DEAR HOME OWNER......

Dear Home Owner,

         Many of you are probably already familiar with our firm, so if you are already a client of ours then you can ignore the first part of this letter and skip to the reminder in the second part, because we will have already taken care of your 2011 taxes.

If you are not familiar with us then please allow us to introduce ourselves, we are a firm of Lawyers who have been specialising in English speaking clients since the year 2000.  We are situated in Motril (Granada).  Although we offer our services mainly on the Costa Tropical (Albuñol, Castell de Ferro, Motril, Salobreña, Almuñecar, etc,..), we also have clients throughout the Provinces of  Granada, Jaén, Málaga and Almería. 

  The object of this letter is to inform all non resident home owners of their legal obligation to do their non resident 2011 tax return relating to their home.  2011 must be submitted by the 31st December 2012.

This obligation has been widely published in English speaking newspapers and magazines and if you have ignored it up to now, then we suggest you submit this year’s return, or run the risk of the tax office sending you a demand for the last four years instead of just one, this has been the case for a lot of people who have contacted us in a panic.  It is much better to approach the tax office rather than the tax office approaching you!!!  We are happy to assist anyone who wants to comply with their obligation but as we have said above this must be done before the 31st December 2012. Your phone call will be answered by a native speaking English person so you don’t have to worry if your Spanish is not too good and you will be given an appointment immediately.

          We would also like to take this opportunity to remind our present clients, and future clients, both residents and non residents, of the importance of having a Spanish Will.  No one likes to think about doing a Will, everyone puts it off, but when you own a property in Spain it is a really important to do one in order to make sure that you leave your property to the people you want to.  It would be  very unfair to leave your loved ones with such a problem, when you can put it right, quickly and economically.  Doing a Will only takes half an hour of your time, we take care of the rest!

         We also undertake every type of transaction that a client could possibly need, both residents and non residents, (CONVEYANCING IN BUYING AND SELLING OF HOUSES–APARTMENTS-LAND AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, WILLS AND INHERITANCE, REGISTRATION OF ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY, LITIGATION, TAX ADVICE, etc,..).

Yours most sincerely,                      

                                    FRANCISCO J. ORTEGA MORENO

                                                                                  LAWYER

Should I make a Spanish Will?

Having now settled into our new home in Spain, we are finally getting organised with all the paperwork … however, that doesn’t include Endesa yet  and we are still battling with telefonica, but hey that is all part of daily life in Spain!

This week we went to the notary to draw up a Spanish will for our possessions here. It is a very simple document but it means that, in the event of our death, our children and family will not be left with a bureaucratic nightmare … here we have explained the basics of Spanish law that relates to inheritance to give you something to think about…

The law in Spain relating to inheritance restricts the testator’s freedom to leave their assets to whoever they so wish. A Spanish national must follow the Law of Obligatory Heirs.

By Spanish law, following a death in Spain of a spouse, the remaining spouse retains all the assets acquired prior to marriage, half the assets acquired during marriage and any personal gifts or inherited assets given directly to the spouse.

The remaining assets are distributed according to the law of obligatory Spouses (Ley de Herederos Forzosos) which states the following:

- When a person, who has children, dies, their assets are divided into three equal parts:

• one third must be left, in equal parts, to the children
• one third must be left to the children, distributed as per the testators instructions. Any surviving spouse has a life interest in this third.
• one third may be distributed as per the testators instructions

-In the event of the death on one of the children, their children automatically inherit their share of the assets.

-In the event that the deceased has no children, and a surviving spouse, their parents have a statutory right to one third of the assets.

-In the event that the deceased has no children, nor surviving spouse, their surviving parents have a statutory right to half of the assets.

As an expat in Spain, if you draw up a Spanish will, you are permitted to distribute your assets as governed by the law in your home country. For British citizens in Spain, this means that our assets are distributed as per our instructions and to whom so ever we may chose.

So, although not obligatory, it is advisable to have a Spanish will for your Spanish assets. Making a Spanish will means that, in the event of your death, your assets can be distributed immediately, under local law and the lengthy probate process is avoided.

It is also worth noting that each autonomous community in Spain has its own laws regarding inheritance. It is possible to have a calculation made to discover what level of tax applies in your personal circumstance, that way leaving no unexpected surprises.

Provided that they are not contradictory, you may consider having a will drawn up in each country where you own a property and/or have considerable assets.

Making a Spanish will need not be a costly process. The act of making a Spanish will is a small investment that will save both time, money and un necessary complications in the long run. If you would like a no obligation quote, please contact us via info@afconsulting.esPrincipio del formulario

INDIGNACION. Sentencias increibles.

Desde aquí, quiero mostrar mi máxima indignación ante aquellos Jueces y Juezas que no hacen nada por ser tales. Resulta sorprendente, el poco grado de compromiso de algunos Jueces con los asuntos. Ser Juez, implica un grado de compromiso social y de compromiso consigo mismos, que implica dar el máximo en cada resolución, y no dedicarse a pasar por encima del asunto y literalmente quitarse de encima el "marrón" redactando una sentencia INCREÍBLE. Increíble, porque es imposible creer que una persona con la formación de Juez, pueda redactar algunas de las sentencias con las que nos encontramos día a día. Cuando se nos plantea un asunto, y en tu foro interno tienes claro que el asunto lo vas a ganar, la frustración que te provoca una sentencia mal redactada, un sentencia que denota una falta de estudio del asunto, una sentencia que hace florecer la desgana con que el Juez o Jueza  ejercen su trabajo, una sentencia que claramente es INJUSTA, se te quitan las ganas de seguir con este ingrato oficio. Se caen de golpe aquellas ideas de justicia que se nos inculcan en todas las fases de nuestra vida. Los clientes se topan con la realidad: NO EXISTE JUSTICIA. Lo que existe, por desgracia, es JUECES que tienen que impartir justicia, y en ese momento, salen a relucir como en todos los aspectos de la vida, LOS BUENOS Y LOS MALOS. Y por desgracia, HAY MALOS JUECES. Y hay MUY MALOS JUECES. Es así como lo siento.