Inheritance lawyer in Alicante

01What an inheritance lawyer in Alicante does

An inheritance lawyer in Alicante handles everything that happens to a person's assets after death: finding out whether there is a will, identifying the heirs, drawing up the inventory of assets and debts, preparing the deed of acceptance and division before a notary, filing inheritance tax and plusvalía, and registering the property at the Land Registry. When the heirs disagree, the lawyer negotiates or litigates so that the division is fair and valid.

I am Esther Sánchez Hellín, a lawyer registered with the Alicante Bar Association (ICALI, number 5795), and I have practised in Alicante since 2002. My main field is family law, and inheritance is its natural continuation: there is almost always a family behind an estate, with its bonds and its tensions. I work these cases with two aims: that you do not lose money through mistakes or missed deadlines, and that the inheritance does not destroy the relationship between the people involved.

When to get advice

• You suspect the estate has more debts than assets and are considering renouncing.
• A co-heir refuses to sign or to sell the family home on the Costa Blanca.
• The deceased was a foreign national or had assets in more than one country.

I work with clients from Alicante city, Playa de San Juan, San Vicente del Raspeig, Elche, Torrevieja and Benidorm. A note on language: consultations are held in Spanish. If you need an interpreter, just say so when you write to me on WhatsApp and we will arrange it.

02With or without a will: the Spanish declaration of heirs

The first step is to find out whether there is a will. Fifteen working days after the death you can apply to the Spanish Ministry of Justice for the certificado de últimas voluntades (the central wills certificate), which states whether the person made a Spanish will and before which notary. With that information an authorised copy of the last valid will is requested from the notary.

If there is a will

The will governs, within the limits of the reserved shares explained below. Named heirs and legatees can move straight to the inventory, acceptance and division stage. A will made abroad can usually be used in Spain once apostilled and translated by a sworn translator.

If there is no will: intestate succession

Where there is no will, or it does not cover all the assets, Spanish law opens intestate succession (articles 912 and following of the Civil Code). First you need a declaración de herederos abintestato (declaration of heirs), which since Law 15/2015 on Voluntary Jurisdiction is done before a notary through a notarial act with two witnesses who know the family. The legal order of succession is:

1. Children and descendants.
2. Failing them, parents and ascendants.
3. The surviving spouse, provided they were not legally separated.
4. Siblings, nephews and nieces and other relatives up to the fourth degree.
5. Failing all of them, the Spanish State.

Be aware that under common Spanish law an unmarried partner does not inherit by law. If you lived together without being married and without a will, your position is fragile and should be reviewed as soon as possible. There is more on this in my article on inheritance without a will in Alicante (in Spanish).

03Accepting, renouncing or accepting with benefit of inventory

Nobody is obliged to inherit. When an estate opens you have three options.

Outright acceptance

This is the most common route. It can be express, in a notarial deed, or tacit, through acts that only an heir would do (selling an estate asset, collecting rent, using a bank account). The risk is that you become liable for the deceased's debts with all your own assets, not only with what you inherit.

Acceptance with benefit of inventory

Regulated in articles 1010 and following of the Civil Code, this allows you to inherit while limiting your liability to what you receive: debts are paid from the estate and whatever is left is yours; if there is a shortfall, you pay nothing from your own pocket. It is declared before a notary and requires a faithful inventory within the legal time limits. It is the sensible choice when there are mortgages, personal guarantees or a business with pending obligations.

Renunciation

Renunciation must be express and made before a notary (article 1008 of the Civil Code). It is irrevocable and cannot be partial or conditional. If you renounce, your share passes to whoever comes next under the will or the law; in intestate succession it often passes to your own children by right of representation, so sometimes a whole branch of the family has to renounce in turn. Before taking that step, read my article on renouncing an inheritance with debts (in Spanish) and talk to me: in some cases benefit of inventory is better than giving up a property.

04Forced heirship: what Spanish law reserves for children and spouse

Spain does not have full freedom of testation. Under common Spanish law, which applies in Alicante and the whole Valencia region, the Civil Code reserves part of the estate for certain relatives, the forced heirs (herederos forzosos). That part is called the legítima. This is often the biggest surprise for British or Dutch residents.

The children's reserved share

The reserved share of children and descendants is two thirds of the estate (article 808 of the Civil Code): one third is the strict reserved share (legítima estricta), divided equally among all children, and one third is the improvement share (tercio de mejora), which the testator may allocate to one or more children or grandchildren. The remaining third is freely disposable and can be left to anyone, including a partner, a stepchild or a charity.

Rights of the surviving spouse

A surviving spouse who was not legally separated is entitled to the usufruct (life interest) of the improvement third when there are children (article 834 of the Civil Code). If there are no descendants but there are ascendants, the usufruct is over half of the estate; if there are neither, over two thirds. It is a life interest, not ownership, although the heirs can agree to convert it into an annuity, a lump sum or specific assets.

05Dividing the estate and disputes between siblings

Accepting an inheritance is not the same as dividing it. Until the division is signed, the heirs form a community in which everyone owns everything and nobody owns anything in particular, which blocks the sale of the house and the bank accounts.

