The traditional nuclear family, married parents, biological children, assets in one country, was once the bedrock of European succession law. Today, it’s increasingly the exception rather than the rule.
Modern private wealth is defined by blended households, same-sex couples, long-term cohabitation without marriage certificates, and assets scattered across the English Channel and the Mediterranean. Families have evolved. Legal frameworks? They remain stubbornly parochial.
For UK expats living in Spain, particularly those who’ve built lives with unmarried partners, same-sex partners, or step-children, the lack of a coordinated succession strategy isn’t just inconvenient. It can trigger protracted litigation, frozen assets, and punitive tax bills that devastate the very people you intended to protect.
The Myth of Legal Equivalence
Here’s the uncomfortable truth that catches many couples off guard, emotional commitment does not equal legal protection.
In England and Wales, the concept of the “common-law spouse” remains a legal fiction. Despite decades of social change, unmarried partners have no automatic right to inherit under intestacy rules, regardless of whether you’ve lived together for two years or twenty.
If your partner dies without a valid Will, you could find yourself with nothing, forced to bring claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 just to secure basic provision.
Spain takes a different approach, recognising the pareja de hecho (de facto couple). But there’s a significant catch, succession and family law are partially devolved to Spain’s autonomous communities. The rights afforded to a registered partner in Madrid may differ fundamentally from those in Catalonia, Andalusia, or the Balearic Islands.
The Key Distinction: England treats cohabitation as a private property matter, often requiring gruelling litigation over beneficial interests and constructive trusts.
Spain views it as a status-driven family issue, but only if you’ve completed the formal administrative registration requirements in your specific region.
Neither system is inherently better. Both can leave you dangerously exposed if you don’t understand the rules before you need them.
The 2026 International Multiplier: Four Critical Pressure Points
For UK families who’ve relocated to Spain, whether under the Digital Nomad Visa, the Beckham Law tax regime, or simply for the lifestyle, the intersection of residency and succession law creates specific vulnerabilities that demand attention.
1. The Habitual Residence Trap
Under EU Regulation 650/2012, the default law governing your estate is that of your habitual residence at the time of death. For British expatriates who’ve genuinely integrated into Spanish life, kids in local schools, healthcare registered, social ties established, this triggers the automatic application of Spanish Forced Heirship (Legítimas).
What does this mean in practice? Spanish law mandates that a significant portion of your estate must pass to your children. Depending on the region, this can be up to two-thirds of your assets. You cannot simply leave everything to your surviving partner, even if that was your clear intention.
For blended families, the implications are stark, forced heirship can effectively prevent you from providing fully for a surviving partner or step-children who aren’t biologically yours.
2. The Step-Family Disconnect
In both jurisdictions, step-children occupy a precarious legal position, and the tax consequences are severe.
In Spain, step-children are typically classified as “Group IV” beneficiaries, the same category applied to complete strangers.
While many Spanish regions have introduced generous inheritance tax reliefs for biological children, step-children face the top tier of taxation, with rates potentially exceeding 34% depending on the autonomous community and the size of pre-existing wealth.
You may have raised them as your own. The law doesn’t care.
3. Post-Brexit Administrative Friction
Brexit has moved beyond political rhetoric into tangible administrative burden for cross-border families. The UK’s status as a “third country” means executing an English Will in Spain now requires additional procedural hoops.
A Grant of Probate issued in England must be:
- Sworn translated into Spanish
- Notarised
- Affixed with the Hague Apostille
For grieving families, this translates into months of delay during which Spanish bank accounts remain frozen and property titles cannot be transferred. Assets sit in limbo while paperwork crawls through bureaucratic channels.
4. The Digital Asset Blind Spot
As of 2026, the management of digital wealth presents a jurisdictional challenge that most estate plans simply haven’t addressed. Cryptocurrency portfolios, intellectual property held in offshore structures, online business interests: where do these assets “live” for inheritance purposes?
Spain’s tax authorities (Hacienda) have significantly increased scrutiny on worldwide assets through Form 720 reporting requirements. Failure to align these disclosures with your succession plan can trigger heavy penalties, not for you, but for your heirs, compounding their grief with unexpected tax liabilities.
Strategic Comparison: England & Wales vs. Spain
Understanding the fundamental differences between these two systems is essential for effective planning:
Mitigation and Governance Building Your Defence
Professional management of a cross-border estate requires a fundamental shift from generic planning to jurisdictional coordination. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
Choice of Law Clauses
For UK nationals, the most powerful tool remains the explicit election of the “Law of Nationality” within a Spanish Will. This allows you to bypass Spanish forced heirship and apply the more flexible English rules of testamentary freedom.
It’s not automatic. Explicit choice of law clauses are not always necessary where the intention can be reasonably inferred from the circumstances, but it must be drafted correctly to be recognised by Spanish authorities.
Synchronised Wills
It is no longer sufficient to have a “World Will” drafted in London that purports to cover everything. Cross-border estates require two compatible Wills, one for UK assets and one for Spanish assets.
Critically, each Will must explicitly acknowledge the other to prevent accidental revocation. A poorly drafted Spanish Will could inadvertently cancel your English Will, leaving your UK assets to pass under intestacy rules you never intended to apply.
Liquidity Planning
Spanish inheritance tax is typically due within six months of death, often before assets are actually released to beneficiaries. Families must ensure they have accessible liquidity to cover immediate tax liabilities.
Effective solutions include cross-border life insurance policies, joint accounts structured appropriately, or dedicated funds held outside the probate process.
The Bottom Line
In 2026, the modern family is a cross-border enterprise. To protect its members, particularly those whose status isn’t automatically recognised by law, the legal architecture must be as sophisticated as the assets it holds.
The cost of inertia isn’t merely a legal fee paid later. It’s the potential fragmentation of your family’s legacy across two differing judicial philosophies, with the people you love most bearing the consequences.
Del Canto Chambers specialises in the jurisdictional coordination that cross-border families require. From synchronised Will structures to Spanish tax residency planning and post-Brexit estate administration, we provide the strategic framework to protect what matters most.
Your family has evolved beyond borders. Your succession planning should too.
