Spanish Will for Foreigners: Why Every Canary Islands Property Owner Needs One

You've bought a property in the Canary Islands. You've got your NIE, your bank account, perhaps a mortgage. One thing that regularly gets pushed down the list — sometimes indefinitely — is making a Spanish will.

This is a mistake that your heirs will pay for. When a foreign property owner dies without a Spanish will, their family faces a bureaucratic process that involves apostilles, sworn translations, foreign probate documents, and Spanish notary proceedings — all of which add months and significant cost to an already difficult time.

A Spanish will, drafted in a couple of hours and costing a few hundred euros, can make the entire difference.

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The Legal Framework: EU Regulation 650/2012

The EU Succession Regulation (Regulation 650/2012), which came into force in August 2015, revolutionised international inheritance law for European residents.

Default Rule: Law of Habitual Residence

Under the Regulation, if you die without making a choice of law in your will, your entire estate — wherever in the EU it is located — is governed by the law of the country where you habitually resided at the time of death.

Example: A German citizen who has lived in Gran Canaria for 20 years and dies without a will — their entire estate, including the house in Bavaria, would be governed by Spanish law. This is likely not what they intended, and it means Spanish inheritance rules (including the legítima — forced heirship — provisions) would apply to the German property.

Choice of Law: Using Your Nationality

The Regulation allows you to elect in your will the law of your nationality to govern your succession. This single provision can be enormously important:

• A British national resident in the Canary Islands can choose English law for their entire estate (important post-Brexit note: the UK is not bound by the Regulation, but Spanish courts will apply UK law if elected)
• A German national resident in the Canary Islands can choose German law
• A French national can choose French law
• Dual nationals can choose either nationality's law

This election must be expressly made in the will. Without it, Spanish law applies to the Spanish elements of the estate, and complications arise with the cross-border elements.

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What a Spanish Will Contains

A standard Spanish will (testamento abierto) drafted by a Spanish notary typically includes:

1. Identification

• Full name, nationality, date and place of birth
• NIE (Spanish tax identification number)
• Marital status and matrimonial property regime

2. Choice of Law (if applicable)

• Express election of the law of your nationality under EU Regulation 650/2012

3. Revocation Clause

• Revocation of any prior wills made in Spain (but explicitly not revoking wills made in other countries for assets there)

4. Appointment of Heirs

• Who inherits your estate (or specifically your Spanish property and assets)
• Substitution clauses (what happens if your primary heir dies before you)

5. Specific Bequests (Optional)

• Specific items, properties or accounts going to particular people
• Legacies to persons who are not your main heirs

6. Appointment of Executor (Optional)

• Designation of an albacea (executor) to administer the estate

7. Testamentary Capacity Clause

• Standard legal language confirming you are of sound mind and acting freely

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Types of Spanish Will

Testamento Abierto (Open Will) — Recommended

The most common form. Drafted by and signed before a Spanish notary. The notary reads the will aloud, confirms your understanding and capacity, and retains the original indefinitely. A copy is also sent to the Registro Central de Actos de Última Voluntad (Central Registry of Last Wills) in Madrid — this means Spanish courts and notaries can always verify that the will exists.

Cost: typically €50-150 in notary fees alone; legal fees for drafting add €100-250.

Testamento Ológrafo (Holographic Will)

Written entirely in the testator's own handwriting, signed and dated. No notary required. However: it must be subsequently validated (protocolizado) by a notary after death before it has legal effect, creating additional cost and complexity. Not recommended for foreign nationals.

Testamento Cerrado (Closed Will)

The testator presents a sealed document to the notary, who certifies the date and the testator's declaration but does not read the content. Rarely used in practice.

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The Process: Making a Spanish Will

Step 1: Instruct Your Lawyer

Your Spanish lawyer will take your instructions on:

• Who are your heirs and in what proportions
• Whether you want to elect your national law under EU Regulation 650/2012
• Whether you have other wills in other countries (coordination is essential)
• Any specific bequests

Your lawyer drafts the will in Spanish, ensuring it complies with Spanish formal requirements.

Step 2: Notary Appointment

The will is signed at a Spanish notary's office. You must be present in person — no power of attorney is possible for will-signing. You will need:

• Passport or national ID
• Spanish NIE number
• The draft will (your lawyer brings this)

The notary reads the will aloud, confirms your identity and capacity, and executes the deed. The entire appointment takes 20-45 minutes.

