Legal advice in Spain, let the professionals help you

Changing ownership of property in Spain is an important process that must be done correctly. Make sure to have legal advice in Spain, our professional lawyers and legal experts are here to help you.

There are a number of reasons why you might want to transfer the ownership of a property into someone else’s name. It could be as a result of a property sale or purchase, or because of a divorce, a donation or bereavement.

Having the guidance of an independent lawyer who specializes in Spanish property law is a guarantee that they work on your behalf, looking after your interests and making sure all formalities are completed. For example, that the ownership of the property has been correctly registered at the Land Registry and that the corresponding tax declaration has been made.

Many people think that this is an easy process and try to save some money by trusting these formalities to a relative, friend or estate agent. However, more often than not, by trying to save money, the process becomes more stressful and expensive as things aren’t carried out correctly and a conflict of interests creates more problems than are solved.    

The Spanish property system is different to other countries, so you should ensure that those involved in the transaction are qualified, experienced and properly registered in Spain. Therefore, legal advice in Spain is very important to have and highly recommended.

It’s your lawyer who will guide you through the legal process, deal with the different professionals involved and obtain and prepare all the necessary documents. Wherever there is a change of ownership, the signature of a Notary is needed. So, for example if you are wanting to buy, sell, inherit, donate or remove a co-owner from the Title Deed, it must be authorized by a Notary on the new Title Deeds. It’s the notary who is responsible for bringing these documents into the public domain assisted by your lawyer.

For example, if someone close to you dies, it is important that you contact your lawyer. They will advise you and take care of all aspects of the inheritance claim. In this way and in order to ease the inheritance process, Ábaco Advisers has created a checklist of assets and information useful for your heirs. We recommend our clients complete this and provide the inheritors with a copy so that they will have all the information about the assets in Spain, along with our contact details, on one page.

We are on hand to give your inheritors the support and advice they need at this difficult time. You can find the asset checklist below:

It is advisable to provide us with a copy of the completed document to keep in your file.

We strongly recommend that if you are considering changing the ownership of a property in Spain you contact legal advice in Spain with help of a registered lawyer before making any arrangement. It is important that everything is checked by someone who has your interests at heart and is qualified to do the job.  At Ábaco Advisers our legal advice is backed by a team of lawyers and sworn translators. The Abaco team works closely to ensure that whatever your transaction – purchase, sale, inheritance, donation or change of co-ownership – it goes ahead smoothly and with your full knowledge of what the process entails.

For more information

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-buy-property-in-spain#legal-advice
• https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/dealing-with-the-financial-affairs-of-someone-who-has-died/#h-do-you-need-a-solicitor