Time scale for Settlement of estate after death - Page 2

Kimmy11 wrote on Sun Jan 29, 2023 10:56am:

Hi Roysjag,

I can't find a registration for "Maria Pilar Paredes Hurtado" on Alicante's Colegio de Abogados, so I agree with Bee that it's unlikely she's a lawyer.

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I think you should appoint a qualifed and registered lawyer ("abogado") to act on your father's behalf as soon as possible.  When my friend's husband died, she used Ábaco Advisers in Torrevieja:

https://www.abacoadvisers.com/inheritance

Even then, it was a long process - and she was living in Spain, so I was easily able to take her to meetings at Abaco's offices.

I can also personally recommend Ábaco, as they are my tax advisors.

I also find it strange that your aunt's body was left to science.  Whilst this is possible in Spain, she would have needed to apply for a body donor card and should have specified it in her Will.  But in any event, this option was suspended during Covid and only a few Universities have since reinstated their donor programmes.  It's not clear from Valencia's website whether the University is accepting bodies and whilst they're highly unlikely to discuss a specific case with you, a call to the relevant department should establish whether this is still possible in principle.  It's worth noting that a donor who dies in this area can only donate their body within the region, i.e. their body could not be sent, for example, to Andalucia or Catalunya.

https://www.uv.es/uvweb/human-anatomy-embryology-department/en/body-donations-1285855156013.html

Also, in the absence of any contact with a family member prior to disposal, did the carer or Marie Consulting have a Power of Attorney to act for your aunt in these matters?

Kind regards, 

Kim

Roysjag wrote on Mon Jan 30, 2023 2:18pm:

Thankyou for your reply’s bee and Kim, 

 My father is assuming that Maria of Marie consulting  is a solicitor and had the power of attorney, on my initial and only contact with Maria I asked the question of the will and she replied she had possession.

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On finding the correct email address  I subsequent asked a numbers of questions relating to a copy of the will and time scales, but received no reply.

Being a suspicious person with no evidence of my aunties death ultimately she’s a missing person.

This is why I made contact with the forum to establish if in Spain it’s the normal state of affairs.

Tegards

Madcatwoman wrote on Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:26pm:

Hi,

Regards donating her body to science my partner and I have chosen this option and are registered with Alicante University for this.  We both have the donor cards.

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They are accepting bodies that were already registered but not any new applications.

If you would like any more information just send me a private message as I'm not at home at the moment so don't have the contact details. 

I agree with Kim that Abaco advisors are very good and used to do my Dad's taxes so contact them and I'm sure they'll be able to help.

Kimmy11 wrote on Wed Jan 25, 2023 10:10pm:

Hi Roysjag and welcome to the forum.  I'm sorry that your first post is a sad one, please accept my condolences on the loss of your auntie.

Regarding the formalities of inheritance, Madcatwoman has already covered the important issues, i.e. that the Inheritance Deed must be completed within 6 months of death and that Inheritance Tax must be paid before the inheritance is finalised.  Assuming your auntie made a Spanish will, the ...

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...lawyer should apply to the central repository in Madrid to obtain a copy.  They should also arrange calculation of the inheritance tax and draw up the Deed.

Are you also in the UK, or are you in Spain?  What contact details do you have for the lawyer?  Have you been calling or writing to them?  If you're here, it would be ideal if you could visit the lawyer's office.  If not, and you'd be happy to share the details you have, one of us may know of them and could advise further.

Kind regards,

Kim

Kimmy11 wrote on Mon Feb 6, 2023 9:53am:

Hi George,

Your neighbour should seek inheritance tax advice before being scared into selling their property.  There are so many variables associated with this, not least because the regional governments apply their own laws in addition to the Spanish national law.  Comunidad Valenciana has some o...

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...f the most generous allowances such that, in some instances, a surviving spouse may pay no inheritance tax at all.  There will, however, be legal fees to be paid for drawing up and submitting the Inheritance Deed, which must be done within 6 months of the death, otherwise fines will be incurred.

In addition to inheriting the home, a lesser known fact is that a car needs to be inherited too and it's important to include that in the Inheritance Deed as well.  When my friend's husband died, even though the car had been purchased jointly, she had to formally inherit her husband's half of it before she was able to re-register it into her own name.  It would have been much simpler if they'd transferred the car to her name while he was still alive, but I don't know how many of us would have the presence of mind to think about such practicalities at the time.  I think that forward-planning, with a specialist who can assess your specific circumstances, is vital.

https://www.abacoadvisers.com/inheritance

Kind regards, 

Kim