Spanish Inheritance - need a solicitor and advice

[Snoopysimaginaryfriend]

This is a little complicated but I will try to keep it brief:

My grandfather was a Spanish citizen living in Spain at the time of his death in November last year. My mother is a Spanish citizen who has lived in the Uk for more than fifty years.

My grandfather left his house and some land, all in Spain, to my mother and specified in his will that this property must pass to me once she dies. She has use of the property for her lifetime. It is a Spanish will, registered in Madrid.

My mother has told me she believes my grandparents would have wanted my siblings to share this inheritance and has placed considerable pressure on me to disclaim my inheritance, even though I do not benefit in any way until her death.

The solicitor in Spain is a family member and their advice has only been communicated via my mother and is heavily focused on what benefits her instead of what the consequences are for me if I do as she asks.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced solicitor in the London area, who could advise on the matter?

I need to know:

• if I disclaim my grandfather’s inheritance can I still inherit a share of the same property from my mother on her death?
• can I make an official complaint against the Spanish solicitor who has not communicated directly to me? The only communication to me has actually been via his wife’s email, addressed to my mother and has been along the lines of ‘renounce your inheritance as your mother cannot afford upkeep of the property’.
• is there a time limit to disclaim the inheritance?

Thank you.

Hi!

Spanish citizen here that dealt with a complicated inheritance a few years ago. In Spain inheritance never becomes a marital asset, so your father would never have a claim.

Regarding the possibility of an embargo, that is rubbish. If you will not inherit anything until your mother passes, you do not have to pay any taxes at all.

I believe my grandparents would have used this mechanism to ensure my father doesn’t inherit anything, either as a spouse or as part of a divorce settlement.

There doesn’t appear to be any actual restriction though, apart from not being able to sell. All grandchildren are 18 plus. He only had two daughters and my aunt inherited land.

what happens if I just do nothing, go no contact? You can’t force someone to accept an inheritance can you, although the solicitor said that the inheritance would then go to my aunt and not my siblings.

I’ve been threatened with all sorts. That my accounts will be blocked, my aunt will sue me, that my mother will have to pay higher inheritance tax unless I disclaim it …
I feel at the moment that I just want to rid of it all and cut them out of my life but I know that might not be best long term.

I think my mother may well want to sell the property. It’s the only thing she can’t do as things stand and, if she does, my father will have a claim to that money. They are still financially associated.

I've been through this twice in Galicia in the last 5 years, so from what I remember: Your mother won't have to pay inheritance tax and children don't have to - but if you leave to siblings/cousins etc then they do and it is loads and they have to pay the amount BEFORE they inherit, unlike in the UK. Inheritance tax differs from region to region so advice from someone who has been through the process in a different area might be incorrect for Galicia.

You have I think 6 months to file everything and there may be costs if she doesn't file in time, but nothing will happen - after 7 years I think it is you don't have to pay even inheritance tax (and a lot of people just hope no one notices as if you're a sibling you may well not be able to afford the inheritance tax amount upfront) - we're out in the sticks though, if you're in La Coruna or Santiago they might have more of a handle on it.

If you don't speak Galician or at least Spanish then getting a lawyer in Galicia is likely to be a nightmare due to communication issues (but maybe you do?) sorry if you've said that. You will not find a lawyer in London who does Spanish law at a reasonable price, it's going to be thousands.

If I was you I would do absolutely nothing, this is nothing to do with you, you are not inheriting anything. In Spain you cannot disinherit children they have to inherit a certain amount so I'm not sure that your grandfather can say this will pass to only you - you might get a bigger share on that basis though. This is why there's a land problem in Galicia as the land gets passed down and split up between siblings and through the generations people own smaller and smaller pieces of land that end up being pointless.

There is no way in this world that anyone will do anything to you as a result of this, they are just threatening you to manipulate you into doing what they want. You will not have your bank accounts embargoed. We paid our tax very late with no issue at all, literally no one cared.

Our lawyer (in Galicia) wasn't upfront about costs even though we speak Spanish/Galician we paid thousands unnecessarily - be aware that although sorting the inheritance tax might be just a few hundred, if a lawyer can charge something like 10% of the estate if they distribute and get the estate all signed over. Covid made things very difficult and we didn't have a clue about the process. This won't affect you now but might in the future.

Are you sure this is even a lawyer contacting you and not someone pretending? They shouldn't be allowed to continue if it is a lawyer. I wouldn't get involved though I would just block them and your mum or whoever else is spouting all this crap about embargoes and have nothing to do with any of them. It's all definitely lies and getting yourself a lawyer is just going to be very expensive and unnecessary. There will be all sorts of back and forth communication which will cost you and all for nothing as there is currently nothing for you to inherit.

PM me if you want to know anything else.

Ok I think there is something else going on here actually. There would be nothing to disclaim if there was nothing to inherit - so I think he has left the property partly to you.

In Spanish law you have to leave a certain portion of your inheritance to your children BUT there is a certain amount that you can leave to anyone you like. I reckon he has left this portion to you and that is what they want you to disclaim.

Nothing else makes sense IMO.

@Snoopysimaginaryfriend if I disclaim my grandfather’s inheritance can I still inherit a share of the same property from my mother on her death?

I’m a Spaniard, been living in the uk 6 years. Spanish and English inheritance laws are completely different. And I say: completely. I’m Spain it’s obligatory for you to leave 2 thirds of your possessions to your wife and children, end off. This is not the case in the UK. If your mom dies her being a British citizen but the house being on Spain is a complicated one. Will her will be regulated by British or by Spanish law?

my advice: get a professional solicitor in both countries and do a proper consultation.

Sadly I don’t speak Gallego. I’m passable in castellano but not in legal matters, which just adds to the nightmare.

I’ll be honest I don’t know what her motive is. I can only think it comes down to selling the property as it’s the only thing she can’t do.

This will was made more than twenty years ago and she was present when it was made so I don’t know why she didn’t speak out at the time if she felt it was unfair etc. All my mother has done is left a massive mess to be cleared up whatever I choose to do.

Thank you all for your help and advice. I’ve fired off some enquiries to solicitors so will see if they come back with anything helpful before I decide what to do.

OP, I’m from Galicia, my cousin is a known lawyer in Pontevedra, pm and I’ll give you his contact. Or he can refer you to a specialist inheritance solicitor in the area. I believe if you resign from that inheritance you will also be resigning to any benefits if the house sale.

This may help: www.gov.uk/government/publications/spain-list-of-lawyers

You don’t need and can’t get a NIE as you are a citizen. Your identity number is in your passport.
They can’t freeze accounts outside Spain. That’s why Hacienda (tax office) only lets you sign up with a Spanish account. So they are wrong or intentionally misleading you on that aspect.