Spain · Inheritance · Fixed-fee law firm
Registering inherited property into the heirs' names
When someone dies, their Spanish property stays in their name at the land registry until it is formally transferred to the people who inherit. We handle that registration for you — the notarial deed, the tax filing and the Registro de la Propiedad — for a fixed fee, without you leaving home.
You don’t have to become an expert in the Spanish land registry overnight — that’s our job. Registering an inherited property into the heirs’ names is the step that finally puts the home in the family’s name, so it can be kept, transferred or sold.
If you need the whole estate dealt with — proving the heirs, the tax, the bank accounts as well as the property — that is our succession administration service, and the registration is included in that fixed fee.
What we do
We take the heirs through the notarial deed of acceptance and adjudication (escritura de aceptación y adjudicación de herencia) and register the inherited property into their names at the Spanish land registry (Registro de la Propiedad), with all the supporting documentation and official procedures handled for you, and the title confirmed clean once the transfer is complete.
- We check the existing registry and tax records for the property, and put right any gaps that would hold the transfer up.
- We prepare the notarial deed by which the heirs accept and adjudicate the property, and obtain Spanish tax numbers (NIE) for the heirs.
- We make the inheritance-tax filing (the Impuesto de Sucesiones) and the plusvalía municipal the transfer requires, and obtain the tax clearance.
- We submit the registration to the Registro de la Propiedad and see it through to a clean, confirmed title in the heirs’ names.
We act for you under a power of attorney, so you never need to travel to Spain, and everything is handled in plain English.
When it's included, and when it's a service on its own
When we settle the whole Spanish estate for you, registering the property into the heirs’ names is part of that fixed fee — there is no separate charge.
This page is for the times you need the registration on its own: a Spanish property your home-country lawyer is administering as part of an estate abroad, an additional Spanish property, or a title that was simply never transferred into the heirs’ names after an earlier death.
A typical situation
David’s father had died some years ago, and the family had dealt with the English estate at the time — but the small apartment on the Costa Blanca was never put into the children’s names, and now they wanted to sell it. There was nothing else left to do in Spain; they just needed the title moved across. We obtained the missing documents, took the children through the notarial deed, made the tax filings, and registered the apartment into the three children’s names — ready to sell — without any of them travelling.
Our fee
A fixed fee, agreed in writing before we start, with third-party costs (the notary, registry and tax fees) shown separately — never folded into our fee.
- Included when we are settling the estate for you — registering the property into the heirs’ names is part of that fixed fee, with no separate charge.
- €1,500 + VAT as a standalone instruction — where the estate is being handled elsewhere, there is an additional property, or a title was never transferred after an earlier death. (Spain needs the notarial deed, which Portugal’s registry route does not, so the standalone fee is a little higher than Portugal’s.)
VAT is charged at the Spanish rate (currently 21%) and always shown separately, so our fee is clear.
How long it takes
Once the deed is signed and the tax filings are made, the registry itself typically completes the transfer within a few weeks of submission. We coordinate directly with the notario and the Registro de la Propiedad and keep you updated at each stage.
Common questions
How much does it cost to register inherited property in Spain?
When we settle the whole estate for you, registration is included in that fixed fee — no separate charge. As a standalone instruction it is €1,500 + VAT. (Spain needs the notarial deed, which Portugal's registry route does not, so the standalone fee is a little higher than Portugal's €1,200.)
Do I need to travel to Spain to register the property?
No. We act under a power of attorney and take the heirs through the notarial deed and the Registro de la Propiedad remotely, in plain English.
How long does registering inherited property in Spain take?
Once the notarial deed is signed and the tax filings are made, the registry typically completes the transfer within a few weeks of submission. We coordinate with the notario and the Registro de la Propiedad and keep you updated.