Wills and Inheritance in Spain for Britons: Which Law and Tax Apply

Wills and inheritance in Spain work differently from England, Scotland and Wales. Spanish law protects certain relatives through forced shares, and a notary rather than a court drafts and registers the will. Which country’s law applies when a Briton dies depends mostly on where the person lived, not on the passport. Spain and the UK each tax an estate on different grounds, and no treaty between them covers inheritance. The rules below follow the official pages and say where the pages are silent. This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice; verify current requirements with the relevant Spanish authority or a licensed professional.

Which country’s law will decide who inherits?

For deaths on or after August 17, 2015, Regulation 650/2012 art 21 says the law of the State where the person had their habitual residence at death governs the whole succession. A Briton who dies living in Spain is therefore governed, in principle, by Spanish succession law. The Regulation allows an exception where the person was clearly more closely connected to another State, and a choice: under art 22, anyone may choose the law of the State whose nationality they hold, at the time of choosing or at death. For a Briton that means UK law. The choice must be made expressly in a will, or follow clearly from its terms. Recital 82 says the UK is not bound, but under art 20 the designated law applies even when it is not an EU State’s law.

The pages do not agree on the default. The Foreign Office page “Planning for later life as a British person in Spain” says nationality usually determines the inheritance law. The Civil Code, art 9.8, still prints the same nationality rule in the consolidated version. The Regulation text itself sets habitual residence as the default. Art 83 applies the Regulation to deaths from August 17, 2015. The official pages read do not explain how art 9.8 and the Regulation interact, and none addresses Britons covered by the Withdrawal Agreement separately from people moving now.

The chosen law covers heirs’ shares, spouse rights, the forced shares called legitimas and the partition of the estate. The Spanish default is strict. Under the Civil Code, the legitima of children and descendants is two thirds of the estate: one third can be allocated to one or more of them (the mejora) and one third is freely disposable. Without descendants, parents or ascendants have a legitima of half the estate, or one third beside a widowed spouse, who unless separated always takes a usufruct, the right to use or draw income from assets owned by others.

Spain’s regional civil laws set different shares. The official pages give Catalonia (one quarter of the base amount), Galicia (one quarter of the net estate), the Basque Country (one third), Aragon (half of the estate, for descendants only, who may be favored unequally), Mallorca (one third for four or fewer children, half for more) and Navarra (a purely formal legitima with no enforceable content). Under Regulation art 36, Spain’s internal rules pick the region, and they turn on regional status, which only Spanish nationals hold, so a Briton in these regions needs advice on which rule counts.

The path of an estate in Spain, step by step

An estate runs on a fixed sequence of dates in Spain, and the tax deadline is short. This is the order for an estate governed by Spanish law, with the UK steps alongside.

1. Day of death. Inheritance rights pass at the moment of death, and acceptance can be pure and simple or with benefit of inventory, which limits the heir’s liability to the value of the estate. It can be express, in a public or private document, or tacit, according to the Civil Code.
2. 15 working days after death. The Ministry of Justice says the Last Wills certificate cannot be requested until 15 working days have passed. It shows whether the person made a will and before which notary, and it is needed for any succession act. The fee, tasa 006, is paid online or with form 790. The Basque Government’s Justice department prints it as 3.86 euros; the Ministry’s own pages read do not print the amount.
3. Will or declaration of heirs. If there is a will, it is used. If not, relatives can request a declaration of heirs from a notary under the Notarial Law, which requires proof of the death and of the absence of a will through the Civil Registry and the Last Wills registry, plus documents proving kinship and two witnesses.
4. Acceptance. Any interested person can ask a notary to give the heir 30 calendar days to accept or renounce, and silence counts as pure and simple acceptance, according to the Civil Code.
5. Within 5 months. Last date to request the single six month extension of the tax deadline, per the Agencia Tributaria FAQ.
6. 6 months. Modelo 650 is due, counted from the date of death, per the Modelo 650 instructions.
7. UK side. For an estate that owes UK Inheritance Tax, GOV.UK says to report its value on form IHT400 within one year, before probate, and to pay by the end of the sixth month to avoid interest.

Documents issued by UK officials, such as a death certificate, need the Hague apostille and a sworn translation for Modelo 650, per the Agencia Tributaria FAQ. The apostille and sworn translation guide explains both steps. The pages read for this guide do not state notarial fees or the cost of registering an acceptance in the property registry.

How does a Spanish will work, and does your UK will still count?

A Spanish open will (testamento abierto) is made before a notary. The Civil Code says the testator states their last wishes, orally, in writing or by any means, the notary drafts the will accordingly, reads it aloud and has it signed, and the notary attests to the testator’s identity and legal capacity.

Form is a separate question from content. Spain and the UK are both parties to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, according to the HCCH status table (an intergovernmental body, not a Spanish or UK authority). Under the Convention as published in the BOE, a will is formally valid if it follows the internal law of the place where it was made, or of the testator’s nationality, domicile or habitual residence, or for immovable property the place where it is situated.

