Inheritance & gifts

When a family member dies, grief comes with paperwork, deadlines and, sometimes, disagreements. And a good will or a well-planned gift saves your family a great deal of trouble. We advise you calmly, step by step, on inheritances, wills, estate division and succession planning, on gifts between relatives or to third parties, and on Inheritance and Gift Tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones).

What we do in inheritance and gifts

• We handle the inheritance: we tell you what to do and in what order, review the will or, if there isn't one, obtain the declaration of heirs (declaración de herederos) before a notary, draw up the inventory of assets and debts, and coordinate the acceptance and division of the estate with the notary's office.
• We take care of the taxes: Inheritance and Gift Tax and the municipal land value tax (plusvalía municipal), applying whatever reductions and reliefs are available.
• We plan your succession: a will that, within the law, protects your spouse or partner, a child with a disability or whoever you choose and, if it suits you, lifetime gifts.
• We look at gifts before you make them: their tax cost and their effect on the future inheritance, and we file them on time.
• We resolve disputes between heirs: forced heirship shares (legítima), disinheritance, blocked inheritances and estate division. We look for an agreement first; if that isn't possible, we defend you in court.

Common situations

• Your father or mother has died and you don't know where to start.
• There was no will and you need to establish who inherits.
• One heir won't sign and the inheritance is blocked.
• You believe your forced heirship share hasn't been respected, or you've been disinherited.
• You're unmarried partners (pareja de hecho) — in Madrid, as a general rule, without a will you don't inherit from each other — or a married couple without children, and want to protect each other with a will.
• You want to help a child buy a home or give them a property.

How we handle your case

1. Free initial orientation: ten minutes by phone to understand your situation and tell you what's urgent.
2. Consultation by phone, video call or at the office: we go through the documents and explain your options, costs and deadlines.
3. A proposal with a transparent quote, before we start and with no obligation.
4. We handle it: formalities, tax returns and coordination with the notary and the banks. We reply within 24 working hours.

Deadlines worth knowing

• Certificate of last wills (certificado de últimas voluntades): it can be requested once 15 working days have passed since the death; it shows whether there was a will and before which notary.
• Inheritance Tax: 6 months from the death, extendable by another 6 if you ask within the first 5, with late-payment interest. If it has passed, as a general rule you can still file, with a surcharge.
• Plusvalía municipal, if there are urban properties: 6 months, extendable to one year if you ask within that period.
• Gift Tax: 30 working days from the gift.

In the Community of Madrid — generally the competent region if that is where the deceased lived longest over the last five years — descendants, the spouse and ascendants get 99% relief on the tax due, and siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts, among others, 50% since July 2025. Even if little or nothing is payable, the inheritance must be declared on time; and for gifts, the reliefs carry formal requirements, such as a notarised deed above €10,000. Our free Inheritance: first steps and deadlines tool sets out the steps and their dates from the day of death.

What to bring to your first consultation

• The death certificate and, if you have them, the certificate of last wills and the will or the declaration of heirs.
• The heirs' DNI or NIE and the family book (libro de familia).
• Assets and debts: title deeds, property tax (IBI) receipts, bank balances at the date of death, vehicles, investments, life insurance, mortgages and loans.
• Any gifts the deceased made during their lifetime to any of the heirs.
• Letters from the tax office, the town hall or other heirs.

Fees

The initial 10-minute phone orientation is free. A phone or video consultation (45 minutes) costs from €50 + VAT (€100 + VAT on Saturdays), and at our office on Núñez de Balboa 120 (60 minutes) from €65 + VAT, by appointment. If you instruct us on the inheritance, the consultation fee is deducted. Book your inheritance consultation.

For ongoing support, there are monthly plans for individuals from €85/month + VAT. If you don't live in Spain or plan to sell what you've inherited, see also tax and business advisory. And on our inheritance and gifts blog you'll find more articles.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if one heir refuses to sign?

Any interested party can ask a notary to formally require them to decide: they then have 30 calendar days to accept or renounce and, if they don't reply, they are deemed to have accepted outright (pura y simplemente). For the division, if no one has been appointed in a will to divide the estate (contador-partidor), heirs and legatees representing at least half of the estate can ask a notary to appoint one (contador-partidor dativo). And there is always the option of dividing the estate through the courts.

Can I renounce an inheritance with debts?

Yes. Renunciation is made before a notary and, with it, you receive neither assets nor debts. You can also accept with the benefit of inventory (a beneficio de inventario), which has its own formalities and deadlines: debts are then only paid up to the value of the inherited assets. While you decide, don't dispose of anything: some acts can be treated as acceptance.

Can you handle the inheritance if I live outside Spain?

Yes. We work in English and Spanish and handle much of the process remotely; for signing before a notary, you can, for example, grant a power of attorney. In cross-border estates, as a general rule the law of the deceased's last habitual residence applies, unless their will chose the law of their nationality.