Making a will in Spain: why alongside your Dutch will

A Dutch will is technically valid in Spain, but in practice, settling an estate through a foreign will takes considerably longer: documents need to be translated and legalised, and Spanish notaries and banks prefer working with a Spanish document they recognise immediately.

A Spanish will that specifically covers your Spanish assets speeds this process up significantly and saves your heirs from months of waiting and extra translation and legalisation costs at a time that's already difficult enough.

Since the EU succession regulation (Brussels IV, in effect since 2015), you can explicitly choose the succession law of your nationality in your will, even for assets in Spain. For most Dutch buyers, this means Dutch inheritance law, including arrangements such as the statutory division, can continue to apply.

If you don't make this choice explicitly, the law of the country where you had your habitual residence at the time of death applies by default, which can lead to unexpected outcomes if you split your time between the Netherlands and Spain.

Drawing up a Spanish will at the notary typically costs a few hundred euros per person, and in most cases is arranged within a single appointment, provided you know beforehand what you want to record. We help you prepare this in advance, so the notary visit is a formality rather than your first introduction to the topic.

The will is registered in Spain's central wills registry (Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad), so it can be easily located after death, even if the original deed has been misplaced.

Important: a Spanish will doesn't replace your Dutch will, it exists alongside it and specifically covers your Spanish assets. Both wills need to align, so they don't accidentally revoke or contradict each other.

We recommend coordinating this with your Dutch notary or estate planner before visiting the Spanish notary, especially if there are multiple children, a blended family, or assets in more than one country involved.