Original Death Certificate. This should preferably be an “International Death Certificate” issued by larger Registries and prepared in 2-3 different languages. If an International Death Certificate is not available, then you must obtain the “Apostille” (see below) on the back of the ordinary Death Certificate and a translation into Spanish by a sworn translator.

Original Last Will and Testament. This should ideally be the Last Will and Testament prepared here in Spain. If there is no Spanish Will, then you should produce the original of the British Will with “Apostille” and a translation into Spanish by a sworn translator.

A Certificate of Probate issued by the High Court in your country of nationality, with “Apostille” and Spanish translation by a sworn translator will also be required.

“Certificado de Ultimas Voluntades” issued by Madrid, confirming whether or not there is a Will and Testament in Spain. The Notary will normally apply for this Certificate on receipt of the original Death Certificate. This generally takes approximately 6 weeks to arrive.

Escritura or other proof of ownership of property left by the deceased. Remember that, as well as property, the deceased person may also have owned other assets, such as plots of land, motor vehicle(s), bank account etc. All these items must be included in your Inheritance Declaration, otherwise you may have problems at a later date in selling the assets as they will not be in your name.

Once all the documents are assembled, you and any other heirs must then sign the official Escritura accepting (or renouncing) the Inheritance in front of the Spanish Notary. The value to be declared should be the approximate market value of the property or asset – too low a value will incur later penalties from the Tax Office.

Based on the value declared in the Escritura, a self-declaration of the Inheritance Tax must be prepared and the amount paid within the 6 months allocated after the date of death.

The amount of tax payable depends on several factors, details of which can be found in our Spanish Inheritance & Gift Tax section.

Source: HR Consultants