If you own a Spanish property, hold a Spanish bank account, or run a Sociedad Limitada — and you have a UK or US will sitting in a London or New York drawer — you have a quiet succession problem. EU Regulation 650/2012 (“Brussels IV”, in force since August 2015) changed the rules on which country’s succession law governs your estate, and Spanish forced-heirship rules can override the testamentary freedom you assumed your home will protected. The fix is technical, low-cost, and completely fixable in two notarial appointments — but only if you do it before death. This is the 2025 working guide for cross-border estates with a Spanish leg.
What EU Regulation 650/2012 actually does
For deaths from 17 August 2015 onwards, succession to your worldwide estate is governed by the law of your country of habitual residence at death, unless you elect otherwise. Two consequences for foreign owners of Spanish assets:
- British, American or other non-EU citizen who has become habitually resident in Spain → Spanish succession law applies to your worldwide estate by default. Spain’s legítima (forced heirship) rules apply to children and surviving spouse. You cannot freely leave everything to one beneficiary.
- Foreign owner who has not become habitually resident (holiday-home, rental investor) → succession law of the country of habitual residence applies, but Spanish authorities still need a Spanish process to release the Spanish assets.
Either way, the Regulation gives you the right to make a professio iuris — a formal written election in your will that the law of your country of nationality governs your succession instead of your habitual residence. That election is recognised by every Spanish notary and registry; it is the cleanest way for a UK national to keep English testamentary freedom over their Spanish villa.
Why a Spanish will is still needed even with the election
Even if you elect English (or California, or German) law, the process of inheriting Spanish assets happens in Spain. Spanish notaries must issue a declaración de herederos or accept a testamento, registries change ownership, banks release funds. A standalone English will can be used, but only after a long apostille + sworn translation + recognition cycle, often 6–12 months.
A separate Spanish will covering only the Spanish assets, with a clean professio iuris clause electing your home-country succession law where you want it, cuts that process from 6–12 months to 4–8 weeks. The two wills sit alongside each other — neither revokes the other, provided each is drafted to refer to the assets it governs.
| Approach | Time to release Spanish assets | Cost (executor side) | Family conflict risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK/US will only, no Spanish will | 6–12 months, sometimes longer | High (apostille, translation, court order) | High — heirs in limbo |
| UK/US will + Spanish will (no professio iuris) | 4–8 weeks | Modest | Spain’s legítima may override your wishes |
| UK/US will + Spanish will + professio iuris election | 4–8 weeks | Modest | Low — your home law governs distribution |
The Spanish forced-heirship rule (and why the election matters)
Spain’s Civil Code reserves a fixed share of every estate for the legítima beneficiaries — descendants get two-thirds (one of which can be allocated unequally), surviving spouse has usufruct rights. You cannot disinherit a child without a narrow legal cause.
Several Spanish autonomous communities (Cataluña, País Vasco, Aragón, Galicia, Navarra, Baleares) have their own derecho civil foral with different rules — Cataluña’s legítima is one-quarter, Navarra has near-total freedom. The community of habitual residence determines which set applies.
For a UK or US testator who values testamentary freedom (often “one child gets the villa, the other gets the cash, third gets nothing because they were estranged for 20 years”), the legítima is a real constraint if you didn’t elect home-country law. The professio iuris is the simplest fix.
How the Spanish will is executed
A Spanish will (testamento abierto — “open will”) is drafted by a notary based on your instructions, signed before the notary, and automatically registered in the Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad (the central wills registry in Madrid). On death, the registry confirms within days whether a will exists and where it is held. Costs: notary fee 60–150 €, plus translator if you do not work in Spanish.
A testamento ológrafo (holographic will) — handwritten in full and signed — is also valid in Spain but needs court probate after death and adds 3–6 months. We never recommend it for foreign owners; the cost saving is meaningless against the delay.
What the Spanish will should and should not say
Best practice is a narrow Spanish will that:
- Identifies the Spanish assets it governs (property, bank accounts, securities, SL shares).
- Contains the professio iuris election if applicable: “Pursuant to Article 22 of EU Regulation 650/2012, I elect the law of [England and Wales / California / etc.] to govern the succession to my entire estate.”
- Names executors (albaceas) for the Spanish leg — usually the same persons named in the home will, plus a Spanish-resident contact for practical handling.
- Mirrors the dispositive provisions of the home will, expressed in terms compatible with both legal systems.
What it should not do:
- Revoke the home will. A Spanish will that says “I revoke all prior wills” without qualification accidentally voids your UK/US will. Always include “this will governs only my Spanish assets and does not affect my [English / Californian / etc.] will dated [date].”
- Conflict with the home will. If the home will says “everything to my spouse” and the Spanish will says “the villa to my daughter”, you have created an estate dispute.
- Omit the professio iuris if you wanted home-country law. Without the express election, Spanish law is the default for habitually-resident testators.
Tax interaction — the Andalucía angle
A will and a tax bill are separate questions. Whoever inherits Spanish assets pays Spanish inheritance tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones, ISD) on the Spanish-located assets, regardless of where the will was made. The rate depends on the autonomous community and the relationship to the deceased.
For Costa del Sol estates, Andalucía’s 99% bonus for spouse/descendant/ascendant heirs is the headline relief — see our Andalucía Inheritance Tax 2024 guide for mechanics. For unrelated heirs or non-Andalusia residents, the rate climbs.
The will structure does not directly reduce ISD, but it controls timing. A clean Spanish will with the election gets the bank accounts unfrozen and the property ownership transferred in 4–8 weeks. A messy single-will scenario can leave heirs paying the tax (with a 6-month statutory deadline) before they have access to the cash that funds the payment.
Common mistakes we fix
- Single-will-with-revocation accidents. Anglo solicitor drafts a “last will and testament” with the standard “revoke all prior wills” clause, then the client signs a Spanish will that does the same. Each one nullifies the other. Always coordinate.
- Stale wills after relocation. UK national becomes habitually resident in Spain in 2018. Did not re-do the will. Dies in 2024. Default Spanish law applies; legítima overrides the original UK testamentary plan. The professio iuris in a Spanish will would have prevented this.
- Holographic wills with foreign witnesses. Handwritten will in Spanish before two friends in Marbella — invalid. Spain does not recognise witnessed wills (only notarial or pure holographic).
- Ignoring the autonomous community of residence. Habitually resident in Cataluña? Catalan legítima applies, not the Civil Code. Different shares, different mechanics. The professio iuris solves this — without it, the wrong rules apply.
- No coordination of executors. Home executor doesn’t know there’s a Spanish will, Spanish executor doesn’t know the home will. The estate stalls.
If you own Spanish assets and have a will from your home country that hasn’t been reviewed for cross-border effect, book a free consultation. The two-will structure with the right professio iuris election is a standard one-week piece of work — and it removes the largest single risk to your family’s inheritance from your Spanish assets.