With the year coming to an end many people think about new challenges, plans, changes and improve their life for the New Year. Why not making the dream of living in Spain come true? If you are on your way to obtain Spanish residency card or are planning to move to Spain to your holiday property bought long ago, pay attention to this topic about EU succession that may be of wider interest.
Since 17th August 2015, European Union made it easier for people to handle the legal side of international succession. If you intend to reside in Spain for a long term, or for the rest of your life time, it is strongly recommended that you grant a Will in Spain, if you want for your home country law apply to your succession estate, otherwise Spanish laws on succession would be applicable due to your Spanish habitual residence, and is to apply to the whole of your succession. Difficult to sum up main rules of Spanish laws on succession, provided that either Spanish common or regional law might be applicable depending on whether you decide to live in Balearic islands, Aragon, Basque country, Catalonia or any other part of the Spanish country, however, common denominator is forced heirship rules. You must make a choice of law in your will, because according to the EU rules that ease cross-border successions, Spanish inheritance rules apply if you die while residing in Spain, unless you had a will granted stating that you choose for your national law to apply.