How to Make a Spanish Will in 2026: Expat Guide (US & UK)

If you own anything in Spain, a flat, a car, a bank account, even a parked NIE certificate linked to assets, and you die without a Spanish will, your family inherits a problem first and the asset second. They face 12 to 24 months of probate, apostilled translations of your foreign will, a forced heirship regime they did not choose, and a 6 month Modelo 650 inheritance tax deadline that starts ticking the day you die. A Spanish will, drafted bilingually and signed before a Spanish notario, prevents almost all of that. This guide explains how it works, why Brussels IV changes the game for UK and US expats, and what our team handles when you instruct us.

Updated: June 2026. Author: Lucia Lagunas Reyes, MICAP Nº 2572.

What is a Spanish will and why expats need one

A Spanish will (testamento) is a public legal document signed before a Spanish notario and automatically registered with the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad, the central will registry kept by the Ministerio de Justicia. It governs how your Spanish-situs assets pass when you die: real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, securities held with a Spanish broker, business interests, and digital assets linked to a Spanish address.

Foreign wills are valid in Spain, but using one in isolation forces your heirs to apostille it, sworn-translate it, and re-prove its validity in the Spanish administrative chain before any asset moves. A separate Spanish will, drafted to cover only your Spanish-situs estate, runs in parallel with your UK or US will (which keeps governing your home-country assets) and shortens probate dramatically.

Do you actually need a Spanish will?

If you own property in Spain

Yes. The registered owner of any Spanish real estate should hold a Spanish will. Without it, the property cannot change hands in the Registro de la Propiedad until your foreign will is translated, apostilled, and recognised, and Modelo 650 is filed within 6 months of death.

If you have a Spanish bank account or NIE-linked assets

Yes, even for modest balances. Spanish banks freeze accounts on death and will not release funds without a notarised inheritance declaration. A Spanish will makes that declaration straightforward.

If you live in Spain on an NLV, DNV, or Beckham regime

Yes. Tax residence in Spain pulls your worldwide estate into the Spanish inheritance tax (ISD) net for residents, and the regional rules detailed in our inheritance in Spain guide determine how much your heirs actually pay. A Spanish will paired with a professio iuris clause is the cleanest way to coordinate with your home-country planning.

When a UK or US will is not enough

Even a perfectly valid English-language will requires apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention plus a traducción jurada (sworn Spanish translation) before any Spanish notary will act on it. That alone adds weeks. Worse, a UK or US will rarely contains the professio iuris language (the explicit election of national law under Brussels IV) that lets your heirs avoid Spanish forced heirship. Without that clause, Spanish reserved-share rules can override your stated intentions for Spanish-situs assets.

The three types of Spanish will (and the one expats actually use)

Open will, testamento abierto (the expat default)

The testamento abierto is the standard format and the only one we recommend for foreign clients. You appear before a notario with your lawyer, the notario reads the will aloud in Spanish (and in English summary if your Spanish is limited), you sign, and the notario keeps the original in their protocol. You leave with a copia autorizada. Cost is modest, registration is automatic, and the will is virtually impossible to lose, alter, or contest on procedural grounds.

Closed will, testamento cerrado

Historical format. You hand the notario a sealed envelope containing the will; the notario certifies the envelope. Almost never used today because it adds cost without adding privacy worth having, and because closed wills are easier to challenge if the envelope’s chain of custody is questioned.

Holographic will, testamento ológrafo

A handwritten will, fully written and signed by the testator, dated. Valid in principle, but high-risk for expats: after death there are two separate deadlines: whoever holds the will must present it to a notario within 10 days of learning of the death (Art. 690 Código Civil), and the will must be authenticated and notarised (adveración and protocolización, Arts. 61-63 of Ley 15/2015 de Jurisdicción Voluntaria) within 5 years of the death (Art. 689 Código Civil) or it loses effect. Handwriting must be verified, and any ambiguity in language, especially if drafted in English by a non-Spanish speaker, becomes litigation. We do not recommend holographic wills for clients with cross-border assets. The cost and stress of authentication wipe out any perceived saving.

