Hi there,

My nan co-owns a small studio in mijas, but her husband passed away last year.

She now just wants to get rid of the property, but I was told by a friend she would have trouble selling it because the spanish government own half now as they did not make a will when they bought it.

Is this right? Does my grandad's half not go to nan?

Any help would be very welcome.

Who on earth told you that?
http://www.velascolawyers.com/en/civ...s-no-will.html

It's never too early to consult a solicitor (or Abogado) and you need to find a good estate agent to advise you.

Unfortunately not
Spouses do not automatically inherit like the UK, plus she is liable for inheritance tax on his worldwide assets, and the house cannot be sold until the tax has been paid
As there is no will the assets will be distributed as per Spanish law
Not making a will causes great problems

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

I think that you Nan will need to pay the tax on half the resale value of the property. A Solicitor can advise you on this.

I very much doubt that there will be any tax to pay. A studio apartment in Mijas is not going to worth a lot and as it is in Andalucia there is a basic allowance against IHT of 175k. In theory, this is only available to residents, but that has been classed as discriminatory by the ECJ and Spain has been told to change the law and allow non residents the same allowances.

The tax office is allowing people to claim the allowance, even though it has not yet been passed into law. Many people have successfully reclaimed IHT paid over the last 4 years.

I do hope this can be sorted out - Some good advice and input here.

Thats good to see

I always thought that if there was no will, the deceased's share of any assets passed 2/3 to the kids and the other 1/3 to the spouse (if the deceased was resident) and was covered by UK law if the deceased was non resident, and only passed to government if there were no living relatives at all. Me and the wife are non resident but own a property in spain - do we still need to make a Spanish will then?

No, in this case UK law would apply. It's not clear here whether there was a UK will, but even if there wasn't, UK intestacy rules would apply, not the Spanish laws as the deceased was from the UK.

That has all changed now with the new EU directive so that unless the will clearly stated the desire to have English law applied, the Spanish law would apply. If there was no Spanish will, then Spanish intestacy laws would apply. The rules about intestacy are different from the usual 1/3 succession laws and can involve more distant relatives. If there are no relatives then it can go to the state which was what the OP was worried about. Of course, as the death was prior to the new laws becoming effective, it should not be a problem, just an inconvenience.

Do you need to make a Spanish will? Well, you don't have to, but it has always been recommended that you do so for any property or assets in Spain, especially since the new laws came in last month.