Codicil added to a will

Went to change a will with a codecil added and apparently it's against Spanish law to do this you have to do a new will.

All covered here it is legal

https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/faq/i ... -in-spain/

Maybe it's changed since 2015?

It has not changed

Well, we can only go on what our lawyer told us yesterday.
Maybe Paul from thy will be done knows?

jpeg wrote:It has not changed

Still not against the Law in Spain but good advice


What Can I Do? Can I Simply Update my Existing Spanish Will?
Short answer is no.

After speaking with multiple notaries it is clear that a simple addendum (codicil) cannot be made to your existing Spanish will without incurring in legal risks. In order to avoid your will being successfully contested at the time of your death it is necessary you make a new Spanish will.

https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/ ... ish%20will.

Chrisdee wrote:Well, we can only go on what our lawyer told us yesterday.
Maybe Paul from thy will be done knows?

jpeg wrote:It has not changed

I don't know why people set such store by what their solicitor says. I've seen many posts where people have been dropped in the do do by their solicitor. I was reading about a woman whose solicitor told her that she had to be on the padron! Her main residence was in the UK!!

As we don't know what you can and Cant do what are we supposed to do, apart from seeking advice from a lawyer?

Benbow wrote:

Chrisdee wrote:Well, we can only go on what our lawyer told us yesterday.
Maybe Paul from thy will be done knows?

jpeg wrote:It has not changed

I don't know why people set such store by what their solicitor says. I've seen many posts where people have been dropped in the do do by their solicitor. I was reading about a woman whose solicitor told her that she had to be on the padron! Her main residence was in the UK!!

Hi all,

We do not ever get involved with codicils here or in the UK actually.

We produce a new Will every time a change is required because it is actually easier if we produced the original to do so (and the same fee) and safer if we did not because we do not wish to authenticate something that may already have flaws within it (and many existing Spanish Wills for expats do unfortunately).

In Spain, the notary is personally responsible to ensure that the whole Will is fit for purpose so that is why a new Will is required each time a change is made as the notary will not agree to notarise something which is effectively an addendum to an older document as they would be liable for the whole document going forwards if there were any issues with the family after the death of the testator.

If anyone requires our help or any free advice, just give us a call on 865 756 058

Please note that we are moving offices at the weekend and we will be at the below address in Benijofar from Monday;

Benisol II
Frederico Garcia Larca 92
03178
Benijofar

Kind regards

Paul

Things relating to Wills are very different here from the UK. The original Will is kept at a central register. For any amendment to be totally legal it would also need to be held there and therefore registered at a notary. I suspect that to avoid confusion and additional documents being held at the registry, they insist on a new Will. Since you have to go to the notary anyway a new Will seems sensible.