Most of us spend a lot of time planning for the future: career, the mortgage, the kids’ education, retirement. Few of us think much about the future that will come after our future—in other words, after we die. It’s not a fun thing to think about, but without the proper planning, our passing can place heavy financial and decision-making burdens on our loved ones—especially if we die while living or traveling outside of our home country.
End of life issues to consider might include making a will, creating a living will, deciding on whether or not to be an organ donor, taking care of the logistics involved in repatriation of remains and funeral services at home or abroad. Who is going to pay for all of this? Who will be responsible for these and other important decisions if you don’t make them yourself? Do you know what laws govern cemeteries and funeral services in Spain, and whether or not they fit the needs of your family, religion and culture?
Wills, Living Wills, Inheritance Tax
A last will and testament and a living will can be created online via services such as Testamenta—essentially, a Spanish version of LegalZoom—but a potential issue for expats is the language barrier in the face of so much legalese. (The website is only available in Spanish.) If you aren’t fluent in the local language, it will probably save you time, money, and stress if you enlist the help of a lawyer who speaks your language, as the laws governing inheritance in Spain may differ from those of your home country. A lawyer can help you create a will that will ensure that your specific wishes regarding your personal property are respected. A living will, also known as an advance healthcare directive, is equally important. Known as a declaración de voluntad vital anticipada in Spain, a living will allows you to choose a health-care proxy as well as to make specific health-care decisions in the event that you are unable to communicate those wishes personally. Additionally, when it comes to organ donation, Spanish law is “opt-out,” meaning that unless you leave instructions to the contrary, it is assumed that you want your organs to be donated.
Antonio Guillen is an attorney qualified both as a Spanish lawyer and an English solicitor. He splits his time between Barcelona and the UK, and four years ago he co-created the Spanish legal department of his law firm Gunnercooke with his colleague Claudia Font.
Most of their work is related to the inheritance and estates of foreign nationals in Spain. Sometimes their clients live abroad and own a vacation home there, and others are full-time residents. He says that the advice he gives to both types of clients is more or less the same: “Have a will in place for each country where you live, or have assets in, in order to avoid legal conflicts as to which legal system applies to your assets. Also, get advice from your lawyer or tax advisor to ensure that your wishes will not create an unnecessary tax burden on your relatives after your death.”
A lawyer’s expertise now can save you added costs in the future. “Our job is not only to provide the immediate advice requested by the client, but also to think two or three steps ahead,” says Antonio. “For example, a client will often want to bequeath his property in Spain, and thinks it is a good idea to include the address [in the will]. This is not a good idea. If the client sells the property and then buys another one, then the Spanish will needs to be updated, which means incurring additional legal fees. It is often more useful to the client to create a will referring to the assets in general in some areas and detailing it specifically in others, such as allotments of cash to specific individuals or charitable organizations.”
Common Law vs. Civil Law
Inheritance tax works differently in Spain than in many other parts of Europe, especially when compared to the UK. For example, under the British law systems—English (which also applies to Wales), Scottish and Northern Irish—there is no inheritance tax due on a bequest to a spouse. In Spain, there is. Inheritance tax as well as an additional property tax, called a plusvalia, is owed by the beneficiaries personally, not by the estate of the individual who has died. Foreign nationals often believe that any inheritance tax due will come from the money left in the estate after funeral expenses, but in Spain this is not the case.
Why all the differences? “British law is based on common law, whereas Spanish law is a civil law system that originates from Roman law,” says Antonio. “The main difference between common and civil law systems is that the former does not contemplate forced legal heirship rules. This means that the person who makes a will can essentially do whatever they want—even leave everything to the cat!” Or to a cousin, a lover, a friend or co-worker.
On the other hand, Spanish law contains a legal concept called legitima whereby the individual must leave a certain share of his or her estate to close relatives, such as a spouse or children. According to Spanish law, it is not possible to freely dispose of your assets, and the inheritance varies from province to province. You may have to retain lawyers in both countries to create multiple wills, but at least this way your assets will be distributed as you see fit. As Antonio says “they say that life is what happens while you’re making plans. That's true, but a little bit of preparation never hurts.”
Going Home: Repatriation of Remains
What happens if you die abroad but want to be buried at home? Each country has its own health and safety requirements regarding repatriation, especially in the event of a death due to COVID-19 or other communicable disease. Most governments do not provide economic support to assist with repatriation or funeral expenses, but they may be able to help with the coordination process.
