NOVEMBER 11 NEWSLETTER
WILL I, OR WON’T I? (MAKING A SPANISH WILL)
Earlier this month, we held a special offer for a short limited period only for making Wills for free with all the customer donations going to a wonderful charity here; EMAUS.
At the time of writing this, we had managed to raise 1,890 Euros for the charity giving up our time for free and paying the Notary ourselves!
EMAUS is a registered charity that supports a wide variety of areas – Children’s Care Homes (one in Elche, a couple in Murcia and several near Altea), an Old People’s Home, a Women’s refuge, a disabled persons unit, a workshop teaching young people work skills… in fact pretty much all of the disadvantaged.
They are very grateful for all the help they can get. Tel: 00 34 965841808 Fax: 00 34 965845296 to offer them further help particularly for the children for Christmas. www.emausong.es.
Although that was only a limited offer (as we can’t always work for free!), what astounded me was how many people don’t have Wills here still!! Making a Will is often one of those things you know you should arrange, but have not got round to.
But if you are a foreigner, do you need to make a Spanish Will?
Any British or Irish resident who has assets in Spain, in the form of property, bank accounts or any asset, should make a Will detailing exactly what they wish to happen in the event of death. Otherwise, your beneficiaries will struggle with a lengthy and expensive process of getting their inheritance in Spain and the delay may also result in tax penalties.
Wills are individual, so whenever there is more than one person listed on the title deeds of a property, a Will should, of course, be made by each person.
What about if I die without making a Will? What will happen?
Under Art 9 of the Spanish Civil Code, a foreign national is entitled to leave assets according to the national law of their country of origin, so when a foreigner dies with property in Spain, their nationality usually dictates the law that applies to the distribution of their assets.
The proceedings will take place in Spain, however, following the Spanish process, and can be lengthy, especially if there is no Will.
If you die in Spain, the death certificate will need to be obtained at the local Civil Registry. If in Ireland or the United Kingdom, an original death certificate would need to be obtained from the General Register Office in the home country. This certificate, any Grant of Probate and a foreign Will need to be officially translated into Spanish, apostilled and presented in Spain. The process is time consuming and expensive.
If you are living in Spain and a resident, a Spanish Will is likely to apply only to your assets in Spain and would have no legality in any other country, if you have become a Spanish citizen, matters may be different and it would be wise to take legal advice. You would still need a separate Will in a country where you have assets still.
And if I had a Spanish Will and die?
If there was a Will made in Spain, this would be recorded at the General Register of Last Wills and Testaments and then an official copy would need to be obtained from the Notary’s office. A tax declaration must then be made to the tax office, and it would be advisable to consult a lawyer’s office for this.
Once the tax authorities confirm the figures, the deceased assets are transferred into the names of the heirs according to the provisions of the will. From submission of the tax office declaration to receiving an agreement from them can take six months, and Spanish probate ideally should be completed before the UK probate is dealt with. Any foreign inheritance taxes paid should be reflected on the UK Inland Revenue forms, which is another reason why a Spanish Will is advisable to avoid initial delays.
What would happen regarding inheritance tax in Spain?
Unlike in Britain, there is no exemption from inheritance tax between husband and wife. A tax form must be completed and the taxes paid. In Spain it is the heir who is taxed and not the estate. Tax will be calculated on the relationship of the heir to the deceased and the amount of the inheritance he/she receives.
The inheritance tax must be paid within six months of the death of the deceased; a request for further six months’ extension may be filed although interest will be charged.
Inheritance tax must be paid in advance of the release of the assets to be inherited, and beneficiaries may therefore need to borrow funds to pay the tax before they receive their inheritance.
A joint bank account will normally be frozen on the death of one of the account holders, although the bank will usually allow the direct debits for services to continue to be paid out of the account. Executors are not normal in Spain. Legal title passes directly to the beneficiaries.
How do I make a Will?
To make a Will in Spain is relatively easy. It needs to be drafted (usually by a solicitor’s office), in Spanish with an English translation, and signed in front of a Notary (a legal official who witnesses documents). Each person completing a Will needs to be present at the appointment at the Notary with their passport.
In front of the Notary the Will is discussed, and if everything is in order, all parties (individual, Notary, Translator) sign the document. The original Will is kept at the Notary’s office, notification is sent to the Registry in Madrid, and an official copy is given to the individual, who should really tell their heirs that they have made a Will.
If you have not made a Will already and have a property here, especially if it is in the names of unmarried partners, we really emphasise that you should do so.
Please contact Amanda on sales@spanishsolutions.net.
Even though the charity offer has expired, we still offer the service for a very reasonable price considering the expense and hassle it can save your beneficiaries.
