Probate Process in Spain: How It Works (Step by Step)

Spanish probate runs through a notary, and Modelo 650 falls due six months after the date of death. This guide walks each step of the probate process in Spain: the death and will-register certificates, the declaracion de herederos where no will exists, the notarial acceptance, the tax filing, and the property registration. It also explains the component deadlines and where a probate solicitor can advise.

What Is the Probate Process in Spain?

Spanish probate, also called estate administration, runs through a notary. Seven steps follow: obtain the death and will-register certificates, establish the heirs, assemble the remaining documents, put an identity document for each heir on file, accept the inheritance, file Modelo 650 within six months, then register the property.

Two starting points lead into the same sequence. A valid will names the heirs, and article 66.4.b of the Reglamento del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones asks for an authorised copy of it with the succession tax return. An estate with no valid will goes to a declaracion de herederos, the declaration of heirs. Ley 15/2015 de la Jurisdiccion Voluntaria placed that declaration entirely before a notary, as an acta de notoriedad, a notarial record of established fact.

The effect is dated back to the death. Article 989 of the Codigo Civil makes the effects of accepting or repudiating an inheritance relate back to the moment the person being succeeded died.

What Are the Steps in Spanish Probate?

Spanish probate runs through the seven steps below. Each carries its own document requirement and its own authority, and the order shown is the order they usually fall in.

1. Obtain the death and will-register certificates. Article 66.4.a of the Reglamento del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones names both as filings that accompany the return.
2. Establish the heirs. Article 66.4.b asks for an authorised copy of the will, or evidence of the declaracion de herederos. Ley 15/2015 puts that declaration before a notary.
3. Assemble the remaining documents. For the inheritance-tax submissions covered by its guidance, the Agencia Tributaria can require a sworn translation and an apostille or legalisation for relevant foreign documents. Confirm separate requirements with any notary, registry or court receiving them.
4. Put an identity document for each heir on file. The same answer asks for a copy of the passport, the identity document, or the NIE certificate of the heirs.
5. Accept the inheritance. Articles 999 and 1000 of the Codigo Civil set out express and tacit acceptance, and article 989 dates the effect back to the death.
6. File Modelo 650 within six months of the death. Article 67.1.a sets the six months, and Orden HAP/2488/2014 approves Modelo 650 for inheritances.
7. Register the transfer of any Spanish property. The Colegio de Registradores states that registered rights are protected by the courts.

How Do You Locate a Will in Spain?

You locate a Spanish will by requesting a certificate from the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad, the central register of wills. The Ministerio de Justicia describes it as the register in which wills are recorded so that their existence can be known, and it loads what the Colegios Notariales send into the database weekly. The Reglamento asks for that certificate alongside the death certificate.

An estate with no valid will takes the intestate route. The Codigo Civil calls the heirs in a fixed order. The direct descending line comes first (article 930), then the ascendants (article 935), then the surviving spouse ahead of any collateral relative (article 944), unless the spouse is legally or de facto separated (article 945). Siblings and their children are preferred among the collaterals (article 946).

A reserved share sits behind that order. Articles 806 to 808 reserve two-thirds of an estate for children and descendants, the legitima, across the regions the Codigo Civil governs. Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre, Galicia, Aragon and the Balearics each run their own succession rules. Whether you need a Spanish will covers that decision.

Do Heirs Need a Spanish NIE Number to Inherit?

The Agencia Tributaria names an NIE certificate as one of three documents it will take for an heir. Its filing-documentation answer for the Modelo 650 asks for a copy of the passport, the identity document, or the NIE certificate of the heirs, and the three sit there as alternatives.

That answer is written for the succession tax filing and does not make an NIE universal for every heir. Confirm the identity document required for the other estate steps with the solicitor or notary handling them.

How to apply for an NIE covers the application mechanics, which this page does not repeat.

What Documents Do You Need for Spanish Probate?

Article 66 of the Reglamento del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones sets out what accompanies a succession self-assessment. The Reglamento fixes no number of categories, and the file changes with the case.

• The return itself. Article 66.2 lists the assets and rights acquired, with their value.
• Death and will-register certificates. Article 66.4.a names the death certificate and the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad certificate for the deceased.
• The will, or evidence of the declaration of heirs. Article 66.4.b asks for an authorised copy of any testamentary dispositions, or a list of the presumed heirs where none has been made.
• Life insurance. Article 66.4.c asks for any policy the deceased held, or the insurer’s certificate.
• Proof behind the deductions and valuations. Article 66.4.d covers debts and expenses claimed, heirs under 21, bank balances, unlisted shareholdings and title to real property.
• The heir’s own pre-existing wealth. Article 66.5 asks each taxpayer to enclose a statement.
• Foreign-document formalities for the tax submission. The Agencia Tributaria can require a sworn translation and an apostille or legalisation for relevant foreign documents submitted with the specified inheritance-tax forms. A notary, registry or court may apply a different requirement to the same document.

