If the deceased had their last habitual residence in Germany, the German probate court is responsible for issuing a certificate of inheritance or a European Certificate of Succession. This also applies to real estate or other assets in Spain. To transfer real estate in Spain, proof of inheritance must therefore first be applied for from the German probate court. Even though the European Succession Regulation, which came into force in 2015, stipulates that European certificates of inheritance must be recognised by the courts and authorities in all member states, the transfer of ownership in some foreign land registers or property registers requires further formal acts. This is also the case in Spain. Unlike in Germany, where the land registry already transfers ownership to the heirs upon presentation of the certificate of inheritance upon request, the transfer of a property to the heirs in the Spanish register (Catastro de la Propiedad) requires additional notarisation, the so-called „Manifestatión“. The presentation of a German certificate of inheritance with a notarised translation or a European Certificate of Succession is therefore not sufficient to register the change of ownership due to the succession in the Spanish land register. Spanish property law requires that a transfer in the Spanish register may only be made on the basis of a notarial deed from a Spanish notary. (Spanish deeds often also state „Aceptatión de Herencia“. However, if German inheritance law applies, a formal acceptance of the inheritance is not required, so that the term „Aceptatión“ in the Spanish notarial deed is misleading). Inheritance tax formalities must also be complied with before the transfer can take place in the Spanish register. The presentation of German proof of inheritance in the form of a certificate of inheritance or a European certificate of inheritance issued in Germany to the Spanish property register is therefore not sufficient.
We are happy to help you with the implementation of the succession in Spain. We not only take care of the application for the necessary inheritance documents at the German probate court and obtain the necessary international civil status documents for you. Through our Spanish notaries, with whom we work together, we can also carry out the notarisation required for the transfer in the Spanish land register in Spain. Before the property can be transferred to the Spanish register, tax obligations must be fulfilled. We will apply for the Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) required for property ownership in Spain, a Spanish tax number for foreigners with property in Spain and prepare the mandatory inheritance tax declaration to be submitted to the Spanish tax office for you. If necessary, we will liaise on your behalf with the Spanish tax advisors with whom we work on more complex tax issues. We also support the coordination between the Spanish and German tax advisors to avoid double taxation.