Money willed in a Spanish Bank -

junglejame911

Ok so this is a bit of a “niche” question that not many might have experience with – But – my father died about 8 years ago while living on his own in Spain. He only had a small sum of money to his name (possibly about £3000) in a Spanish account which was willed to his 4 children. I had previously contacted local solicitors who simply said they had no experience in dealing with this sort of thing. I researched a few specialists in Spanish probate on the internet but the up front fees (before even examining the case) were excessive such that it wasn’t worth pursuing.



Does anyone have any idea of alternatives to moving this forward or should I just forget about it all together? After all this time I’m not even sure if the money would be accessible.



Any advice or experiences very welcome

Fire_Fox

Have you considered contacting the ex-pat community?

Kayalana99

If you knew the bank's name im sure a call to them with the question 'how to I access my fathers account now that he has passed' I am sure they would help you out with the steps you need to take?

madbadrob

The first thing you need to ask is whether the English will is actually valid. Your father was domiciled and died in Spain so English probate laws do not take precendence here Spanish probate does. Its not very clear however I would take a look at http://britishexpats.com/articles/spain/inheritance-spain-will/. You not the estate will be liable for inheritance tax if the threshold is hit in Spain.

With regards to getting the money using your English will and according to the site previously linked
"If the deceased has left a Will in his/her country of origin but not in Spain, this Will must be validated in Spain. In order to do that, the Notary Public who is to sign the Inheritance Deeds will require you to present some very specific paperwork."
It therefore looks like you will either have to go to Spain to do this or have a Spanish Lawyer do this for you

Rob

junglejame911

Thanks for the replies - its all a bit complicated. Will was originally drawn up in the UK and there is no Spanish version as far as I know. . . The expats page looks useful, hadn't been aware of its existence before.

suzie246

Hi, I was wondering how you were getting along with your problem? Mine is very similar and just don't know where to start with it all. My mum passed in feb.she died here in England . She had an English will made 6 yrs ago but also a very old 15 yr Spanish will. Now I find out she has left no Information to us about her Spanish bank act which has the sale of her cottage assets. All I've got is her bank acct statement. I'm executive and next of kin.

Savvy_Sue

If that's the Spanish bank a/c statement you've got, does it not have an address for the bank branch?

suzie246

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

If that's the Spanish bank a/c statement you've got, does it not have an address for the bank branch?

Hi, yes it is. I've tried sending an email but post master.com sends it back to me. I googled translator asking to speak with someone that speaks English and that worked to a degree . The branch told me I would need to speak with her local branch in her what was home town so I did and they didn't speak English...now I feel Im back to square one.... I understood enough that they need the death certificate but it has to be handed in person...I don't even have a passport or the means to have time off work as much as I would love to go out there.
I'm understanding if it works the same way as her English acct the death certificate would officially close the acct but then what would happen next?

Savvy_Sue

I'll ask one of the formerly-expats-in-Spain from the Living Abroad thread to take a look and see if they can advise ...

donny-gal

Morning - not an ex-pat but have a house in Spain. Not going to be easy, first of all I think you will need an NIE number/s and a Spanish bank account to get the money put into your name/s. Not sure what region you are in, but have you tried looking at the English papers on line? Out on the Costa Blanca they are Coastrider, Courier, Costa Blanca News, Round Town news, they may have some adverts for English speaking lawyers you could ring up a d speak to. Alternatively on your bank statement is there a papment to a Solicitor/Accounting firm once a year probably around 1st Jan? They may have the will or more info.

If it is coastal around Costa Blanca then you will find more Engish speaking banks and companies. You certainly will do better face to face.

Sorry can't help further. DG