What to do when a family member dies in Spain: steps, papers and deadlines

The first days

• Medical death certificate, signed by the doctor who confirms the death
• Funeral insurance (seguro de decesos): if there was one, call the insurer first; it usually handles the funeral and much of the paperwork
• Registration at the Civil Registry and burial licence: normally handled by the funeral home
• Ask for several copies of the death certificate: banks, insurers and Social Security will all ask for one

The first weeks

• Tell the banks: they will freeze the accounts until the inheritance is processed (what happens to the accounts)
• Do not withdraw money from the deceased's accounts or pay debts with it: it can count as accepting the inheritance, debts included
• After 15 working days: certificate of last wills (whether there is a will and which notary holds it) and certificate of life insurance
• Then, an authorised copy of the will from the notary; if there is no will, a declaration of heirs before a notary
• Foreign heirs will need an NIE (Spanish tax number) to sign and pay taxes

What has a legal deadline

• Inheritance tax: 6 months from the death; a 6-month extension can be requested within the first 5 (how much you pay)
• Municipal capital-gains tax (plusvalía), if there is urban property: 6 months, extendable up to one year if requested in time
• The deceased's last income-tax return: filed by the heirs during the following year's campaign

Then: the inheritance

With the certificates and the will (or the declaration of heirs), the assets are listed and valued, the taxes are filed and the heirs sign the acceptance and distribution before a notary. Property is then registered in the heirs' names and banks, land registry, vehicles and utilities are updated. All of this can be done without travelling to Spain, and we can handle it all for 1% of the estate.