SPANISH GENERAL ELECTION
After Mariano Rajoy’s landslide victory in the election this month here in Spain, now begins the hard task of fixing Spain’s serious economic problems.
His conservative People’s Party won the biggest majority for any party in thirty years. Speaking after his electoral victory, Rajoy said: “I ask you to continue helping me. I ask you to continue to support me. We will face difficult moments, but we have desire, courage, will, strength and support to form a government that will represent every Spaniard.”
With 45 per cent of the vote, the People’s Party soundly defeated the ruling Socialists, who saw their support fall to 29 per cent.
The Socialist’s party leader, Alfredo Rubalcalba has promised to support the new government when it officially takes over in mid December.
Rajoy was born in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, and graduated from the University of Santiago de Compostela . At the age of 24, he passed the competitive examination required in Spain to enter into the civil service becoming the youngest ever property registrar.
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Having served in various ministerial roles in the Azna administration (Aznar was Prime Minister 1996 to 2004), Rajoy was appointed as the party candidate for Prime Minister in the Spanish general election on 14 March 2004. That election was won by the then opposition Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in the aftermath of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. He has been Leader of the Opposition for 7 years.
INCREASING RUSSIAN BUYERS
With the election campaign in the recent month, the Spanish press went into full spin mode and one of those items has been the increase of Russian buyers coming to Spain. La Verdad has been building up the market and the potential for the property sector.
They are correct that the numbers of Russians are buying properties but the general numbers are the same as we are seeing here, with those buyers falling behind Irish, British, French, German and Belgian.
It also appears that interest has been more focused on the Barcelona (Cambrils is very popular) and Valencia regions for these buyers, however, there has definitely been a marked increase in the Orihuela Costa and Murcia area and that is a good thing. If the new Corvera airport next year manages to attract the interest of airlines offering direct flights to the former Soviet Union, that will have a huge impact.
Of course it is also mooted that there is Russian interest in the Paramount Theme Park project, but there has been no formal statement issued to date of confirmed investors… so we wait with bated breath.
LORCA PICASSO EXHIBITION
An exhibition featuring works by Pablo Picasso opened on the 11th November in Lorca to mark the passing of 6 months since the city was affected by 2 earthquakes. It will be held in the Huerto Ruano and there will be 40 items on display, showing the expertise of the Malaga born artist 12 0 years ago. Items include lithographs, ceramics, sculptures and a 23 gold carat figure. Some items have never been in public before and are donated by private collectors.
The exhibition is open until the 11th December every day from 11.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 20.00. There is an admission fee of 5 euros with the funds going to help towards the repair of buildings in the earthquake. Here is a link of how to get there.
http://www.simplynetworking.es/calida-4924-129-117-casa_museo_huerto_ruana_lorca.html
For all those Picasso fans out there like me (and a chance to visit a nice area and castle), why not ask our friends at La Zenia Travel if they can find you a reasonably price hotel (as there some great deals at this time of year) and make an overnight trip of it? Or look at some of their other excellent offers for Xmas trips, lights and cruises.
Tlf: 966 761 492 - Fax: 966 730 222 Email: orihuelacosta@estivaltour.comwww.lazeniatravel.com
CLOSURE OF SAN JAVIER AIPORT CONFIRMED
We understand that The Minister of Public Works and Secretary of State for Transport, have now signed the official agreement that effectively sees Murcia San Javier airport closed to commercial traffic. All passenger flights will now be transferred sometime next year to the new airport facility at Corvera, just outside Murcia city.
Despite Murcia San Javier having a new runway built only a few years ago and the redevelopment of the airport terminal buildings, an investment that cost some 60 million euro, the airport at San Javier will revert back to being one of military status under the Academia General del Aire.
Corvera will probably be finally being certified as a fully operational airport in the summer of 2012. We will let you know further details as we hear.
DECEMBER HOLIDAYS AND FIESTAS PART 1
Given that we are all revving up towards Christmas and the next issue of the newsletter will be late December, I thought I would mention a few points on Christmas in Spain in this issue and more next month.
The first thing that a visitor will notice is that Christmas in Spain is not as huge a commercial occasion as is the case in many other western countries and cities. Christmas lights are usually lit in the main cities in the first week of December by which time the shops are fully stocked with Christmas supplies. Nothing like the US, UK and Ireland where the end of summer marks the build up to Christmas!
Christmas trees are common in the home but again they don’t generally appear until the second half of December. Also in the home there are often intricate, miniature nativity scenes called Belenes which depict life in the village where Jesus was born. The Belén always include the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph as well as the Three Kings, Baltasar, Melchior and Gaspar.
