Talk Quesada forum

Does anyone know what happens if a non-resident who jointly owns a property here with his wife dies without a will in either Spain or their home country, i.e. intestate?

My husband died suddenly this last week and although we both wanted UK laws to take precedence we hadn't signed official wills. We intended to make Spanish wills when we were there for the winter but had to return to the UK at short notice as he fell ill. I did enquire of Silvia Galve if we could draw up Spanish wills in the UK and get them witnessed by a Notary here but she said it would be easier and sufficient to make a UK will with a clause saying that we wished UK laws to prevail over our Spanish apartment. Although he had made a UK will, he wasn't able to sign it or get it witnessed so it isn't officially legal.

I hope this doesn't sound mercenary but I'm trying to deal with all the practical issues despite being distressed. Fortunately I do have family around me to support me. I will contact Silvia again next week but I wondered if anyone had any information they could help me with in the meantime.

Oh you poor thing, I can't offer any advice but I do hope you sort it out ok. How awful for you.

Chrisdee wrote:Oh you poor thing, I can't offer any advice but I do hope you sort it out ok. How awful for you.

Thank you Chrisdee. Mercifully he didn't suffer and died at home with me and two of our grandchildren there. It's just the sorting out of everything that is so daunting.

Dear TonTri, really sorry to hear this, many condolences. To be honest the best thing you can do re the Spanish situation is to contact Silvia asap , without a Spanish will I think it takes a lot longer to sort things out and having your lawyer on the case as soon as possible would be wise. The UK might be a little easier , I think you need to apply for probate as soon as you can, there are rules on who inherits when there is no will - as you were married you would have most of it but children and grandchildren also have a claim. You can save money by doing the arrangements for probate yourself but it might be wise to have at least some initial solicitor advice. This is the link to the money advice service in UK with advice on next steps in UK. https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/e ... snt-a-will

Another point that I have picked up from previous posters here is that if you have a joint bank account in Spain, as soon as you tell the the bank about your husband passing away they will freeze the account and you will not be able to access it.Just to be aware of that. Another reason for having Silvia on the case as soon as possible towards sorting this out. Someone else on here who has been through the process will hopefully step in and give advice from their experience. Again, I am really sorry to hear your sad news.

Just for some more information before you have chance to talk to Silvia ( who will know what to do ) - here is a general guide about the Spanish inheritance situation: https://www.expatica.com/es/finance/tax ... es-102092/
There is a possibly useful para applicable to your situation ( as I remember from your previous posts, you were both still officially UK residents, so this might be helpful in your case. )

"Changes to EU rules introduced in 2015 mean that EU citizens living in Spain, as well as a number of non-EU countries, can now choose whether the law of their home country or their country of residence applies. If a foreign resident dies without leaving a will or making an official declaration on which law they wish to apply, the law of the country where they resided for the last five years will apply. "

Thank you Shiva. I had read the last paragraph of your post on expatica.com but wondered if it was actually so.

I too had seen on here about the partner's half of a bank account being frozen, I will just have to keep an eye on the balance. I did email Sabadell a week or two ago to change the account into my name but they can only do it in branch so that will have to wait until I am next in Spain. At least Iberdrola changed the electric bill into my name beforehand.

I will definitely be getting in touch with Silvia after the bank holiday and thanks again.

So sorry to hear of your loss TonTri.
Hope everything works out for you.

Thank you Marcliff

TonTri so sorry about your loss stay strongx

Thank you cheflady. He was only 66 and had only been ill for a short time so it was totally unexpected, but my children and grandchildren have been my rocks.