If you have been named executor (albacea) or administrator of a Spanish estate — whether under a Spanish will, a foreign will with Spanish assets, or by Spanish intestacy — you have a fixed six-month window to file inheritance tax and a longer window to transfer ownership. The work breaks into a 30-day immediate phase, a 60-to-90-day documentation phase, and a 180-day completion phase before the Article 67 deadline. This runbook explains what happens at each stage and where executors most often fail.
Spanish estate execution is procedurally different from UK, US, Irish, or Australian probate. There is no court-issued grant of probate. Instead, the executor works with a Spanish notary to produce an escritura de aceptación y adjudicación de herencia — a notarial deed accepting the inheritance and distributing assets. Banks, the Land Registry, and vehicle authorities all require this escritura as proof of the heirs' entitlement before releasing assets or changing title.
The critical deadline is Article 67 of the Spanish Inheritance and Gift Tax Regulations: Modelo 650 (inheritance tax declaration) must be filed within six months of death. This deadline applies to the regional tax authority where the deceased was habitually resident (or, for non-residents, where the assets are located). Missing it triggers late-filing surcharges (5%-20% depending on delay), default interest, and in some regions loss of the regional bonificación.
The executor's job is therefore twofold: (1) compile the documentation needed for the escritura (death certificates, will copies, asset valuations, bank certifications) within the first 60-90 days, and (2) coordinate the notarial execution and Modelo 650 filing within the 180-day window. In parallel, the executor must manage the practical reality that Spanish bank accounts freeze at death, property cannot be sold or mortgaged until the escritura is registered, and ongoing bills (community fees, utilities, taxes) still fall due.
This page walks through the executor's duties across the three phases, identifies the documents required at each stage, explains where British, American, and other foreign executors most often get stuck, and sets out Platinum Legal Spain's standard timeline for a well-organised cross-border estate execution.
Six operational rules govern Spanish estate execution. Executors who understand these rules complete estates in 3-4 months; executors who do not often run to 9-12 months and miss the IHT deadline.
Modelo 650 must be filed within six months of death. The deadline runs from date of death, not date of notification. Extension under Article 68 is possible but must be applied for before month five — late extension applications fail.
Deadline managementNo Spanish court issues a probate grant. The escritura de aceptación y adjudicación, executed by a Spanish notary, is the operative document. Banks, Land Registry, and all Spanish institutions require this escritura.
Escritura processSpanish banks freeze the deceased's accounts on notification of death. Funds are not released until the escritura is presented and the bank receives confirmation that IHT has been paid or deferred. Joint accounts may partially freeze.
Bank unfreezeProperty title does not pass automatically. The escritura must be registered at the local Registro de la Propiedad, plusvalía municipal must be paid at the local town hall, and IHT must be filed. Only after all three does title pass to heirs.
Property transferForeign documents (death certificates, foreign wills, foreign probate grants) must be apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention and translated into Spanish by a traductor jurado (sworn translator). Budget 2-4 weeks for this conversion.
Document conversionA Spanish executor who fails to file Modelo 650 on time, or who distributes estate assets before IHT is paid, can face personal liability for unpaid tax plus surcharges. Professional representation insulates the executor from this exposure.
Liability managementThe single most common executor failure is underestimating the documentation phase. Foreign executors often assume that because the UK probate took two weeks, the Spanish equivalent will be comparable. In reality, apostille and sworn translation of UK documents alone typically consume 2-4 weeks; obtaining Spanish NIEs for non-resident heirs another 2-4 weeks; and obtaining regional-specific Modelo 650 forms and calculating IHT with bonificaciones another 2-3 weeks. Well-prepared executors start this work in week one; unprepared executors start in month four and run out of time.
The second most common failure is bank communication. Spanish banks freeze accounts on death but often do not release funds even after the escritura is presented, pending their internal compliance review. Executors who have not prepared the bank — by engaging a Spanish legal team and coordinating directly with the bank's succession department — routinely wait 4-8 weeks after the escritura is filed before accounts are actually accessible. Well-prepared executors coordinate with the bank in parallel with notarial preparation and have accounts released the week the escritura is signed.
