UK / 50% in Spain. The deeds of my UK property are held by a UK solicitor. Having no descendants, I want to leave most of my estate to UK Charities. I'm not sure what the inheritance tax implications would be... Would the UK charities have to pay Spanish Inheritance tax on all the assets? Should I make a Spanish will or a UK will? I'm going to see a Spanish law firm soon but would appreciate any thoughts. |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Mustard
(Post 12726450)
Can anyone please advise me on this.
I am shortly going to draw up a will. I'm a UK citizen but Spanish resident. My assets are 50% in UK / 50% in Spain. The deeds of my UK property are held by a UK solicitor. Having no descendants, I want to leave most of my estate to UK Charities. I'm not sure what the inheritance tax implications would be... Would the UK charities have to pay Spanish Inheritance tax on all the assets? Should I make a Spanish will or a UK will? I'm going to see a Spanish law firm soon but would appreciate any thoughts. Make sure each will mentions the existence of the other. Make sure your Spanish will has the clause in it allowing you to leave your estate to whomever you want. |
Re: Question re making a will
Good advice. Keep them separate.
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by snikpoh
(Post 12726461)
Personally, I would make two wills. One for UK assets and one for the Spanish assets.
Make sure each will mentions the existence of the other. Make sure your Spanish will has the clause in it allowing you to leave your estate to whomever you want. That's an interesting idea but what are the advantages of two wills? |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Mustard
(Post 12726464)
That's an interesting idea but what are the advantages of two wills?
There are many other reasons but that's the one that I would be most concerned about. |
Re: Question re making a will
It’s all to do with Spanish succession law which takes away almost all your rights to leave your assets to whom you like. They have to be left primarily to the children and the remaining spouse is entitled to nothing apart from the right to live in the family home until death. In the past, it was generally accepted that this did not apply to foreigners who were able to use the succession law of their own country. This was always a bit vague legally, so a few years ago the EU issued a decree that, if specifically requested in the will, that the foreign law would apply. So, it is essential that you have a will for assets in the UK as well as in Spain. A combined will will create huge problems as the legal systems in both countries are very different. The simple rule on IHT is that assets in Spain are taxed in Spain irrespective of residency. UK assets bequeathed to a UK resident will be taxed only in the UK but if a Spanish resident receives a bequest of UK assets they will be taxed in Spain. The payment of IHT is down to the recipient unlike UK law where it is the estate that is taxed, not the individual. IHT is a very complex area and the actual tax paid can be determined by your location, not by national rules. If in doubt talk to a professional. |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Fred James
(Post 12726658)
It’s all to do with Spanish succession law which takes away almost all your rights to leave your assets to whom you like. They have to be left primarily to the children and the remaining spouse is entitled to nothing apart from the right to live in the family home until death. In the past, it was generally accepted that this did not apply to foreigners who were able to use the succession law of their own country. This was always a bit vague legally, so a few years ago the EU issued a decree that, if specifically requested in the will, that the foreign law would apply. So, it is essential that you have a will for assets in the UK as well as in Spain. A combined will will create huge problems as the legal systems in both countries are very different. The simple rule on IHT is that assets in Spain are taxed in Spain irrespective of residency. UK assets bequeathed to a UK resident will be taxed only in the UK but if a Spanish resident receives a bequest of UK assets they will be taxed in Spain. The payment of IHT is down to the recipient unlike UK law where it is the estate that is taxed, not the individual. IHT is a very complex area and the actual tax paid can be determined by your location, not by national rules. If in doubt talk to a professional. |
Re: Question re making a will
in the case of having no children, dont the assets get transferred to the town hall or the government etc? (i might be mistaken, but im sure that i read it somewhere)
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by bfg69bug
(Post 12726821)
in the case of having no children, dont the assets get transferred to the town hall or the government etc? (i might be mistaken, but im sure that i read it somewhere)
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by snikpoh
(Post 12726461)
Personally, I would make two wills. One for UK assets and one for the Spanish assets.
Make sure each will mentions the existence of the other. Make sure your Spanish will has the clause in it allowing you to leave your estate to whomever you want. |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Mustard
(Post 12726831)
If you don't leave a will and have no close family then the govt. takes it. As in the UK. It goes to the crown.
