Wills & Inheritance

We advise all of our clients with assets in Spain to make a Spanish Will

This guarantees the inheritance procedure is straightforward and less costly. We will arrange a consultation with you and any family members, in order to understand and help achieve your wishes. We will also run through all legal and tax queries you may have.

At Sun Lawyers we like to personally meet with our clients to discuss their particular situation, as very few situations are exactly the same. We understand this is a very sensitive subject and want to make the whole process as easy as possible.

Updating an existing Will

We recommend reviewing your existing Will every 8-10 years OR when a significant change happens in your life like a marriage, separation or bereavement.

Have you owned your property in Spain for about 10 years? If you made a Spanish Will at the time of purchasing, it is prudent to arrange a Will review. This is because time doesn’t stand still, and people and relationships change. For example:

✓ Have your circumstances changed?

✓ Have there been any changes to your wider family?

✓ Has your marital status changed since you made your last Will?

✓ Do you own a property in Spain with a partner, but you are not married?

✓ Have there been any new family members?

✓ Do you have a Will made at home made pre-Brexit, that includes a property in Spain and/or other Spanish assets?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it is important you consider updating your Will.

It is recommended that a Will is updated every 10 years to ensure it is current and reflects your wishes today, including your choice of executors and beneficiaries. Otherwise, your assets in Spain may go to people that you no longer want to benefit from your estate.

We can arrange a review of your Will and update it if necessary. If you change your Spanish Will you will need to make a small update to any other Wills to reflect the date the new Spanish Will was made.

Wills made during the Spanish Emergency Lockdown are no longer valid

Understandably, at the height of the pandemic and during lockdown, clients without a Will but with assets in Spain were concerned what would happen to their Spanish home were COVID-19 to claim them. In response, we devised a mechanism for emergency Wills to be drafted, signed and validated. We offered this service on a complimentary basis. But there was less rigour in place than during ‘normal’ times.

These emergency Wills were for the emergency situation we faced. But that time has now passed, and these Wills are invalid and should not be relied on anymore.

What should I do if I made an emergency Will in Spain?

The good news is that it is quick and easy to arrange a new Spanish Will. We can help you create a revised Will with the same arrangements. If you need to update your Will to reflect any changed circumstances, we can do that too. All you need to do is contact us