The third issue is the non-resident NIE problem. Every heir who receives Spanish assets must have a Spanish NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero). For non-resident heirs in the UK, US, or Australia, obtaining an NIE requires either an in-person application at a Spanish consulate (long waiting lists) or a poder notarial granting a Spanish representative authority to apply. Executors who discover this requirement in month four of a six-month deadline typically cannot complete in time.
Platinum Legal Spain runs executor mandates to a standard 120-day target for compliance with the 180-day IHT deadline. We start NIE applications in week one, apostille and translation in week two, asset valuation in weeks three to six, escritura drafting in weeks seven to ten, and execution in weeks twelve to sixteen. The 180-day deadline is comfortably met.
Obtain death certificate (Certificado Literal de Defunción) from the civil registry. Search the Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad for any Spanish will. Obtain copies of any foreign will. Notify Spanish banks and utility providers of death. Identify and secure all Spanish assets.
Gather asset valuations (property valuation via tasación or catastral, bank balances at date of death, vehicle values). Obtain apostille and sworn translation of foreign documents. Apply for NIE for any heir who does not have one. Apply for extension under Article 68 if compilation will run past month five.
Notary engaged to draft escritura de aceptación y adjudicación. Modelo 650 prepared with regional tax authority-specific forms. Heirs review and approve escritura draft. Notarial appointment set for escritura signing.
Escritura signed before Spanish notary by all heirs (or their attorneys under poder). Modelo 650 filed with regional tax authority and IHT paid. Escritura registered at Registro de la Propiedad. Plusvalía municipal filed at town hall. Bank accounts unfrozen; property title transferred.
A Spanish estate execution is a project with a fixed completion date. The executor's job is to move from notification of death to filed IHT and registered escritura in under 180 days. This deep dive sets out what happens at each stage, what documents are needed, and where the work most often gets stuck.
The first week focuses on securing the situation. Obtain the original death certificate from the civil registry of the municipality where death occurred (Certificado Literal de Defunción). For deaths outside Spain, the foreign death certificate must be apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention and sworn-translated into Spanish — this is the first apostille and translation job; start it immediately.
Search the Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad in Madrid for any Spanish will. This is a central registry of all Spanish wills; any Spanish notary has executed a will before, it will appear here. Obtain a certified copy of the Spanish will if one exists. In parallel, obtain copies of any foreign will — UK grant of probate copy, US letters testamentary, Irish grant, etc.
Notify Spanish banks of the death, providing a copy of the death certificate. Banks are required by law to freeze the accounts on notification; some banks freeze automatically on seeing a Spanish death certificate filed at the Registro Civil. Do not delay notification — an executor who accesses accounts after death without authorisation faces personal exposure.
Secure the Spanish property. If the deceased lived there, change the locks if necessary, continue to pay community fees and utilities (these do not pause on death), and arrange for the property to be maintained. Insurance must continue. If the property is let, rental income continues to fall to the estate until formal transfer.
Compile a full list of Spanish assets with approximate values. Property: current market value (informal for initial estimate; formal tasación later). Bank accounts: balance at date of death (bank certificate will follow). Investments: portfolio statement at date of death. Vehicles: trade-in value. Personal effects: inventory.
Identify all heirs by name, nationality, age, and NIE status. Where any heir does not have an NIE, begin the NIE application process immediately. NIE applications for non-residents can take 6-12 weeks through Spanish consulates abroad; faster through a poder notarial authorising a Spanish representative to apply in Spain.
Engage Spanish legal representation if not already done. A Spanish solicitor or specialist firm manages the notary, the regional tax authority, the bank, the Land Registry, and the town hall. For cross-border estates, self-representation is rarely viable — the procedural complexity and language barrier defeat most foreign executors.