How the division is done

The ideal is an agreed division: the assets are inventoried and valued, the debts are deducted and lots are allocated as evenly as possible. When a property cannot be split, it is usually awarded to one heir who compensates the others in cash, or sold and the price shared. Everything is recorded in the deed of acceptance and award of inheritance (escritura de aceptación y adjudicación de herencia) before a notary. Heirs living abroad can sign through a power of attorney.

When a co-heir will not sign

Any heir may demand the division of the estate (article 1052 of the Civil Code); nobody can be forced to remain in co-ownership. Without agreement, the route is the judicial division of inheritance under articles 782 and following of the Civil Procedure Act, in which a court appointed partitioner draws up the division. Since 3 April 2025, before filing a civil claim it is compulsory to attempt an appropriate dispute resolution method (negotiation, mediation or conciliation) under Organic Law 1/2025. In my experience, that preliminary stage, properly handled, resolves most family deadlocks without going to trial. If the dispute becomes a claim for money or an action to annul a deed, it moves into the field of a civil lawyer in Alicante.

06Inheritance tax in the Valencia region and plusvalía

Inheriting in Spain has a tax cost, and the deadlines are short.

Inheritance and Gift Tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones)

The tax is regulated by Law 29/1987 but is managed by the regions; in Valencia by the Agència Tributària Valenciana (ATV). The self-assessment must be filed within six months of the death, extendable by a further six months if the extension is requested within the first five. Filing late means surcharges and interest, and without proof of filing or payment the Land Registry will not register the property and the bank will not release the accounts.

The good news for most families is that the Valencia region applies very generous allowances to inheritances between parents, children and spouses. The exact percentage and the reductions for kinship, main residence or disability should be checked with the ATV at the time of death, because regional rules change. I go into detail in my article on inheritance tax in the Valencia region (in Spanish). Between siblings, unmarried partners or unrelated people the bill is considerably higher.

Municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía municipal)

If the estate includes flats, premises or urban land, each town hall (Alicante, Elche, San Juan, Campello, Torrevieja...) charges the tax on the increase in value of urban land, also within six months of the death, extendable to one year on request.

07Foreign nationals, mixed couples and assets in more than one country

In the province of Alicante it is very common for the deceased to be British, German, Dutch, Belgian, Russian or Ukrainian, or for a resident of Alicante to have an account or a house in another country. These estates raise two preliminary questions: which law applies and where tax is paid.

Which law governs the estate

For deaths since August 2015 the European Succession Regulation (Regulation 650/2012) applies in Spain, and Spanish notaries and courts apply it to British and other non-EU nationals too. The general rule is that the estate is governed by the law of the country of the deceased's habitual residence, unless the will expressly chooses the law of their nationality. In practice this means that a British citizen living in Torrevieja or Benidorm without that choice may find the whole estate subject to the Spanish Civil Code, with its forced heirship rules, even though they assumed they were free to leave everything to their partner. And the reverse: if the will chooses English, German or Dutch law, that is the law we apply before the Spanish notary. Checking that clause is the first thing I do when a foreign will lands on my desk.

If you are a foreign resident and have not yet made a Spanish will, do it: it is quick, inexpensive and it is where you choose your national law. My article on how to make a will in Alicante (in Spanish) explains the process.

08How I handle inheritances and what it costs

Every inheritance starts with a meeting at my office at calle Isabel La Católica 9, in the centre of Alicante, by appointment from Monday to Friday. I review the documents you already have and explain the whole route: formalities, deadlines, taxes and likely points of friction. You leave with a clear timetable and a written engagement letter stating my fees.

What my work includes

• Certificates, copy of the will or declaration of heirs before a notary.
• Inventory of assets and debts, division document and deed of inheritance.
• Inheritance tax with the ATV, plusvalía and registration at the Land Registry.
• Negotiation with the other heirs and, if necessary, judicial division of the estate.

Fees depend on complexity: an estate passing from a parent to an only child with one flat is not the same as one with five siblings, two properties and a contested will. That is why I give a fixed quote after the first meeting, separating my fees from notary, registry and tax costs. If, apart from the inheritance, you have personal debts you cannot cope with, my office also handles the Spanish second chance debt relief procedure.

You can book an appointment or send me a WhatsApp message with a summary of your case, and I will answer personally.

How a Spanish inheritance is processed, step by step

1. 1
   Initial certificates

   Death certificate and, fifteen working days later, the wills certificate and the life insurance certificate from the Ministry of Justice.

2. 2
   Will or declaration of heirs

   An authorised copy of the will is requested from the notary or, if there is none, the notarial declaration of heirs is processed. Foreign wills are apostilled and translated.

3. 3
   Inventory of assets and debts

   Land Registry extracts, bank certificates of balances at the date of death, vehicles, shareholdings, loans and guarantees.

4. 4
   Decision: accept, renounce or benefit of inventory

   With the liabilities in view, each heir decides. Renunciations and benefit of inventory are formalised before a notary.

5. 5
   Division and deed

   The division document with the awards is drafted and the deed of acceptance and award of inheritance is signed before the notary.

6. 6
   Taxes

   Self-assessment of inheritance tax with the ATV and of plusvalía within six months of the death, or with an extension requested in time. Non-resident heirs need a NIE.

7. 7
   Registration and transfers

   Registration of the properties at the Land Registry, release of bank accounts and transfer of vehicles at the DGT.

Frequently asked questions