International will under the 1973 Washington Convention

A separate format created by the UNIDROIT Washington Convention of 1973. Spain has NOT ratified this convention, so the “international will” does not operate as a standalone vehicle before Spanish notaries or registries. If you have seen it suggested online, ignore it for Spanish assets: the open notarial will is what works in Spain, and it is what we prepare for every UK and US client.

Brussels IV and why it changes everything for UK and US expats

EU Regulation 650/2012 (known as Brussels IV or the European Succession Regulation) governs cross-border successions in Spain since 17 August 2015. Two articles matter:

The default rule, Article 21

Without an explicit choice, the law applicable to your succession is the law of the country where you were habitually resident at the time of death. For a UK retiree living in Marbella, that means Spanish succession law, including the legítima (forced heirship for children). For a US citizen tax-resident in Valencia, the same default applies, which can override your home-state estate plan in ways that surprise heirs.

The escape clause, Article 22, professio iuris

You can override the default by expressly electing the law of your nationality to govern your entire succession. This is the professio iuris. The clause must be in writing in a will (or in a separate written declaration), and it sweeps in all assets and all jurisdictions for the succession. A UK national who elects English law in their Spanish will escapes the legítima for Spanish-situs assets and keeps testamentary freedom intact.

UK position post-Brexit

The UK never opted into Brussels IV in the first place, so Brexit changed nothing structurally. The Regulation continues to apply in Spain because it is the law of the Spanish forum hearing the succession. A British testator can still elect English law (or Scottish law, or Northern Irish law) via professio iuris in their Spanish will, and Spanish notaries and courts apply that choice.

US citizens

US citizens elect the law of the US state of their domicile (not “US law”, which does not exist for succession purposes). The clause typically reads “the law of the State of [Florida / California / New York] of the United States of America”. Coordination with your US estate attorney is essential, and our team handles that exchange directly so the Spanish will dovetails with your revocable trust or pour-over will at home.

How a Spanish will neutralises forced heirship (la legítima)

Spanish forced heirship reserves two-thirds of your estate for descendants by default: one-third legítima estricta in equal shares and one-third mejora among descendants at your discretion. The surviving spouse holds a usufructo viudal (life interest) over a defined share depending on which heirs concur.

These rules do not apply if Brussels IV professio iuris elects a different national law. A UK national electing English law in their Spanish will leaves the entire Spanish estate to their spouse, or to charity, or to one child to the exclusion of others, exactly as English testamentary freedom allows. The same applies to US citizens electing their state’s law.

Two cautions our team flags during drafting:

• Regional foral law. Some Spanish autonomous communities (Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, Navarra, Aragon, the Balearic Islands) have their own civil codes with their own forced-heirship rules. If you have Spanish nationality and habitual residence in one of these regions, the foral rules can apply. For UK or US testators with no Spanish nationality, professio iuris removes the issue.
• Hereditary reserves under the elected law. Some US states and several civil-law systems have their own reserved shares. Electing French or Belgian law, for example, does not buy testamentary freedom. Our drafting checks the elected law for compatibility with your wishes.

How to make a Spanish will: step by step

Step 1: Document collection

We need your NIE certificate, passport, a written list of Spanish-situs assets (property addresses with cadastral references, bank accounts with IBAN, vehicle plates, brokerage accounts), and the full legal names plus passport or ID numbers of beneficiaries and any executor (albacea) you appoint.

Step 2: Bilingual drafting

Our team drafts the will in Spanish with an English mirror translation alongside, in two columns. The Spanish version is what the notario reads and what governs; the English mirror is for your reference and the comfort of your heirs. The professio iuris clause sits in the opening articles. Specific bequests, residue, executors, and substitute beneficiaries follow.