Obtain formal property valuations. Most regional tax authorities will accept the catastral value of the property (the municipal valuation register value) as a baseline, but this is often below market value. Where the heirs prefer to use market value (e.g., to reset the acquisition cost for future capital gains tax purposes), a formal tasación from a licensed valuer is required.
Obtain bank certificates showing balance and any investments at date of death. Each Spanish bank issues these on request; they are required for the Modelo 650 filing. Most banks take 2-4 weeks to issue them, particularly for accounts with investment products.
Complete apostille and sworn translation of all foreign documents. Foreign death certificates, foreign wills, foreign probate grants, foreign marriage certificates, foreign birth certificates (for heirs). Each apostille costs £30-£50 (UK FCDO) or equivalent; sworn translation €30-€60 per page. Budget €500-€1,500 for a typical cross-border estate.
Obtain Spanish NIEs for all heirs who do not have one. This is often the critical path — no heir without an NIE can sign the escritura. For heirs in the UK, the NIE application through the Spanish embassy in London typically takes 6-10 weeks; through a poder notarial to a Spanish representative, 2-4 weeks.
The notary engaged by the heirs drafts the escritura de aceptación y adjudicación. This is a notarial deed that:
Heirs review the draft. Amendments are common — heirs frequently negotiate which heir takes which asset, subject to the will's requirements. The notary finalises once heirs agree.
Modelo 650 is prepared in parallel. Each regional tax authority has its own version of Modelo 650; the form, supporting schedules, and filing portal vary by region. Madrid uses its own portal; Valencia uses the Generalitat; Andalusia uses the Junta. Professional preparation ensures the correct regional form is used and the correct bonificación applied.
Plusvalía municipal is calculated at the town hall where the property is located. This is a municipal tax on the increase in land value between the deceased's acquisition and the date of death. It is separate from state IHT and is paid to the ayuntamiento, not the regional tax authority.
Escritura signing. All heirs attend the notarial office or sign by poder. The notary reads the escritura, confirms heirs' identity and acceptance, and executes the deed. The notary's copia auténtica (authoritative copy) is the operative document for all downstream steps.
Modelo 650 filed with the regional tax authority within the six-month deadline. IHT is paid at filing (or deferred under aplazamiento if applicable — typically requires bank guarantee and is granted only in specific circumstances).
Plusvalía filed at the ayuntamiento within 30 days of the escritura (some municipalities extend to the six-month mark).
Escritura registered at the Registro de la Propiedad. Title passes to heirs on registration. The Land Registry's inscripción typically takes 4-6 weeks; the registration date is backdated to the date of presentation for priority purposes.
Banks release accounts on presentation of the escritura and evidence of IHT payment. Vehicle title transferred at DGT Tráfico. Investment accounts transferred by the relevant custodian.
NIE bottleneck: heirs without NIEs cannot sign. If any heir does not have an NIE, this is the critical-path item — address in week one.
Apostille delay: UK FCDO apostille typically takes 3-5 working days but can run to 2-3 weeks in busy periods. Start in week one; do not batch multiple rounds of apostille for later documents.
Bank freeze complexity: some Spanish banks are slow to release accounts even after the escritura is presented. Engage the bank's succession department directly; escalate through Spanish legal representation.
Regional tax authority differences: Modelo 650 varies by region. Use a firm that files in multiple regions regularly; do not assume Madrid procedures apply in Valencia or Andalusia.
Missed extension window: Article 68 extension must be applied for before month five. Executors who discover in month six that they will miss the deadline cannot apply for extension — they are in late-filing territory, with surcharges applying.
Foreign will interpretation: a foreign will presented to a Spanish notary often requires a certificate of law from the foreign jurisdiction confirming how the will operates. This is an additional step beyond apostille and translation; budget 2-4 weeks.
