Emmaandrichi

Hello!

I am British, he is Spanish. We shall marry in the next few years. But until then, we want to create wills to protect each other. As I understand it, I need to write one in the UK and he in Spain, is that correct?
Our assets are simple; just a lump sum ISA saving, no children, no debts and soon a caravan (kept on some rented land).
Our circumstances will likely change a lot in the next few years as I will move and settle more permanently to Madrid province with him. I have read it is important to update the will when things change so I am unsure how drastic a change is to affect a will where I really just want to stipulate "leave it all to him".

Any advice would be welcome as the complexity seems to be in the fact we are of different nationalities and currently unwed.

Many thanks

missile

Makes no odds whether you are married or not. I would advise you each write two wills one in UK and one in Spain.

Obviously you cannot will things which belong to him and vice versa. If your only asset is an ISA, it belongs to whomever is named. Whose name is the ISA in?

Be careful who you nominate as executor.

Emmaandrichi

Thank you for responding.

The ISA is mine. We are planning to buy the caravan and all other future property in both our names, would this protect us?

What is an executor? Is it the same as a witness?

My partner has no status or relationship with Britain other than occasionally visiting me, so I don't see the point in him writing one here.
However, I will be transitioning into full residency in Spain so am wondering how it works...for example: in my English will I would write the ISA; in my Spanish one I would write the caravan?

missile

Hi,
If your only asset is an ISA, I doubt it is worth the hassle and cost of writing wills. Rather than trusting to information on an internet forum, I would suggest you speak with a solicitor. Most offer a free initial consultation.
Executor is the person you nominate to carry out distribution of your assets after your death. Not the same a s witness.
The purpose of two wills is to address the complication for those who have assets in UK and Spain.

chopera

It's probably worth making a will anyway, just to save your family a load of hassle if you die. When you move to Spain you'll probably need to either freeze or cash in your ISA, as they aren't recognised in Spain. Also when you move it might be worth making a declaration in front of a notario in Spain, saying that you want that will to be applied to your estate upon your death. Your boyfriend's estate will probably be subject to Spanish law though. Most Spaniards don't make wills because the law dictates who inherits what. For that reason, and many others, it really is worth getting married or declaring yourselves a "pareja de hecho" ASAP after moving to Spain. In doing so you should automatically become the main inheritor under Spanish law, if your partner dies, and you might receive other benefits such as a widows allowance from the Spanish government.

Lynn R

Nobody has yet mentioned Spanish inheritance tax. IHT would not be a problem as far as your UK assets are concerned, but in Spain an unmarried partner would be treated as a Group 4 beneficiary, ie not related to the deceased at all, and thus not entitled to any tax allowance against the value of the inheritance. Some regions do recognise "pareja de hecho" status for this purpose, but you would have to go through the relevant process to officially register your partnership even if the region where you will be living is one of those.

As well as not being entitled to any tax allowances on an inheritance, for a Group 4 beneficiary there is also a multiplier factor of 2.00 on IHT, meaning that the amount of tax payable is doubled.

Spanish IHT has to be paid within six months of the death otherwise penalties for late payment accrue, and the assets cannot be transferred into the name of the beneficiary until the IHT has been paid.

https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/spa...nheritance-tax

Lynn R

Actually, if your unmarried partner was tax resident in Spain and inherited your UK ISA, he would be liable to pay Spanish IHT on that too, as well as on your half of any assets you own jointly in Spain.