Step 3: Signing before a notario

We book the notario, accompany you to the appointment, and act as interpreter where needed. The notario reads the will aloud in Spanish, confirms your capacity, witnesses your signature, signs and stamps the document, and retains the original in the notarial protocol. The appointment typically takes 30 to 45 minutes.

Step 4: Automatic registration in the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad

After signing, the notario reports the will through the Notarial College to the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad (Ministerio de Justicia), so the existence of your will, not its content, is centrally recorded. After your death, your heirs request a Certificado de Ultimas Voluntades from the Registro, which tells them whether you signed a Spanish will, when, and before which notario. This certificate is the starting point of Spanish probate and the reason a Spanish will is virtually impossible to lose.

Step 5: Safekeeping

You receive a copia autorizada (authorised copy) of the will. The original stays in the notario’s protocol indefinitely; if that notario retires or closes the office, the protocol passes to a succeeding notary or to the regional Colegio Notarial. Your heirs do not need your physical copy to act on the will; the registry trail and notarial protocol are sufficient.

Coordinating your Spanish will with your UK or US will

A Spanish will should not revoke your foreign will, and vice versa. We draft a clause of compatibility that limits the Spanish will to assets situated in Spain and expressly preserves the foreign will for assets situated elsewhere. The two documents operate in parallel jurisdictions: your English solicitor or US estate attorney handles your UK or US estate; we handle the Spanish one. Both succession proceedings can run simultaneously, which is the whole point of the structure: speed.

We coordinate directly with your solicitor or estate attorney when instructed. Lucia and our colleagues exchange drafts in English, confirm the professio iuris language matches the testator’s intention in both jurisdictions, and verify that no clause in either will accidentally revokes the other.

After the will is signed: what happens when you die

The Spanish will sits inert in the notarial protocol until your heirs (or our team on their behalf) request the Certificado de Ultimas Voluntades. From that moment the probate clock runs:

• Within 6 months of death: Modelo 650 inheritance tax declaration must be filed, with the option of a 6-month extension if requested in the first 5 months.
• In parallel: an escritura de aceptación y adjudicación de herencia is signed before a notario, the property registry is updated, bank accounts are unfrozen, and ISD is paid to the relevant regional treasury based on the heir’s residence and the asset location.

How much ISD your heirs pay depends entirely on the autonomous community where the asset sits or where the heir resides. Andalucía, Madrid, and now Valencia apply ~99% bonifications for close family in 2026; the Balearic Islands run a 100% bonification for groups I and II; Catalonia phases reductions from 99% down to 60% on a sliding scale. The Spanish will controls the who of inheritance; the regional ISD rules control the how much.

Common mistakes expats make with Spanish wills

Relying only on a UK or US will

The single most common mistake. A foreign will alone forces your heirs into apostille and translation purgatory and exposes Spanish-situs assets to the legítima default under Brussels IV Article 21. Cost of fixing this after death dwarfs the cost of a Spanish will today.

Forgetting professio iuris

A Spanish will drafted by someone unfamiliar with cross-border succession sometimes omits the Article 22 election. Without it, Spanish forced heirship can override your stated wishes for Spanish assets. This is the clause that gives the will its strategic value for foreign testators.

Not updating after life events

Marriage, divorce, new children, sale or purchase of major Spanish assets, change of habitual residence, all should prompt a review. Spanish wills are easy to replace: you sign a new one before a notario and the registry automatically supersedes the old. We recommend a review every 5 years or after any major life event.

No Spanish executor or albacea

You can appoint your spouse, a child, a trusted friend, or your lawyer as albacea. Without one, your heirs coordinate the estate themselves, which is workable when relations are good and fraught when they are not.

Digital assets and cryptocurrency

A modern will lists crypto wallets, cloud accounts, and any DeFi positions held through Spanish-based exchanges with instructions on access (without exposing keys in the will itself). We include a digital assets clause as standard for clients under 70.

FAQs (PAA from US, UK and ES SERPs)

Does a UK will override a Spanish will?

