Michael Davies :English Speaking  Spanish expert inheritance lawyer with over 28 years experience handling inheritance cases all over Spain for international clients

Spanish inheritance by Michael Davies in a nutshell: 

• Michael Davies the owner of the firm Davies Abogados/Solicitors & Barristers is a fluent English speaking Spanish Inheritance lawyer  with over 25 years experience. Michael Davies has handled over 500 probate cases since 1994. 
• He is  member  1748 of law societies of Almería and 67228 of thee law society of  Madrid.
• He is a well  known Spanish probate and inheritance tax expert . We will make sure that you pay the minimum amount of inheritance tax possible. Inheritance tax forms are presented by self assessment and the exemptions applicable vary depending on where in Spain the beneficiary is resident  or on where the assets are situated if the beneficiary is non resident in Spain.  To make things more complex we have had a few  changes to the exemption rates in the last 3 years and to the way they apply to non-residents due to varios sentences by the E.C.J. and the Spanish Supreme court.  We will also take into account the effect of the inheritance valuation on the future capital gains tax  very often overlooked. In Andalucía most families no longer pay inheritance tax.
• We take care of everything from start to finish including  inheritance tax clearance and registration of the real estate.
• We are transparent and upfront with our fees.  We do not provide a below the market quote for Probate to then surprise our clients with fees for extra items.
• We are proactive with our advice. We have done this hundreds of times before so we know exactly what needs to be done.We have offices in Marbella, Almeria and Mojacar and associated office in Alicante an Javea.  We handle inheritance cases  anywhere in Spain including the Balearic and Canary Islands. 
• Our experience of  over 25 years and over 500 probate cases handled allows us in 90% of cases to provide an exact budget and timescale from the start and avoid all the pitfalls of an inheritance procedure avoiding both extra costs and delays.

Nobody is  good at everything.

Some solicitors  due to a shortage of work will pretend that this is the case but this is impossible.

Inheritance procedures for ex-pats  requires a lot of specialised knowledge and the lawyer that did the conveyance may not be the most indicated to handle the inheritance.

Dealing with the Spanish inheritance tax declarations correctly is the most important part of a Spanish probate procedure  for international clients.

Inheritance tax in Spain is extremely complex and is done by self assessment. If you do not use a lawyer accustomed to dealing with Spanish inheritance tax declarations for international clients it is is easy to make “very expensive mistakes “.   Inheritance tax is completely different in each region of Spain.

Documents from other countries need to be con-validated for use in Spain.

Our  experience of over 25 year handling probate, inheritance related litigation and a variety of inheritance tax related issues for ex-pats in Spain permits us to deal with the inheritance from start to finish in an efficient and cost effective way and because we know what to expect we can give you an exact budget and timescale from the start.

In cases where there is a Spanish will we usually complete the full procedure including tax clearance and registration of the real estate in the new names within 3 months from receiving documentation.

We know you will have a lot of questions. 

• Do they freeze the accounts?
• Do we have to pay the funeral ourselves or can it be paid from the estate?
• I have been reading about Spanish inheritance tax on the internet and I seem to be reading contradictory information and I am now very confused.
• What happens with the bank accounts and the direct debits to the property? How do I pay the funeral if they freeze the account? How much will all this cost? What is the timescale of probate?
• Can I sell the property?
• How long do I have to wind up the estate?
• How long does the inheritance procedure take?
• Will the Spanish solicitor need to liaise with my English solicitor?
• Will I have to pay tax in both countries?
• What happens if there is no will?
• Do I have to have an NIE number?
•  What are my obligations and responsibility  if I am an executor on a Spanish will?
• How can I get hold of  a copy of the will?
• Can my late husband´s children dispute the will? How do I know if the will I have is the last one signed?

We will be able to respond to all these questions during our fist appointment. 

We deal with all kinds of estates and we deal with them anywhere in Spain: 

We are accustomed to dealing with all kinds of estates,  from the most usual inheritance of half a property and bank account  by a spouse using a Spanish will to large estates involving multiple properties with  no Spanish will and involving multiple jurisdictions and applicable legislations.

Please contact us now for an appointment to discuss your case in person at one of our our offices or over zoom. . If you are unable or do not wish to come to Spain we can schedule a video call using Zoom , whattsap or Facetime   instead . If you are from the old school then a simple telephone call  and e-mail will do the job. 

We will talk you through all your questions and discuss the procedures and cost.  We do not need you to find the correct questions as we have done this hundreds of times before and we will explain everything. This will include establishing if you have to pay inheritance tax or not and how much this would be. If you are inheriting in Andalucía from your spouse or parent it is highly likely you will not pay any inheritance tax .

Thanks to recent changes many heirs pay no inheritance tax : This is the result of the  favourable consequences of a recent sentence by the ECJ that contemplates that non residents of Spain (but resident of European Union countries ) are now allowed the same exemptions as residents of Spain and how in Andalucia exemptions have increased in 2017, again in 2018 and believe it or not yet again in 2019.

The exemptions applicable will the ones corresponding to the date of death.

We will follow up the discussion with a written budget and timescale for handling the full procedure for you from start to finish.

We appreciate how complicated things are for you at this moment in time and if you hire us we will do everything possible to make sure that the legalities of the inheritance procedure take place in an orderly and speedy fashion with an exact timescale and budget provided at the outset.

When we take on a probate case,  if possible we like  to meet in person at least on one occasion but it is  not strictly necessary as we can do everything by power of attorney that we would send you for signature in the U.K.