The official pages read do not say whether an English will covers Spanish assets, and the GOV.UK probate guide is silent on Spain. What the Foreign Office does say is practical: make a Spanish will, state in it whether Spanish or UK inheritance law should apply, and make sure it does not conflict with your UK will. HMRC’s foreign assets form IHT417 also mentions a separate will for the foreign estate.

What does Spanish inheritance tax cost your heirs?

Spain taxes inheritance through the Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones, filed on Modelo 650 with the Agencia Tributaria when the deceased or heir lived abroad, otherwise with the region. Heirs who live outside Spain are taxable only on assets and rights situated, exercisable or to be fulfilled in Spanish territory, and the Modelo 650 instructions require a representative resident in Spain, and the FAQ limits that to heirs outside the EU or EEA. The UK now counts as outside both, so a British heir living in the UK needs a Spanish-resident representative. Heirs resident in Spain are taxed on worldwide assets, and Spain gives them a credit for similar foreign tax: the lower of the foreign tax paid or the effective Spanish rate on the foreign assets.

Which rules apply depends on the residence of the deceased and of the heir. The Agencia Tributaria’s competence table sets the options and cites the Court of Justice judgment of September 3, 2014 (C-127/12), and its FAQ confirms that residents of non-EU countries may also opt for regional rules. If the deceased lived in a Spanish region and the heir does not, the heir can choose state rules or that region’s. If both are non-resident, the choice is state rules or the region holding the most valuable Spanish assets. For residents, the region is where the person spent the most days in the five years before death.

The regional rules can change the result sharply. The Hacienda summary of regional measures for 2026, updated to September 23, 2026, lists a 99 percent bonus for close relatives in Madrid, Andalusia and the Valencian Community on deaths (Groups I and II), 100 percent for the same groups in the Balearic Islands, a 1,000,000 euro allowance for Group II in Galicia and 99 percent for Group I there, and a 99 percent bonus for Group I in Aragon. Group I covers descendants under 21 and Group II spouses, adult descendants and ascendants. Catalonia sets its own allowances, for example 100,000 euros each for a spouse and a child. The summary covers common-regime regions only; the Basque Country and Navarra tax systems are not covered here.

Where no regional rule applies, the state rules in Ley 29/1987 apply. Their allowances come from the 2012 text, which states no later indexation: Group I gets 15,956.87 euros plus 3,990.72 euros for each year under 21 (up to 47,858.59 euros), Group II gets 15,956.87 euros and Group III gets 7,993.46 euros. The scale runs from 7.65 percent to 34 percent, adjusted by a multiplier for the heir’s existing wealth.

Will UK Inheritance Tax still reach you after you move?

Possibly, and for longer than most people expect. Since April 6, 2025, UK Inheritance Tax follows long-term UK residence instead of domicile. GOV.UK says you are a long-term resident if you were UK tax resident for the previous 10 consecutive years, or for 10 years or more within the previous 20. Status lasts for up to 10 tax years after you leave, shorter if you lived in the UK for fewer than the full 20 years: the page’s example gives a 3 year tail for 10 to 13 years of residence, 4 years for 14 and 5 years for 15. Returning after 10 consecutive years of non-residence resets the test.

Once you are outside the long-term resident definition, GOV.UK says UK Inheritance Tax is charged only on UK assets. The standard rate is 40 percent on the estate above the 325,000 pound threshold, and transfers to a spouse, civil partner or charity are generally exempt. That outside-UK page notes the rule was different for deaths on or before April 5, 2025, when it counted 15 of the last 20 years.

The risk is double taxation. HMRC’s list of inheritance tax conventions names Ireland, South Africa, the USA, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, among others. Spain is not on it. The 2013 UK-Spain convention, in its article 2, covers income, corporation and capital gains taxes in the UK and income, corporate, non-resident income and wealth taxes in Spain, and neither list names inheritance tax. HMRC’s Spain treaties page lists that convention and no estate treaty. Where no agreement exists, HMRC may give unilateral relief, a credit against UK Inheritance Tax for tax charged by another country on assets sited there, capped at the UK tax on that asset.

What else do Spain-resident heirs have to report?

Heirs and legatees who must file Modelo 720, the declaration of assets abroad, must report from tacit or express acceptance of the inheritance, according to the Agencia Tributaria FAQ, updated in February 2025. The usual thresholds still apply; the Modelo 720 guide covers them.

What to do next, and when to bring in a lawyer

You can do three things alone: ask a notary for the Spanish will appointment, check the long-term resident test on GOV.UK against your own residence years, and list where your assets sit in the UK and in Spain. The Agencia Tributaria pages are the reference for deadlines.

Bring in a lawyer who works in both systems when you hold a UK will you want to keep, when you want to choose UK law under the Regulation, when you own property in a region with its own civil law, or when an heir lives outside Spain and needs a representative. Because the 6 month tax deadline runs from the date of death, heirs should ask for the extension early. The tax return guide for UK income and assets, the guide to buying property in Spain and the guide to leaving UK tax residence cover the overlap with these questions. The Spain Navigator puts every step of your move to Spain in order, from the visa to settling in.