Question
My father deceased in Benalmadena in December of last year. He had left me completely out of his Spanish will and left everything to his second wife. She has emailed me to ask me to issue a power of attorney so that her solicitor can wind up the estate. Why would she need this ?
Answer
What is probably happening is that your father made a will that does not comply with the new European Directive 650/2012, that states that unless a person national of a European Union country living in another manifests on his will expressly that he wishes his national law to rules his estate the law to be applied will be the law of last residence.
Spanish law determines that children can receive no less than two thirds of their parents estate. They are known as obligatory heirs and their share is protected by law.
If your father was resident in Benalmadena at the time of his death two thirds of his estate belong to you and any other children he may have .He can only leave his wife one third of this estate.
If this is the case you have two choices .
- To claim your inheritance which should be successful if there´s no mention whatsoever on the will regarding a choice of law ,and your father was resident in Spain.
- To renounce in favour of your fathers wife, but in this case you need to be very cautious as this may have tax implications for you. In any case with a partially invalid wills and uncertainties over how the estate has to be delt with winding up the estate may get complicated even if you choose to renounce in her favour.
If you choose to renounce in her favour I would suggest you insist on retaining a solicitor at her expense to avoid any tax problems.
We can help you regardless of your choice.
Michael Davies.
Abogado.
