Spain · Planning ahead
Planning ahead for succession in Spain
Four fixed-fee written opinions for people living in Spain — or holding Spanish assets — who want to understand their position before anything happens. Each one reviewed and signed personally by Colin Carroll.
1 · Who inherits if I die in Spain?
The planning-ahead version of our Inheritance Entitlement opinion — the same analysis we produce after a death, applied to your situation while you can still act. You receive: which law governs your estate (Brussels IV), forced-heirship exposure under the legítima, heir mapping with fractions, matrimonial-regime confirmation, a habitual-residence assessment, and recommendations. Spain adds a question the other countries don’t have: which Spanish system — the Civil Code or a regional regime such as Catalonia’s, where the reserved share works very differently. The opinion settles it.
Pricing: Standard €750 · Cross-Border €1,100 · Complex €1,650. Change-event reassessment €395.
2 · Should I make a Spanish will?
We draft Spanish wills coordinated with your existing planning, not in competition with it. The usual form is the testamento abierto, signed before a Spanish notary and registered automatically in the central wills registry — which is why a Spanish will is found immediately when it matters. Included: advice on which law governs, a correctly worded Brussels IV Article 22 choice-of-law election, coordination with your existing will so neither revokes the other, and a bilingual draft ready for the notary.
The Four-Step Will Test: (1) who inherits right now; (2) your preferences mapped against the legal constraints; (3) the will draft, every clause explained; (4) the analysis re-run with your new will — before and after, side by side.
Combined fee: from €1,200 + VAT. (Notary fees are paid directly to the notary.)
3 · What does my marriage mean for inheritance?
Your matrimonial property regime decides what is already your spouse’s before inheritance even begins — and in Spain the default depends on where you are: gananciales (community of gains) under the Civil Code, separation of property by default in Catalonia. A written opinion identifies your regime, classifies your assets, and sets out what happens on death. Essential for mixed-nationality couples, second marriages, and anyone who married abroad.
Pricing: Standard €750 · Cross-Border €1,100.
4 · Your UK trust in Europe — does it still work?
European countries treat UK trusts very differently — Italy recognises them; Portugal tolerates them (no trust law, but distributions are taxed); France taxes them heavily; Spain looks through them. This Cross-Border Structure Advisory covers whether your structure works where you live, what it costs you, and the local alternatives. We don’t set up trusts, act as trustees, or advise on how your structure is taxed.
Pricing (ex-VAT): Add-on €800 (PT/ES) / €1,000 (FR/IT) · Standalone €1,200 (PT/ES) / €1,500 (FR/IT) · Multi-jurisdiction €2,000 (PT/ES) / €2,500 (FR/IT).
Who prepares your work
Your work is signed personally by Colin Carroll — a dual-qualified solicitor, admitted in both England and Ireland, who has lived and worked on the European continent for twenty-five years. Today he is the registered, insured lawyer with the Ordem dos Advogados (the Portuguese Bar) and the bars of Spain, Italy and France, under EU Directive 98/5/EC, with professional-indemnity insurance in each country of practice.
Related guides
Who inherits under Spanish law?
Spanish forced heirship (the legítima) reserves two-thirds of the estate for the children, with a life interest for the surviving spouse — but foreign nationals can usually choose their own national law under Brussels IV, and several regions have very different rules.
Read the guide →
Catalan legítima vs Spanish legítima — which applies to my Catalan property?
In Catalonia the legítima is only one-quarter of the estate and is a monetary claim against the heirs, not a share of the assets — fundamentally different from the two-thirds reserved share of Spain’s common Civil Code. Which applies depends on regional citizenship, not where the property is.
Read the guide →
Can I choose English law for my Portuguese or Spanish estate? (Brussels IV)
Under the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV) a British or Irish national can elect the law of their nationality in their will instead of the forced-heirship rules of Portugal, Spain, Italy or France — English law gives full freedom; Irish law protects a spouse’s share. It decides who inherits — not the tax.
Read the guide →