I am going to mention a non Christmas holiday, but it is a Public holiday so please note the date. December 6th - Constitution Day. Constitution Day is an important date in Spain which is a National holiday throughout Spain which remembers 6th December 1978 when the Spanish people voted in a national referendum to approve the creation of a democratic system in Spain.However, the chronological order of notable Christmas events in Spain is as follows:
December 8th - This is the public holiday of Immaculada (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) which marks the beginning of the religious Christmas celebrations. Most notable in Seville. Please note this is a Public holiday everywhere in Spain.
21st December - In a few cities including Granada the celebration ofHogueras (bonfires) takes place. This date marks the winter solstice (shortest day) and where it is celebrated it involves people jumping through fires to protect themselves against illness. (Strange thing to do…)
22nd December - All over Spain people never stray far from a TV or radio as the Christmas lottery is drawn over a period of many hours. Everybody in Spain buys tickets for this lottery in the hope of winning El Gordo (the fat one) and the winning number usually means that a good number of people from the same village become a lot better off overnight. Besides the big three prizes there are thousands of smaller prizes shared by people all over Spain.
We thought it maybe helpful to provide you with next year’s calendar with the main Public holidays (Red Days) marked for your reference.
The Spanish Solutions office will be closed 24th December 2011 to 1st January 2012 inclusive.
TORREVIEJA CULTURAL PROGRAMME
Here is a reminder to consult www.torreviejacultural.com for what’s on in Torrevieja during December. This includes for example “The Sound of the Supremes” on 14th December at 20.00 at the Teatro Auditorio Municipal and many Christmas concerts.
Here are another couple of offers from our friendly neighbouring travel agency: Estival Tours at La Zenia.
NEW YEAR TRIP
PLAYA CAPRICHO HOTEL
ROQUETAS DE MAR, ALMERIA
30th DECEMBER 2011 3 NIGHTS
DINNER, BED AND BREAKFAST
INCLUDES GALA DINNER WITH ENTERTAINMENT ON 31ST
AND FREE BAR UNTIL 3AM
299€ PER PERSON*
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT 35€ SUIT & EVENING DRESS REQUIRED FOR GALA DINNER
TRANSPORT FROM TORREVIEJA & LA ZENIA INCLUDED
| Viajes Estival Tour – Orihuela Costa Tlf: 966 761 492 – Fax: 966 730 222 Email:orihuelacosta@estivaltour.com |
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RTN AND ESTIVALTOUR CANADIAN OFFER
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| 7 nights trip round the best of Canada , 3/4* accommodation provided inVancouver ,Kamloops ,Banff , Lake LouiseandCalgary .
Excursions included: Sightseeing tourVancouver, Rocky Mountaineer, Train journeyVancouver,Calgary Day Excursion, Rocky Mountains Helicopter Flight over, Glaciers Local Ranch visit, Sightseeing tourBanff, Gondola Trip Banff, Helicopter ride over Rockies summit. Traveling between the months of April and May FROM JUST 2950€ |
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MERRY CHRISTMAS GIFT VOUCHER
FOR 100€
FOR ANY HOTEL, FLIGHT, CRUISE OR TRAVEL DEAL (subject to availability)
PHONE: 96 679 14 92 or email orihuelacosta@estivaltour.com
Viajes Estival Tour La Zenia Calle Flores, 1, Bajo 3, Urb Zenia Golf 1, 03189 Orihuela Costa
LA PEDRERA (Grand Designs house) XMAS FUN DAY
On the 3rd & 4th of Dec Saturday and Sunday between 11am – 4pm Casa La Pedrera near the beautiful Torremundo lake are having a craft fair and fun day with all the activities including Santa and entertainment including carol singing and dancing. There will be lots to do and see for the whole family.
For further details of how to get there, see their website.http://thingstodoinspain.info/
IMPORTANT- NON RESIDENT TAX
Finally, it is that time again to remind you that it is law that all non residents that have a property in Spain pay Income Tax.
The Income tax is based on the supposed rental income that your property would generate. Even though you may not rent out your property or make any income from it, it is still an obligatory tax. The deadline for payment of this tax is 31st December 2011 for the year of 2010 (paid one year in arrears).
However, we kindly advise our clients that we require payments to be done as soon as possible in order to present taxes in time. If you have not heard from us, or sent your payment to us, please contact us now.
We charge €60 per person for preparing non resident home owner tax returns (or 90€ in total for a household of two people). Please contact Poli oninfo@spanishsolutions.net.
The team :
Poli Borisova
Ana Maria Barbadora
Eva G. Gilmartin
Lynne Henderson
Helena Labarta
Angie Real
Silvia Sanchez
Amanda Thomas
Editor: Amanda Thomas, Spanish Solutions
sales@spanishsolutions.net
00 34 966761741 Visit us online at www.spanishsolutions.net