Step 3: Registration

The notary sends a notice to the Registro Central de Actos de Última Voluntad in Madrid, which registers that you have made a Spanish will. Your heirs can search this register after your death to confirm whether a Spanish will exists and at which notary.

Important: the register records that a will exists, but not its contents. The will itself remains confidential at the notary's office until your death.

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What Happens When a Foreign National Dies With Property in the Canary Islands

With a Spanish Will (Smooth Process)

1. Obtain the Spanish death certificate
2. Search the Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad (online, same day)
3. Obtain the will from the notary (original held there)
4. Prepare the hereditary acceptance deed (escritura de aceptación de herencia)
5. Pay the Inheritance and Gift Tax (virtually nil in the Canary Islands due to the 99.9% bonus)
6. Register the property in the heirs' names at the Land Registry

Typical timeline: 3-6 months.

Without a Spanish Will (Complex Process)

1. Obtain foreign probate / grant of letters of administration in the home country
2. Have the probate documents apostilled
3. Have them sworn-translated into Spanish
4. Present to a Spanish notary for recognition
5. Prove how the deceased's home country's inheritance law allocates assets
6. Prepare the hereditary acceptance deed in Spain
7. Pay the Canary Islands Inheritance Tax (still near-nil, but the process takes longer)
8. Register the property

Typical timeline: 12-24+ months. Additional professional fees: often €2,000-5,000 more than with a Spanish will.

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Coordination with Your Home Country Will

If you have a will in your home country, ensuring it does not conflict with your Spanish will is critical.

The "Revocation of All Prior Wills" Problem

Many standard wills in the UK, Germany and other countries contain a boilerplate clause along the lines of: "I revoke all former testamentary dispositions."

If you later make a Spanish will — even if the Spanish will only covers Spanish property — this clause in the foreign will could potentially revoke the Spanish will if the foreign will is executed after the Spanish one.

Solution: Ensure your Spanish will explicitly states it is limited to Spanish assets and does not revoke foreign wills. Ensure any subsequent foreign will specifically states it does not revoke the Spanish will. Your lawyers in both countries should review both documents together.

Coordination Is Not Optional

For someone with significant assets in two or more countries, it is worth investing in proper coordination between advisors in each jurisdiction. The cost is trivial compared to the complications a conflict creates for your heirs.

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The Canary Islands Inheritance Tax Advantage

One of the main reasons to have your Canary Islands property pass through a Spanish will is to take full advantage of the 99.9% inheritance tax bonus (bonificación) available in the Canary Islands for:

• Spouses
• Children and descendants
• Parents and ascendants

This means a property worth €500,000 passing to your child under Canary Islands rules attracts virtually no inheritance tax. The same property passing to a UK resident via English probate and Spanish inheritance would trigger Spanish non-resident inheritance tax rules — which are less generous (up to 7.65-34% depending on the value) unless the 2014 CJEU ruling (Case C-127/12) is properly invoked.

A Spanish will with an express choice of Spanish Canary Islands law for the Spanish assets maximises this tax advantage.

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Special Situations

Married Couples: Joint Will vs. Separate Wills

Spanish law does not recognise joint wills (husband and wife in a single document). Each spouse must make their own will. In practice, most couples make them on the same day before the same notary and mirror each other's provisions.

Unmarried Couples (Pareja de Hecho)

Unmarried partners have no automatic inheritance rights under most Spanish regional laws. If you want your partner to inherit, they must be explicitly named in your will. Consider also whether your partner has the right documents to remain in the property (usufructo, right of habitation) pending transfer of title.

Properties Owned Through a Company

If your Canary Islands property is held through a Spanish SL company, the succession concerns the company shares, not the property directly. Different rules apply. Discuss with your lawyer whether this structure serves your estate planning goals.

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How ALY Abogados Can Help

Our inheritance and estate planning team in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria regularly helps foreign nationals:

• Drafting and executing Spanish wills: from taking instructions to notarial appointment
• Choice of law advice: navigating EU Regulation 650/2012 for your specific nationality
• Coordination with foreign wills: reviewing existing wills to avoid conflicts
• Estate planning: combining Spanish will, inheritance tax planning and lifetime gift strategies
• Probate in Spain: administering estates for foreign heirs after death

We speak English, Spanish, and have French-speaking team members. We can coordinate with lawyers in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands for joint estate planning.

Free initial consultation.

📞 +34 633 572 607 | ✉ alyabogados@lazaroamable.com

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Lázaro Héctor Amable Méndez — Lawyer, Bar Association No. 5,231 ICALPA