Spanish inheritance can be accepted pure (aceptación pura y simple) or with benefit of inventory (aceptación a beneficio de inventario). Pure acceptance passes all estate assets and liabilities to the heir, including unknown debts. Acceptance with benefit of inventory limits the heir's liability to the value of assets inherited — if the estate's debts exceed assets, the heir is not personally liable.
Where the estate's financial position is uncertain (debts not fully identified, pending litigation against the deceased, potential tax assessments), acceptance with benefit of inventory protects the heir. The procedure requires a formal inventory (inventario) executed before the notary, with creditors notified. It adds 2-4 weeks to the timeline and notarial costs of €200-€500 but is essential insulation where risk is real.
A well-run cross-border Spanish estate executes in 120 days and files on time. A poorly run one runs 9-12 months and pays late-filing surcharges. The difference is almost always the first 30 days of preparation.
Request a Executor & Administrator Duties Estate ConsultationParents resident in Spain with children in Spain; non-resident property owners leaving Spanish assets to heirs abroad; surviving spouses, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents — every cross-border configuration follows a different rulebook.
Executor engages Spanish firm week one, starts NIE for two UK heirs, obtains UK apostilles week two, Spanish valuations week four, escritura signed week sixteen, IHT filed week twenty. Comfortable within 180-day window.
US executor unaware of six-month deadline. Discovers requirement in June. Missed Article 68 extension window. Late filing attracts 15% surcharge plus interest. Could have been avoided by month-one engagement of Spanish counsel.
All four need NIEs. Executor delays NIE application until month three. NIEs arrive month six. Escritura cannot be signed until month seven. Late filing on Modelo 650; regional bonificación lost in some regions.
Deceased had UK and Spanish litigation pending. Heirs accept with benefit of inventory on Spanish side. When UK judgment creates unexpected liability, Spanish assets are protected from creditors beyond estate value.
Two Modelo 650 filings to two regional authorities. Madrid's 99% bonificación applies to the Madrid flat; Valencia's 50% bonificación to the Valencia villa. Executor coordinates both filings within the single 180-day deadline.
Escritura signed month four; bank still holding accounts frozen month six. Spanish counsel escalates to bank's succession department; formal demand letter; accounts released week twenty-six.
The six-month deadline is tight. Executors who begin work in month three routinely miss the deadline. Engage Spanish counsel within 30 days of death.
Every heir needs a Spanish NIE. Application lead times are 6-12 weeks for non-residents. Start day one; do not wait until the escritura draft is ready.
Article 68 extensions must be applied for before month five. Late extension applications fail. Request extension proactively if compilation is running behind.
Executors who distribute estate funds (often to cover their own costs) before Modelo 650 is filed face personal liability for any unpaid IHT. Wait for filing and payment.
Spanish institutions require apostilled and translated versions of foreign documents. UK probate grant alone is not sufficient. Budget for full document conversion.
Plusvalía is separate from IHT and is filed at the town hall. Missing plusvalía does not block the escritura but creates a municipal tax debt that attaches to the property.
Albacea appointed in a Spanish testamento has formal duties. Professional representation is standard; the albacea delegates operational work but retains formal responsibility.
UK executors, US trustees, Australian administrators handling estates with Spanish assets need Spanish-side coordination. The foreign appointment does not override Spanish procedural requirements.
Where there is no will, Spanish law determines heirs. A family member often takes administrator responsibility; same procedural obligations apply.
Multi-jurisdiction estates often appoint co-executors — one in each country. Coordination between Spanish and foreign executors is essential to avoid duplicative or contradictory actions.
Professional executors (UK solicitors, US attorneys) named in foreign wills delegate Spanish-side work to Spanish counsel. Standard arrangement for cross-border estates.
Frequently the surviving spouse is both principal heir and de facto executor. Professional representation is strongly recommended — the combination of grief, procedural complexity, and the six-month deadline is unmanageable alone.
Brussels IV applied, wills drafted, Spain and Spanish tax positions coordinated, deadlines tracked.