Portugal · Spain · Italy · France · Fixed-fee law firm
What will it cost?
Settling an estate in any of our four countries costs a fixed fee — agreed in writing before we start. No hourly meter, no surprise bill at the end. Most estates fall into one of four shapes; the ladder below prices each shape in each country, and every figure links to its full page.
Carroll Law is a law firm dedicated to inheritance and estate work in Portugal, Spain, Italy and France for families living abroad. Every estate is different, but in our experience most fall into one of four shapes. Whichever fits — and whichever country — the fee is fixed and agreed in writing before any work begins, and the official costs paid to other people are always shown to you separately — never folded into our fee.
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. Everything is handled in plain English, with no need for you to travel.
Four countries, one clear ladder
The same four shapes, priced for each country we practise in — every figure fixed and agreed in writing before work begins (+ VAT; third-party costs separate). This page walks through Portugal in detail; each country has its own full page.
| Portugal | Spain | Italy | France | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer a property after a death | €4,000 + VAT | €4,500 + VAT | €5,000 + VAT | €5,000 + VAT |
| Settle the whole estate | €4,500 | €5,250 | €6,000 | €6,000 |
| Cross-border (two legal systems) | €6,500–€8,500 | €7,500–€9,500 | €8,500–€10,500 | €9,500–€12,000 |
| Complex estates | from €15,000 | from €16,000 | from €17,500 | from €20,000 |
| Portugal in full | Spain in full | Italy in full | France in full |
France’s fees sit alongside the notaire’s state-regulated tariff, which is separate — we obtain and explain the notaire’s estimate at the outset.
What every inheritance estate includes
Whichever of the four situations below fits, every estate we handle includes the same care, for one fixed fee agreed in writing before we start:
- A named lawyer — Colin Carroll — personally accountable and signing your work
- A video meeting for all the heirs together, so everyone hears the same explanation
- Tax numbers (NIF) for the heirs — up to four included
- The inheritance tax return prepared and filed (the Imposto do Selo)
- Proving who the heirs are (the habilitação de herdeiros)
- Registering the property into the heirs’ names
- One vehicle re-registered to the heir entitled
- All translations, done in-house
- We act for you under power of attorney — no need to travel
- Progress updates at every step, and a fixed fee agreed before we start
Which situation is yours?
Right for you if: the person who died lived outside Portugal — in the UK, for example — owned one home in Portugal, and a solicitor at home is handling the rest.
- We confirm which country's law decides who inherits — usually your home law, when the person lived abroad
- We produce the certificate of that law the notary needs — proving the will, or the home-country rules if there is none
- We liaise with your solicitor at home — their grant runs the home estate, and here it serves as supporting evidence (Portugal has no resealing)
The Portuguese property is the part we handle; your solicitor at home runs the rest. If there is also a Portuguese bank account to release, we can do that alongside for €400 per account (see common extras).
Someone who lived in Portugal
€4,500 + VATRight for you if: the person who died lived in Portugal, with a home and an account here, and nothing abroad.
- We administer the whole estate here in Portugal, from start to finish
- Dividing the estate between the heirs (the partilha)
- Releasing the bank account
- A full account to the heirs at the end
Someone who lived in Portugal — with assets back home too
€6,500 → €8,500 + VATRight for you if: the person lived in Portugal but still had assets back home — a pension, bank accounts or investments abroad — that we join up with the Portuguese estate. (Also you if the person lived abroad but owned more than one property in Portugal.)
- We administer the whole Portuguese estate, including dividing it between the heirs (the partilha)
- Working out which country's law decides who inherits
- Working alongside your home-country solicitor — and bringing one in where a home-country grant is needed
- We bring the assets back home into the picture — a pension, a bank account, a life policy, investments — dealing with the providers
- The Portuguese tax handled — and any tax back home flagged for your tax adviser there
€6,500 for a clean two-country estate; €8,500 where there is more to handle — say an investment portfolio, a pension and a life policy together.
A larger or more complex estate
from €15,000 + VATRight for you if: there is a trust, a business or farm, several properties, or a child or vulnerable person who inherits — anything out of the ordinary.
- The whole estate across both countries, led personally by Colin Carroll
- Trust or company structures untangled across both countries
- The extra court step Portuguese law requires to protect a child or vulnerable person who inherits (a formality, not a dispute)
- Several properties, a business or farm, and any mortgages cleared
- Full tax handled across both countries
Bespoke — a fixed quote agreed after a short call, never an open-ended hourly bill.
About the VAT: it is always shown separately — and where it applies depends on the work and on where you live. For written opinions and other advice, EU law places the tax where the client lives: living outside the EU (the UK or USA, for example) means no VAT is added at all; clients in the EU pay it at the usual rate. Work on the property itself — administering, transferring or selling it — carries the property country’s VAT, wherever you live.
Not sure which one is yours? Which service do I need?
Only a Portuguese bank account to deal with, and no property? You may not need a full estate service — our Bank & Asset Release service handles the account on its own. Tell us what’s happened and we’ll point you the right way.
What is not in our fee
Our fee covers our legal work, and only that. Separately, there are official costs paid to other people — the notary, the Land Registry, any tax, and (outside Portugal) a sworn translation. We always set these out for you up front and keep them apart from our fee — never folded in, never a surprise.
For most families inheriting from a close relative, Portuguese inheritance tax is nil: spouses, children, grandchildren and parents are exempt. You can see the typical third-party costs, item by item, on our full pricing page.
Common extras — each at a fixed price, agreed in advance
- Clearing a mortgage (and claiming the life cover that repays it): €350
- Each additional property: €1,000
- One car is included; each additional vehicle: €150
- Releasing a Portuguese bank account alongside the €4,000 service: €400 per account
- Four heirs are included; each additional heir: €300
- Selling the property afterwards: a separate fixed-fee conveyancing instruction — from €2,650, by the value of the property, with a lower fee for families we have already acted for (see the bands)
Other fixed-fee services
Not a full estate? We also handle these on their own, each for a fixed fee agreed before we start (+ VAT):
How you pay
We agree your fixed fee in writing before any work begins. To open your matter we ask for a first payment — part of our fee, invoiced and receipted immediately. Further payments fall due as the work passes each milestone, so there is never one large bill at the end. The official costs (the notary, the Land Registry, taxes and so on) are never part of our fee and are never held by us — we prepare each payment for you and you pay it directly; small items we pay ourselves and re-charge at cost on your next invoice. We never hold client or estate money.
Common questions
How much does it cost to settle an estate in Portugal?
A fixed fee agreed in writing before we start: €4,000 to transfer a Portuguese property when the person lived abroad, €4,500 to settle the estate of someone who lived in Portugal, €6,500–€8,500 for a cross-border estate, and from €15,000 for a larger or more complex estate. Third-party costs are shown separately.
Do you charge by the hour?
No. We never bill by the hour. Every matter is a fixed fee, agreed in writing before any work begins, so you know the cost before we start — there is no surprise bill at the end.
What is not included in your fee?
Official third-party costs — the notary, the Land Registry, any tax, and (outside Portugal) a sworn translation — are shown to you up front and kept separate from our fee, never folded in. Where there are assets in your home country, your home-country lawyer's fees are also separate.
Is there inheritance tax to pay in Portugal?
For most families inheriting from a close relative, Portuguese inheritance tax is nil: spouses, children, grandchildren and parents are exempt. We compute, prepare and file the succession tax return as part of the work; tax back home is not ours, and we say early where an adviser at home is needed. The tax itself is never part of our fee.