SPANISH PROBATE
The starting point is always a search of the Wills Registry in Spain. The results of the search will either be (i) no [Spanish] Will made, or (ii) if a [Spanish] Will was made, when and where it was made.
What the cost is of getting that search done depends on the circumstances.
If the deceased died in Spain, assuming that the client has the full name, the address of the property the deceased had in Spain and the address where the deceased died, (if different), and the names of the parents, the cost of getting a Spanish death certificate and then a certificate from the Wills Registry is £250.00 in fees, with no VAT needing to be added on top because Anglo-Spanish Law is not VAT registered, plus some disbursements amounting to around just £10.00.
If the deceased died in England and the client has got an original English death certificate that can be used by Anglo-Spanish Law, the cost of getting the English death certificate officially translated into Spanish and legalised for use in Spain, plus then get a certificate from the Wills Registry in Spain is £155.00 in fees, (with no VAT on top), plus disbursements totalling around £70.00.
If done by Anglo-Spanish Law in England as something approaching a stand-alone service, (and normally it won't be done by Anglo-Spanish Law, but rather by the lawyer in Spain handling the Spanish end of the matter), once there is either an original Spanish death certificate or an original English death certificate plus translation accepted by the Spanish authorities, and, in either case, an original certificate from the Spanish Wills Registry indicating that there is a Spanish Will, the next step is to get an authentic copy of that Spanish Will from the notary who has the relevant protocol. The cost in fees is £175.00 for drafting the appropriate form of authorisation and liaising with the Spanish notary's office, plus £75.00 notarisation fee, plus disbursements of £35.50 for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, plus the fees of the Spanish notary, which depend on the length of the Will and when it was made, but which, as a very rough guide, is likely to come to around £50.00, plus approximately £10.00 for the registered / signed for post to Spain.
The cost of implementing the Spanish Will depends on the content, but assuming that the estate in Spain is an immovable property like an apartment or a villa, plus a bank account, then the fees of Anglo-Spanish Law are around £1,500.00 plus the cost of a power of attorney to be granted by the beneficiaries in favour of a legal team in Spain, (for the cost of which click on Spanish powers of attorney), plus disbursements, which include the fees of the abogado in Spain, the notary in Spain, the property registrar in Spain, possibly the valuer in Spain, (if one is instructed to give a valuation), plus whatever taxes might be payable.
The fees of the notary and the property registrar are fixed by law, as are, of course, the taxes payable. Spanish inheritance taxes are a detailed topic of their own, and suffice it to say that they are calculated in accordance with a complicated table that progressively taxes more those who receive more and are more distantly related, if related at all, to the deceased. Spanish inheritance taxes do not have a single rate applicable to the estate as a whole.
If there is no Spanish Will and the deceased is English, then the Spanish probate consists of either implementing the English Will, if one exists, or applying the English rules of intestacy, if the deceased died without having made a valid Will. It is not possible to give any meaningful indication of the cost, because too much depends on the circumstances, but the hourly rate is a very competitive £65.00 an hour with no VAT on top because Anglo-Spanish Law is not VAT registered.
All probates take several months to do, even in the best of circumstances, and sometimes take longer.
Phone Mr Wagner on 01433-631508, preferably between 9.30 am and 2.00 pm Monday to Friday, for detailed written terms and conditions of business to be sent to you.
For those interested the topic, Mr Wagner researched English and Spanish Succession Law and Practice, plus gave suggestions for reform. His dissertation for the masters degree awarded in 2006 is to be found as a pdf document entitled A comparison of English and Spanish succession law and practice: suggestions for reform of the English model . Click on the link.
The jobs of doing English probates and doing Spanish powers of attorney are done in Mr Wagner's capacity as an English notary regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. For more details click Home page.Spanish probates are done in his capacity as a Spanish lawyer and is not regulated by the Faculty Office.