But sometimes something unforeseen has to be dealt with too
Mrs. K was heartbroken when her husband died. However, the couple had thought ahead and prepared a Spanish will. As Mrs. K had used Abaco for nine years previously she was quite happy to trust them with a power of attorney and gave them the go ahead to sell the home she had shared with her husband in Spain. However, what looked like a straightforward process turned out to have complications of its own.
What Mr. and Mrs. K weren’t prepared for was that they needed planning permission for the new swimming pool they had built. Abaco became aware of this as they organised the paper work. The swimming pool was not on the title deed and was therefore illegal. Fortunately Abaco are experienced in the process of applying for retrospective planning permission. They contacted the town hall, the community of owners and the architect quickly. Planning permission came through and shortly after Mrs. K found a buyer for her property.
This wasn’t the end of Mrs. K and Spain, however. Not long after, she decided to return and bought a new property in Áltea. Now she has a new lease of life and thoroughly enjoys travelling the country thanks to Imserso, the Spanish Government’s subsidised holiday scheme!
Case Studies
Examples of how we've helped our clients
When it came to selling the property following her husband's death, Mrs. K found that their new swimming pool was causing complications
When his wife died it took Mr. S some time to transfer their Spanish property to his name
For one of our clients a bereavement signalled the start of something new
Mr. S and his wife had been happily married for 45 years. When she died he was devastated. It took him a little while to begin the process of sorting out his Spanish assets as he was still in the UK and finding it difficult to come to terms with what had happened. At last he contacted Ábaco and left it to them to sort everything out as his wife hadn’t left a will.
It wasn’t a straightforward process. It took longer than expected due to difficulties with finding some of the necessary documents. However, after two months there was only one document left to sign and shortly after an Ábaco representative was able to ring Mr.S to confirm that the transfer was complete. Mr.S was pleased with this good news. He also had some good news of his own. In the meantime he had met a new partner and was planning to get married in five months time!
Mrs. R was uncertain what to do with their Spanish holiday home when her husband died
If you are a non-resident it can be tempting to delay making the necessary arrangements for your Spanish assets
Mrs. and Mrs. R bought a property in Spain to use as a holiday home. In 2001 Mr.R died without leaving a will. At first Mrs. R couldn’t face dealing with a Spanish inheritance process she knew nothing about. For two years the property was left until, finally, Mrs. R decided that she wanted to sell it. She found a buyer but the sale was unable to go ahead. When it came to contract time Ábaco discovered that the property was still in her husband’s name and until it was 100% in hers she couldn’t sell.
Liaising with a solicitor in the UK, Ábaco were able to arrange for the payment of inheritance tax, the changes to the title deed and, eventually, the sale of the house. Unfortunately, as there had been a time delay, Mrs. R not only had to pay the original amount of inheritance tax but also the fines and interest incurred due to late payment. This came to 20% more than if the transfer had taken place at the time of her husband’s death. At last Mrs. R feels able to move on but now wishes she had done this sooner.
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