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by el collado kid
(Post 12726890)
hi , i have been told recently if you know some you trust appoint them as your P.O.A we are looking at this now because of family issues ,, i don,t really know, we are going to see our notary soon ,hope this might help it very difficult isn't it
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by snikpoh
(Post 12726918)
How would this work? POA's cease as soon as you do!
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by snikpoh
(Post 12726918)
How would this work? POA's cease as soon as you do!
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Re: Question re making a will
Why not make your daughter the executor?
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Re: Question re making a will
I'm not even sure that Spanish law has the concept of an executor.
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Re: Question re making a will
We recently revised our UK wills and therefore our Spanish wills (property and assets in both jurisdictions). Our Spanish lawyers firm are Executors and the will confirms the existence of our UK Will and the clear instruction that our Spanish estate is to be liquidated and alĺ proceeds are to be forwarded to the UK for final settlement.
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Re: Question re making a will
all we want really is to stop a certain person gaining after our deaths, and to make sure our daughter dose.we want her to be the soul inheritor
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by NABman
(Post 12729149)
We recently revised our UK wills and therefore our Spanish wills (property and assets in both jurisdictions). Our Spanish lawyers firm are Executors and the will confirms the existence of our UK Will and the clear instruction that our Spanish estate is to be liquidated and alĺ proceeds are to be forwarded to the UK for final settlement.
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Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by NABman
(Post 12729149)
We recently revised our UK wills and therefore our Spanish wills (property and assets in both jurisdictions). Our Spanish lawyers firm are Executors and the will confirms the existence of our UK Will and the clear instruction that our Spanish estate is to be liquidated and alĺ proceeds are to be forwarded to the UK for final settlement.
The two systems are totally different. |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Fred James
(Post 12729190)
There is no such thing as an ‘estate’ in Spanish law. Each beneficiary is responsible individually for any taxes due and the amount depends on the personal circumstances and relationship to the deceased. They have to pay the tax before they get the money even if they are not resident in Spain. In the UK the total assets of the deceased are the ‘estate†and any taxes are taken out of that before being distributed, which is where an executor is involved. Inheritance tax is paid by the “estate†not by the beneficiaries. Sounds like leaving Spanish assets to a UK resident could be very problematic as thay would have to deal with the Spanish tax system. The two systems are totally different. Sounds like leaving Spanish assets to a UK resident is difficult for the legatee as they would have to deal with the Spanish tax system. |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Mustard
(Post 12729200)
So if hypothetically I have 'bienes' in Spain of 200,00 and leave 100,000 to my girlfriend in Spain and 100,00 to my brother in England, they both have to complete tax forms which decides how much they will receive, depending on various factors. In the meantime, who is sitting on the money and administering the assets if the concept of Executor doesn't exist?
Sounds like leaving Spanish assets to a UK resident is difficult for the legatee as they would have to deal with the Spanish tax system. I think the assets just 'sit' there. Any property can't be sold until taxes have been paid. Any cash is held in the banks. |
Re: Question re making a will
Originally Posted by Mustard
(Post 12729200)
So if hypothetically I have 'bienes' in Spain of 200,00 and leave 100,000 to my girlfriend in Spain and 100,00 to my brother in England, they both have to complete tax forms which decides how much they will receive, depending on various factors. In the meantime, who is sitting on the money and administering the assets if the concept of Executor doesn't exist?
Sounds like leaving Spanish assets to a UK resident is difficult for the legatee as they would have to deal with the Spanish tax system. It really can be difficult and costly for a UK legatee to receive an inheritance of assets in Spain. A friend of ours inherited a house in Spain from her brother (he had no closer relatives). She also inherited his UK property and savings - luckily, because she was able to get probate in the UK quite quickly and use that money to pay the Spanish inheritance tax within six months of his death. The Spanish inheritance tax was quite substantial, even on a house valued at under €100,000k, she also had to pay plus valia to the Ayuntamiento on the "official" increase in the value of the land the property was built on, and of course she had to pay a lawyer to sort everything out for her. It all took well over a year. A child inheriting a Spanish house from a parent would pay less inheritance tax as they are in a different group for Spanish IHT purposes, having a closer degree of relationship. Leaving it to a girlfriend, though, would mean an even higher IHT bill for her as she would be classed as a person unrelated to the deceased and therefore would not be entitled to claim any tax allowance to offset against the IHT due. |
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