Succession Law in Spain
Unlike Dutch law, the surviving spouse is obliged to immediately distribute the estate among the children under the Spanish succession law. In Spain, the surviving spouse is much less protected than in the Netherlands. Spanish notaries are not familiarised with the Dutch succession law, so that a Dutch will executed in Spain may delay the transfer of property for years. And while the estate is not officially distributed by a Spanish notary, the heirs shall not be entitled to sell the same, e.g. a house.
If you don't want this to be the case, your will should explicitly say so. It affects marriages with at least one child (even when born from previous marriages).
It is important to know when to apply the Spanish law and when to apply the Dutch law. The 1989 Hague Convention on succession law establishes that the Dutch private law allows you to choose between the country of your nationality and your country of residence. But for this option to be valid, it shall be included in your will.
However, this freedom of choice is not relevant, because under the Spanish International Law, the Spanish succession law rules the transfer in heredity of real estate in Spain. Therefore, it is (still) impossible to apply Dutch succession law to Spanish real property.
But the contrary is, in fact, possible: If you are a Dutch living in Spain, you may choose to apply the Spanish Succession Law to all your domestic and foreign estate under the Dutch law.
Any will submitted to the Dutch law shall be effective over all property owned inside and outside Spain (or the Netherlands).
If your will is executed in Spain, it must be filed with the Spanish Registry of Last Wills and Testaments. It is also advisable to request a notary to file your Spanish will with the Registry of Wills in The Hague.
Succession Law is a complex legal area, but a quite important one. Dutch citizens living in Spain should learn about this issue and related matters, like wills and inheritance rights. We may give advice on inheritance rights in Spain and in the Netherlands and on the appropriate changes to an existing will and, if applicable, write a (bilingual) will in conformity with the Dutch law with an apostille from the Court of Justice.
