Case studies

Examples of how we've helped our clients

When Mr. H's wife died, she wanted to sell their property in the Costa del Sol and move on

For this client, an unfortunate series of events left him and his family needing help

Mr. and Mrs. H. moved to the Costa del Sol from Scotland on their retirement. Unfortunately, Mrs. H. died soon after their move and Mr. H. was left not only with his grief but the added worry of what he should do next. Ábaco had already acted on his behalf with the house purchase. At his wits end, he contacted them in the hope that they could help.

The Ábaco Inheritance department provided Mr.H with just the reassurance and understanding that he needed at this difficult time. They also took care of matters. A power of attorney was organised and 50% of the ownership of the property belonging to Mrs. H was transferred to Mr.H according to what was stated in her Scottish will. A new title deed was registered in his sole name and Mr. H. was then free to sell his property. He no longer wished to live where he and his wife had planned to spend their retirement.

If you have found yourself in need of information about inheritance you can click here to receive inheritance advice.

When Mr A died his partner, Mrs. M, didn't want to keep her share of Mr. A's property

In this case a new relationship leads to difficulties when one of the couple dies

Mr. A and Mrs. M had both lost their spouses. They found each other and so began a new relationship. They decided they did not want to get married again but were happy to share their lives with each other. Unfortunately Mr. A died leaving Mrs. M in a difficult situation. The terms of the will meant that Mr. A’s son inherited 50% of the property. Mrs. M and the son did not get on very well and were certainly not interested in sharing the same house. Mrs. M had decided that she wanted to return to the UK to be with her own children and Mr. A’s son was interested in buying her half of the property.

In order to make the process easier, Ábaco acquired power of attorney and were able to act on behalf of the son in Spain. Mrs. M was relieved that this meant he did not have to visit her or stay in the house at all. Mrs. A gave up any rights to live in the house and her share was bought by the son. She was then able to return to the UK.

If you need help with your arrangements or advice about what you might do you can request a call back.

Mrs. R was uncertain what to do with their Spanish holiday home when her husband died

If you are a non-resident it can be tempting to delay making the necessary arrangements for your Spanish assets

Mrs. and Mrs. R bought a property in Spain to use as a holiday home. In 2001 Mr.R died without leaving a will. At first Mrs. R couldn’t face dealing with a Spanish inheritance process she knew nothing about. For two years the property was left until, finally, Mrs. R decided that she wanted to sell it. She found a buyer but the sale was unable to go ahead. When it came to contract time Ábaco discovered that the property was still in her husband’s name and until it was 100% in hers she couldn’t sell.

Liaising with a solicitor in the UK, Ábaco were able to arrange for the payment of inheritance tax, the changes to the title deed and, eventually, the sale of the house. Unfortunately, as there had been a time delay, Mrs. R not only had to pay the original amount of inheritance tax but also the fines and interest incurred due to late payment. This came to 20% more than if the transfer had taken place at the time of her husband’s death. At last Mrs. R feels able to move on but now wishes she had done this sooner.

If you have delayed sorting out your inheritance we can provide you with advice and support as well as a cost estimate for the inheritance process.

When his wife died it took Mr. S some time to transfer their Spanish property to his name

For one of our clients a bereavement signalled the start of something new

Mr. S and his wife had been happily married for 45 years. When she died he was devastated. It took him a little while to begin the process of sorting out his Spanish assets as he was still in the UK and finding it difficult to come to terms with what had happened. At last he contacted Ábaco and left it to them to sort everything out as his wife hadn’t left a will.

It wasn’t a straightforward process. It took longer than expected due to difficulties with finding some of the necessary documents. However, after two months there was only one document left to sign and shortly after an Ábaco representative was able to ring Mr.S to confirm that the transfer was complete. Mr.S was pleased with this good news. He also had some good news of his own. In the meantime he had met a new partner and was planning to get married in five months time!

If you're not sure what to do next  you can click here: receive inheritance advice from Ábaco.

When it came to selling the property following her husband's death, Mrs. K found that their new swimming pool was causing complications

But sometimes something unforeseen has to be dealt with too

Mrs. K was heartbroken when her husband died. However, the couple had thought ahead and prepared a Spanish will. As Mrs. K had used Ábaco for nine years previously she was quite happy to trust them with a power of attorney and gave them the go ahead to sell the home she had shared with her husband in Spain. However, what looked like a straightforward process turned out to have complications of its own.

What Mr. and Mrs. K weren’t prepared for was that they needed planning permission for the new swimming pool they had built. Ábaco became aware of this as they organised the paper work. The swimming pool was not on the title deed and was therefore illegal. Fortunately Ábaco are experienced in the process of applying for retrospective planning permission. They contacted the town hall, the community of owners and the architect quickly. Planning permission came through and shortly after Mrs. K found a buyer for her property.

This wasn’t the end of Mrs. K and Spain, however. Not long after, she decided to return and bought a new property in Áltea. Now she has a new lease of life and thoroughly enjoys travelling the country thanks to Imserso, the Spanish Government’s subsidised holiday scheme!

If you're not sure what the implications for your inheritance might be you can request a call back.