Power of attorney for a Spanish inheritance

Two routes, and one is clearly worse

Before a notary in your own country. The document is then foreign, so it requires an apostille under the Hague Convention and a sworn translation into Spanish before it can be used. Two additional procedures, real cost, and weeks of waiting.

Before the Spanish consul. The power is a Spanish public document from the moment it is signed: already in Spanish, already carrying Spanish public faith. Nothing further is needed.

Unless the consulate is impractically far or the waiting list is impossible, the consular route wins on both cost and time.

What the power has to authorise

This is where inheritance powers most often fail. A power drafted too narrowly stops the process halfway, and the only remedy is another consular appointment.

For a Spanish inheritance it should, as a minimum, authorise the representative to:

• Request the death certificate, the certificate of last wills and the life insurance certificate
• Obtain a copy of the will or, failing that, participate in a declaration of heirs
• Accept the inheritance — expressly including acceptance under benefit of inventory, and renunciation
• Sign the deed of acceptance and distribution before a notary
• File and pay inheritance tax and municipal land value tax
• Register the assets at the Land Registry
• Deal with banks: obtain balance certificates, close accounts, transfer funds
• Transfer utilities and community of owners records

Including the power to renounce matters even if you intend to accept: if the inventory reveals debts exceeding the assets, you want that option available without a second trip to the consulate.

How the process works

I draft the power to the scope your case requires and send it to you. You book an appointment at the Spanish consulate covering your place of residence — not necessarily the nearest one geographically, as consular districts are defined by area. You sign it there, and send me the authorised copy.

From that point I can act. You do not need to be involved again until there is something to report.

The honest caveat

Consular appointments are the bottleneck. In some cities they are available within days; in others the wait runs to weeks. That matters because Spanish inheritance tax has a six-month deadline from the date of death, and the clock does not pause while you wait for a slot.

The practical conclusion: start the consular appointment first, before anything else, and let the rest of the paperwork happen in parallel.

If there are several heirs

Each heir grants their own power, and they can all appoint the same representative. That is usually the simplest arrangement: one person signs the deed for everyone, and nobody has to coordinate travel.

Where heirs are in disagreement, that is a different situation and requires a lawyer rather than a representative. I will say so plainly if that is where things stand.

Related: Spanish probate for non-residents · NIE and powers of attorney Do you need a lawyer for an NIE? · Spanish inheritance service