No. They operate in parallel. A Spanish will limited to Spanish-situs assets and a UK will limited to UK assets coexist without conflict, provided both contain a compatibility clause confirming the scope. Our team drafts the Spanish side and reviews the UK side with your solicitor to verify no accidental revocation.

How much does it cost to make a Spanish will?

The notarial fee for a standard open will is modest and set by the arancel notarial (the official notary tariff fixed by Royal Decree). Lawyer drafting fees vary with complexity (single estate vs cross-border coordination, multiple beneficiaries, business interests). We disclose a fixed fee during your initial consultation; we do not publish prices online because every estate is different. Total cost for a typical UK or US expat with a property and bank accounts in Spain is a small fraction of the cost of probate without a Spanish will.

How do Spanish wills work?

You appear before a notario with your lawyer, sign the bilingual will, the notario keeps the original in protocol and notifies the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad, and you leave with an authorised copy. After your death, your heirs request a certificate from the Registro confirming the will exists and identifying the notario who holds it. The notario issues authorised copies to the heirs, who use them to claim assets and file inheritance tax.

How do I get a copy of a Spanish will?

During the testator’s lifetime, only the testator can request copies, by visiting the notarial office where the will was signed. After death, named beneficiaries and legal heirs request a Certificado de Ultimas Voluntades from the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad (Ministerio de Justicia) and, with that certificate plus the death certificate, request authorised copies from the notario named in the registry record.

How long does it take to make a Spanish will?

From instruction to signed deed, typically 2 to 4 weeks when both client and our team move on a normal cadence: 1 week for asset and beneficiary collection, 1 week for bilingual drafting and review, then a notary appointment scheduled within 1 to 2 weeks. Urgent cases (terminal illness, imminent travel) can compress to 5 to 7 days when the notario can be booked quickly.

Can I write my Spanish will in English?

The will is signed in Spanish before the notario, because Spanish is the language the notario certifies. Our team produces a side-by-side bilingual document so you read and understand exactly what you are signing in your own language; the Spanish version governs legally, and the English column is your reference. If your Spanish is limited, the notario can also have a sworn interpreter present, which we arrange.

Is there a Spanish word for “will”?

Yes, testamento. The full term is testamento abierto notarial for the open notarial will format that virtually every expat uses.

What is the difference between testamento abierto and testamento cerrado?

The testamento abierto is read aloud by the notario and signed in their presence; the contents are known to the notario and recorded in the notarial protocol. The testamento cerrado is handed to the notario in a sealed envelope; the notario certifies the envelope but does not read the contents. Open wills are the modern standard and what we use for all expat clients; closed wills are essentially historical.

Why our team handles Spanish wills for foreign clients

Lucia Lagunas Reyes (MICAP Nº 2572) leads our succession practice. We are a remote-first Spanish law firm; over 1.000 expat clients per year instruct us across the Spanish regions where foreign owners actually buy and retire: Madrid, the Costa del Sol, and increasingly Valencia (where the 2025 wealth tax exemption has accelerated cross-border relocation). Our team books the notario, drafts the bilingual will, coordinates with your UK solicitor or US estate attorney, and registers the will with the Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad. After death, the same team handles the Spanish probate end to end.

Two principles run through every will we draft:

• Bilingual, side-by-side. You read the English column, you understand exactly what you are signing in Spanish. No surprises at the notario’s office.
• Cross-border coordination. Your Spanish will, your UK or US will, your real estate, your bank accounts, your inheritance tax filing, all sit in the same plan. We do not draft Spanish wills in isolation.

If you are ready to make your Spanish will or want a 30-minute consultation to scope the work, book a call with our team.

Related guides

• Spanish Inheritance Law for Non-Residents (regional ISD bonifications, Brussels IV, Modelo 650)
• Spanish Tax for Non-Residents and Residents (IRPF, IRNR, wealth tax, ISD cross-references)
• Power of Attorney in Spain (Poder Notarial) (the document that lets us act for you remotely)