Including a Charity in your Spanish Will. Can you do it? What are the advantages?

The response is affirmative. Making a Will is obviously an important way of looking after the future of your family and closest friends. After you’ve taken care of your loved ones, you may also wish to leave a gift in your Will to your favourite charities.
However, if you choose to leave a gift to a good cause you should bear in mind the following important considerations:
1. If you are English national and you make a Spanish Will, the law of your nationality will apply, so you will not be limited by the restrictions imposed by the Spanish law with regards to compulsory legal heirs. (for example, just for your information, a Spanish national married with children would only be able to dispose freely of 1/3 of his assets).
2. Make it clear exactly which charity you want to receive your gift.
Even if the charity might have an international scope, (i.e several centres all over the world), always remember to choose a Charity with a registered Spanish tax identification number, (C.I.F number) and also with a physical real address in Spain. (specify its local branch in Spain). Otherwise, the process of contacting the Charity abroad will be extremely difficult and filled with all kind of bureaucratic obstacles.
3. In order to avoid possible legal disputes between coinheritors, if you are thinking of appointing more than one legal heir in your Will, it is highly advisable that you assign the Charity a specific legacy, consisting of any easily identifiable asset, (like a property, shares, fixed sum of money…). Only if you are not planning to appoint any other coinheritors, it would be then feasible and safe to appoint the charity as your sole legal beneficiary.
4. It is important that after making the Will, you inform or preferably give a copy of the Will to the Charity, for its own records.
5. Finally, if your estate is liable to Inheritance Tax, you will be able to reduce the amount due by choosing to give money to charity. In other words, if you leave a gift to a charity in your will, its value will be exempt from inheritance tax and it will be subsequently deducted from your estate (your money, possessions and property) before Inheritance Tax is worked out. (Gifts made before your death may also qualify for exemption).
We hope you find this information useful and remember, should you ever need a reliable, 100% independent, honest, cost effective and efficient English speaking Spanish solicitor, to help you with your inheritance matters, (or with any other legal issue), make sure you bookmark this page, visit our websites: www.ricorabogados.com and www.englishsolicitorinspain.comor alternatively, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail at ricorsolicitors@yahoo.co.ukAlso, please don’t forget to also “like” the Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/ricorabogadosRemember that you can also follow us in Linkdin or by visiting our google business page:https://plus.google.com/…/10169…/101699650134478147323/posts
Thank you very much for your kind attention and we look forward to helping you!
Mr Oscar Ricor
“NON-PRACTISING ENGLISH SOLICITOR IN ENGLAND AND WALES”, under the “Solicitors Regulation Authority” (SRA) SRA number 519196 and practicing Spanish Solicitor Nº1247

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