What Is the Deed of Acceptance of Inheritance?

The escritura de aceptacion de herencia is the notarial deed of acceptance of an inheritance. The Codigo Civil governs the acceptance that deed records, in articles 999 to 1005.

Article 999 recognises express acceptance, and tacit acceptance by acts that necessarily imply the will to accept. Article 1000 names acts that count: an heir who sells, gives away or cedes the inheritance right has accepted, and so has one who renounces it in favour of named co-heirs. Acts of mere conservation or provisional administration do not imply acceptance.

The case does not stop indefinitely if one heir will not sign. The Consejo General del Notariado sets out the route the Ley de Jurisdiccion Voluntaria opened in 2015. A notary sends that heir an acta de notificacion y requerimiento, a formal demand, allowing 30 calendar days to accept or renounce. The inheritance counts as accepted purely and simply where the heir stays silent.

Signing arrangements for an heir outside Spain fall outside this guide. A power of attorney for Spain covers those.

When Do You Pay Spanish Inheritance Tax During Probate?

Spanish succession tax falls due within six months of the date of death. Article 67.1.a of the Reglamento counts that period from the day the person died, so the clock runs while the certificates are collected. Modelo 650 is the return for an inheritance, approved by Orden HAP/2488/2014.

One extension is available, for a period equal to the original six months. Article 68 requires the request during the first five months, refuses one made later, and treats the extension as granted where a month passes with no decision notified.

Several variables set the figure. One is which comunidad autonoma’s rules apply: for a deceased person resident in Spain that is the comunidad of their habitual residence at the date of death, under article 32.2.a of Ley 22/2009. Another is the kinship group of each heir, under article 20.2.a of Ley 29/1987. The full regional breakdown carries both.

How Do You Register Inherited Property in Spain?

You register inherited Spanish property by presenting the transfer at the Registro de la Propiedad, the land registry. The Colegio de Registradores sets out what registration buys the owner: registered rights are protected by the courts, and nobody can be deprived of them except through contentious judicial proceedings.

The same page states the other half of that doctrine. What is not registered does not affect someone who contracts in reliance on the register’s contents. The fe publica registral, the public faith of the register, gives a good-faith acquirer a presumption that the entry is accurate.

The property-specific steps sit on a sibling page. Registering the property in your name covers them.

How Long Does Spanish Probate Take?

It takes as long as the individual steps take. Spanish law sets deadlines on several steps, and no single provision caps the combined total, so this guide gives the component deadlines only.

• The succession tax return: six months from the date of death. One extension of the same length follows a request made in the first five months (articles 67 and 68).
• A notarial demand on an heir: 30 calendar days. Article 1005 of the Codigo Civil sets that window, and article 1004 bars it until nine days after the death.
• A declaration of heirs: 20 business days at the earliest. Article 56.3 of Ley 15/2015 sets that floor, counted from the request or from a one-month objection period.
• Registration of the property transfer: no deadline stated. The Colegio de Registradores page describing the Registro de la Propiedad sets none.

Two things add steps. An estate with no valid will adds the notarial declaration of heirs and its 20-business-day floor. Foreign documents submitted for inheritance tax may require a sworn translation and an apostille or legalisation. Other recipients set their own formalities.

What Mistakes Delay Spanish Probate?

Five points in the sequence each carry a requirement of their own. Each one below is named by the Reglamento, the Agencia Tributaria or the Codigo Civil, and each is a document or a date the file has to carry.

• Missing authentication for a foreign document submitted for inheritance tax. Use an apostille where the Hague Convention applies or the relevant legalisation route otherwise, and confirm whether the receiving notary, registry or court has a different requirement.
• A foreign-language tax document with no required translation. The Agencia Tributaria can require a sworn translation for the specified inheritance-tax submission. Other recipients may apply their own translation rules.
• No identity document on file for one of the heirs. The Modelo 650 answer asks for a copy of the passport, the identity document or the NIE certificate of the heirs.
• A co-heir who does not sign. The Consejo General del Notariado sets out the notarial demand that follows: 30 calendar days to accept or renounce, and acceptance purely and simply where the heir stays silent.
• The extension window closing. Article 68 of the Reglamento refuses an extension requested after the first five months of the filing period have passed.

Do You Need a Solicitor for Spanish Probate?

Every shape of estate adds a party or a document to the sequence above. An estate with no will adds the notarial declaration of heirs. An estate holding Spanish property adds the registration step. Documents from abroad may need authentication and translation according to the tax authority or other recipient that receives them. More than one heir adds signatures to collect before the deed can be signed.

How Do You Reach a Spanish Probate Solicitor?

Complete the short form at the foot of this page. It asks where in Spain the estate is and how far along you are so a probate solicitor can assess the work required.