OUR SPANISH
WILLS SERVICE

Temis & Co. International Lawyers

 

To assist our clients both home and abroad who may have assets in Spain, or they themselves own or plan to own property in that country we have now teamed up with Temis & Co to offer additional services in relation to those issues.

 

We work closely with Roser Coll, senior partner at Temis and Colin can take instruction for Spanish Wills and Powers of attorney which are then produced by Roser and her team from their offices in Barcelona – Madrid – Balearic Islands – Valencia and now ourselves in person when he is based in  Playa Blanca on the island of Lanzarote or can call him direct or whats app him for further details.

 

Even those ex pats now living in Spain require a Spanish Will and if they have any assets left in the UK then they must also hold a UK Will as unless specified the Spanish Will usually excludes the UK assets and so consequences are many if it is found later that there are assets in the UK after all and the Spanish will no longer covers it. The UK Probate office are not happy with those now domicile in the Spain and find there is no valid UK will in place, this can take many months if not years to sort out – so the answer is always have a will for each country and then you are covered.

 

This also sorts out the problem of which country you are resident in, it is not uncommon for those who left the UK to go abroad, to retain their UK Passport, and still have their UK Pension paid to them, but without a UK Will this may not be enough to prove that you are entitled to some forgotten assets that are in the UK and are still subject to a UK Grant of Probate. Assets of low value may be accessible without a grant, however Premium bonds often require a grant even those of low value and specifically if they are over £29,000.

 

Call is now to discuss this further and look out for details in the Lanzarote Gazette Life Magazine about our meeting dates when we are regularly based in Playa Blanca. Use the link below to register for this free magazine which will regularly update you each month on events now and in forthcoming months to come.

 

Technical steps in Spain:

 

 

1.     Free initial meeting with  Client at one our offices or via zoom, so we can understand their situation and see a global picture of what services they will require from us/what services will they need.

2.    Assist to our Clients in opening their Bank account in Spain, so they can transfer the funds from abroad to their Spanish account and do the final payment on completion. Spanish Banks have become more strict in controlling the source of the funds used for investment. You will need some assistance in preparing and providing the appropriate information to the Banks about the origin of the funds in order to proof their source.

3.    Preparation and assistance to our Clients with the signature of the Power of Attorney. In order to apply for the NIE (Tax Identification Number fo Foreigners) and represent to our Clients on completion of the purchase of their properties in Spain before the Notary Public we will need that they give us power of attorney so we can act as their legal representatives in Spain.

4.    Assist our Clients in applying for their NIE number.

5.    Drafting and reviewing all the contracts related to the purchase: reservation contract, private contract so-called arras contract

6.    Preparation of a written legal report advising our Clients about any potential risk related to their investment. We check that the Seller has Good title, we check any encumbrances, liens, charges related to the property. Make sure the property is not affected by a planning regulation that will go against the interests of our Clients. We make inquiries to the Community of Owners and confirm if all the payments have been settled and there are no debts. The same with the utilities, making sure the Buyer will not have to pay for the debts of the Seller. Also, with the property tax, we help our clients to confirm that it has been taken care by the Seller before completion takes place.

7.     Assisting our clients on completion, or acting on their behalf via power of attorney.

8.    Post completion matters as for example dealing with change of utility contracts or direct debiting the IBI receipt for you

9.    Acting for both sale and purchase of all property in Spain, and all  Probate and taxation matters.