Hello all,

Background:
My sister-in-law and her husband were permanent residents in Spain. When they travelled to their home country, he died (of a terminal illness) there. My sister-in-law has since then never returned to Spain. By the time of his death (over 6 months since their departure from Spain) their Spanish residencia had already elapsed.

She is now trying to liquidate his bank holdings in Spain. She has been asked to produce a notarial ?Declaraci?n de Herederos? with supporting documents. He wrote no will, and they are both of foreign nationality. So the version needed is one applicable to intestate foreigners (abintestado, extranjero).

I am posting here to seek help on the form and content of such a Declaraci?n. A template or a sample of the document furnished in the case of a foreign national would be perfect (with personal information blanked out). Will be grateful for any and all help! Thanks!

AS

ps: A sample of one produced by a Spanish national will also be useful.

The declaraci?n de herederos will never be standard and certainly not in the circumstances that you have described.

Spanish law states that the law of nationality of the individual applies. As such the matter must revert to your brothers national law. From experience each Notary in Spain tends proceed slightly differently in the paperwork that they require but for all intents and purposes if I was dealing with a file such as this I would need to obtain a Certificate of Law from the home country and based upon this a declaraci?n de herederos could be prepared in Spain. Following this one would need to sign an Acceptance Deed / Adjudication Deed in which the legitimate heir(s) according to the declaraci?n de herederos must then accept (or possibly renounce) their rights.

I specialise in these matters and would be happy to provide further information and full details of the likely costs and full process if you wish. My contact details are below and in any event I trust that this is of some assistance.

G Mor?n

Glyn Moran
Partner / Lawyer
CB LEGAL & FISCAL

http://www.legalandfiscal.com
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tel.: +34 966 472 660 / +34 699 838 795

Thank you very much, Glyn. I shall consult with the family and get in touch as needed.

By the way, by “Certificate of Law” in the home country, do you mean an extract from the inheritance laws of the home country pertaining to and applicable to the case of the deceased and his inheritors? If yes, can such a statement of law be obtained as a letter from a licensed laywer in the home country with appropriate references to the parliamentary acts or other authoritative sources of the quotation?

Thanks!

Thank you for your message.

Ordinarily a Certificate of Law would be prepared by a Notary or equivalent in the individuals country of nationality. It must clearly state the applicable legislation / common law that applies and indicate who - in the particular circumstances - the legitimate heir or heirs would be. Prior to preparing any document it is advisable to confirm this with the Notary in Spain before whom the subsequent declaraci?n de herederos will be signed.

If you wish to take this forward please feel free to contact me and I will do all that I can top be of assistance.

Glyn

Thanks again, I will get in touch after consulting with the family.
Cheers.

Glad to be of assistance.

G Moran