Spanish Wills for Non-Residents: Do You Need One?

The Short Answer

You are not legally required to have a separate Spanish will if you own property in Spain. Under EU Succession Regulation 650/2012, a properly drawn home-country will can be used in Spain. However, in practice, making a simple Spanish will that covers your Spanish assets is almost always the right choice. Here is why.

The Problem With Relying Solely on a Foreign Will

When someone dies and their estate includes property in Spain, the Spanish part of the process requires a Spanish notary to act. If the only will is a foreign one — British, German, Dutch, American — the following must happen before the notary can proceed:

1. Obtain the original (or certified copy) of the foreign will
2. Have the document apostilled under the Hague Convention
3. Have it translated into Spanish by a certified traductor jurado (sworn translator)
4. Have it formally recognised by the Spanish notary as valid under the applicable law
5. In some cases, obtain a European Certificate of Succession or equivalent

Steps 1–4 typically add four to eight weeks to the Spanish inheritance process and can add €500–€1,500 in costs. In contested estates, the complications can be far greater.

A Spanish will short-circuits this entirely. The notary searches the Registro Central de Última Voluntad, finds the Spanish will immediately, and can proceed to administer the Spanish estate without waiting for anything from abroad.

EU Succession Regulation 650/2012: Choosing Your Home Country Law

The EU Succession Regulation (applicable since August 2015 in all EU member states except Denmark and Ireland) introduced a significant right for EU residents and property owners: the ability to choose that the law of your nationality governs the succession of all your assets, regardless of where they are located.

Default rule: without a choice of law, the law of the country where you were habitually resident at death applies to your whole estate. For a German national habitually resident in Germany who owns a Mallorca villa, German law would apply by default to the whole estate — including the Mallorca property.

Election: you can make a formal election in your will that your national law applies. For a German national, this means German law governs even the Mallorca property.

Practical implications:

• If you choose your home country law, Spanish forced heirship rules (legítima) do not apply to your Spanish property — your home country's freedom of testamentary disposition applies instead
• This is particularly valuable for UK nationals (who have near-total testamentary freedom) and US nationals
• For German nationals, whose own forced heirship rules are broadly similar to Spain's, the practical difference may be less significant

How to Make a Spanish Will

Making a Spanish will is simple:

1. Engage a Spanish notary — or ask your Spanish lawyer to arrange it. Any notary in Spain can take a will; you do not need to use a notary in Mallorca if you happen to be in Madrid.
2. Bring your passport and NIE number — identification is required
3. Instruct the notary on your wishes — the will should cover your Spanish assets specifically, and ideally include a law-of-nationality election under EU Regulation 650/2012 if you want to apply your home country's succession rules
4. Sign in front of the notary — the notary witnesses, countersigns, and registers the will
5. The will is automatically registered in the Registro Central de Actos de Última Voluntad in Madrid — this is the national registry that Spanish notaries search first when administering any estate

Cost: approximately €130–€200 including the registration fee.

A foreign-language Spanish will is possible — the notary can explain the document in English or German — but the signed deed will be in Spanish.

What Your Spanish Will Should Cover

A well-drafted Spanish will for a non-resident property owner typically:

• Identifies the Spanish assets (the property by finca registral number, any Spanish bank accounts)
• Nominates the heirs for the Spanish assets
• Includes the EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 law-of-nationality choice if applicable
• Confirms that the Spanish will is a limited will for Spanish assets only, and does not revoke any home-country will covering other assets
• Names an albacea (executor) if desired — though this is optional in Spain

That last point is important: your Spanish will should explicitly state that it covers only your Spanish assets and does not revoke or supersede your home-country will. Without this, the most recent will anywhere could be interpreted as revoking earlier wills.

What Happens Without Any Will: Spanish Intestacy

If someone dies without a valid will covering their Spanish property, their Spanish estate is distributed under Spanish intestacy rules (sucesión ab intestato). The order of priority is:

1. Children (in equal shares)
2. Parents (if no children)
3. Spouse (has right to usufruct of one-third of estate if children exist; inherits outright if no children or parents)
4. Siblings and then more distant relatives
5. The Spanish State (as last resort)

The intestacy process requires the notary to issue an auto de declaración de herederos, which is more complex, slower, and more expensive than administering a testate estate.

Interaction With Home-Country Wills

• UK wills: valid for Spanish property if apostilled and translated; can be used in Spain but adds delay. Post-Brexit UK is outside the EU Succession Regulation but wills drawn under it remain valid in Spain. A Spanish will is still recommended for practical efficiency.
• German wills: Germany is an EU member state. A German will with a law-of-nationality election works well for Spanish property, but a parallel Spanish will still saves time in administration.
• US/Canadian wills: outside the EU regulation. These can be used in Spain but must be apostilled and translated. A Spanish will is particularly valuable for US and Canadian owners.