Legal & Tax · 10 min

Spanish Will: Why Every Property Owner Needs One (and How to Get It)

7 June 2026 · Hansson & Hertzell

If you own property in Spain and die without a Spanish will, your heirs face months of delays, double legal costs, and international bureaucracy. Here's why a Spanish will is essential and how to get one in an afternoon.

If you own Spanish property, you need a Spanish will. It's not legally mandatory — but the cost of not having one falls entirely on your heirs, at the worst possible time. A Spanish will costs €200–300, takes two hours to prepare and sign, and can save your family months of international bureaucratic nightmare.

Here's exactly why it matters and how to get one.

Why Your Home Country Will Isn't Enough

Many property owners assume their existing will — made in the UK, Sweden, or elsewhere — will handle their Spanish property when they die. It will eventually — but the process is dramatically more complicated, more expensive, and much slower without a Spanish will.

Here's what happens without a Spanish will:

1. Your heirs must obtain a certified copy of the foreign will
2. It must be apostilled (formally authenticated for international use)
3. It must be translated by a sworn translator into Spanish
4. A Spanish lawyer must interpret the foreign will under Spanish succession law
5. The Spanish courts must validate it before the property can transfer
6. This process typically takes 6–18 months and costs several thousand euros in legal fees

With a Spanish will, all that vanishes. A Spanish notary already has a copy registered with Spain's Central Wills Registry (Registro Central de Últimas Voluntades). Your heirs present the death certificate, the notary confirms the will's existence and content, and the inheritance process can begin within days.

EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV)

Since 2015, EU Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV) gives EU citizens the right to choose which country's succession law applies to their estate — either their country of residence or their country of nationality. UK citizens (post-Brexit) are not covered by Brussels IV but can still make a Spanish will specifying that Spanish succession law governs the Spanish estate.

Practically: if you are Swedish and living in Sweden, you can nominate Swedish succession law to apply to your Spanish property — simplifying matters for your heirs. Your Spanish lawyer can advise on the optimal choice for your specific family and asset situation.

What Makes a Spanish Will Different?

A Spanish will (testamento) is drafted by a Spanish lawyer (or your notary directly), reviewed with you line by line, and then signed before a Spanish notary. The notary keeps the original and gives you a certified copy. The will is immediately registered with Spain's Central Wills Registry.

Spanish wills are prepared in two columns — Spanish and your language (English, Swedish, etc.) — and signed before a bilingual notary or with an official interpreter. The whole process typically takes two hours at the notary's office.

A Spanish will can be as simple or detailed as required:

• "I leave my Spanish property to [person] absolutely" is a valid and common structure
• It can include conditions, trusts, substitution clauses, or usufruct (life interest) arrangements
• It can nominate an executor (albacea) for the Spanish estate

Cost of a Spanish Will

A straightforward Spanish will costs approximately €200–400 in total:

• Notary fee: €90–150 (set by the Spanish government's notary fee schedule)
• Lawyer preparation fee: €150–250
• Translation (if needed): €100–150

This is not expensive. The cost of not having one — in professional fees, delays, and stress for your heirs — is typically 10–20x higher.

What a Spanish Will Covers

Your Spanish will should cover all your Spanish assets:

• Spanish property (all properties, including any future acquisitions if the will is broadly drafted)
• Spanish bank accounts
• Spanish investments or business interests
• Spanish vehicles (if registered in Spain)

It should NOT try to deal with your non-Spanish assets — that's what your home-country will handles. Keep them separate.

Usufruct and Spanish Succession Planning

One distinctly Spanish succession planning tool is the usufruct — the right to use and benefit from property during your lifetime without owning it outright. A common arrangement: a husband leaves the bare ownership (nuda propiedad) of the Spanish property to the children, and the usufruct to the surviving spouse. The spouse can continue living in or renting the property for life; ownership passes automatically to the children on the spouse's death. This arrangement can significantly reduce inheritance tax exposure.

Updating Your Spanish Will

A Spanish will should be reviewed whenever your circumstances change significantly:

• After marriage or divorce
• After the birth or death of a beneficiary
• If you buy additional Spanish property
• If succession law changes (EU or Spanish)
• Every 5–10 years as a general review

A new Spanish will automatically revokes all previous Spanish wills (unless it explicitly says otherwise), so updating is straightforward.

Getting a Spanish Will: The Process

1. Brief your Spanish lawyer. Explain your family situation, who you want to inherit, and any specific wishes.
2. Lawyer prepares the will draft. Usually within a few days.
3. Review the draft with your lawyer — ask questions, request changes.
4. Book a notary appointment — typically available within a week.
5. Sign at the notary. Bring your passport and NIE. The notary reads the will aloud (in Spanish and your language), verifies your identity and understanding, and you sign.
6. Will is registered by the notary with the Central Wills Registry automatically.

At Hansson & Hertzell, we work with trusted local lawyers who prepare Spanish wills for our clients — often coordinated alongside the property purchase process, so everything is handled in one trip.