The US Consulate recommends reporting the death of any American citizen to the local US local consulate or embassy. The US Consulate will issue a Consular Report of Death based on the local death certificate, which is the legal document necessary to settle legal and estate issues back home.
The British Consulate does not require that you register the death of a British national that occurs overseas. The Spanish funeral director will arrange for the registration of the death with the local Spanish civil registry, which will issue a death certificate. Most civil registry offices in Spain will also be able to provide an international multilingual version of the death certificate, which is accepted by the UK government as legal proof of death.
Annabelle Sproat, British Vice-Consul for Catalonia, Andorra and Aragon made this statement: “The priority of the Consulate is always to assist British nationals overseas who need the most help. The level and type of assistance we offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case. In the very sad circumstances of a death abroad, we do all we can to support the family and signpost them to the relevant people and organizations to make the practical arrangements.”
The consulate for your country can help the next of kin of the person who has died communicate with funeral directors in Spain, especially if there is a language barrier. This person will usually need to decide between a burial or a cremation, a service in Spain or repatriation, unless the deceased has already specified what arrangements are to be made in a will.
Antonio also recommends checking to confirm whether or not the person who died had private insurance, and if so, says to contact the insurance company immediately to confirm what funeral and possibly transport expenses are covered. If he or she did not have insurance, all arrangements as well as all costs of these arrangements are the responsibility of the next of kin.
There are also private companies that specialize in the coordination of funeral and repatriation services. One such company is Mémora International, a UK-based company that provides assistance and repatriation solutions on both corporate and private levels throughout the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
Tiago Rodrigues, operations manager for Mémora International since 2018, describes the process: “A repatriation process is a group endeavor that requires a number of people to complete numerous steps successfully, including pallbearers, drivers, freight suppliers, the personnel at our head office who provide legal and administrative counseling, staff at funeral homes, embalmers, as well as repatriation assistants who establish the link between our field operatives and the customer or [the deceased’s] relatives.”
The cost of repatriation depends on the type of service, its requirements and its destination, as the required documentation varies from case to case. Companies like Mémora are well-versed in local law and international treaties, maintain relationships with consulates as well as immigrant associations, and can brief grieving families on what to expect.
“This knowledge is invaluable,” says Tiago, “as understanding the timeline and the details of the situation gives relatives the peace of mind required to deal with what is potentially the most stressful situation they have ever experienced. We pride ourselves on adapting and responding effectively to different needs, which may include extra steps in the preparation of the deceased in order to respect cultural or religious norms.”
He says that the company has taken numerous safety precautions due to COVID-19 to continue to serve the expat community while protecting its staff.
Funeral Options in Spain (Before COVID and Today)
Funerals are big business in Spain, and there are multiple options if an expat prefers to be buried or cremated locally instead of opting for repatriation. Companies such as Gala Azul offer a basic package for the dispersion of a loved one’s ashes in the sea, music and cava is included. (The cremation itself is not.)
The Roques Blanques cemetery in Barcelona, located inside a nature preserve, is known for offering environmentally-friendly burials. Its administrators are currently in the process of creating a mountain trail where people will be able to stage “green” burials, with ashes encases in biodegradable funeral urns—the first site of its kind in Spain. The family may choose to have the name of their loved one carved into a wooden plaque where the ashes are laid to rest and will also receive GPS coordinates of the tomb’s location.
On average, Barcelona has the most expensive funeral costs when compared to other cities in Spain. The median cost of funeral services on a national level is €3,600, whereas in Barcelona it is around €6,500. Especially taking into account the severe economic repercussions of the global coronavirus pandemic, many people simply can’t afford a funeral these days.
In light of this, Barcelona City Council has started work on a municipal funeral service with the goal of guaranteeing access to quality services and cutting user cost by up to 30%. Planned modifications to laws governing funeral services and cemeteries will be aimed at ensuring the rights of minority religious communities, in particular the local Muslim community, as well as ensuring that all legal residents who cannot afford a funeral are able to receive one.
The current crisis and resulting increased demand for end of life services has also forced the city to create a new protocol for funerals aimed at streamlining all stages of the process. It offers hotline support* for families in mourning, as well as guarantees universal basic services with a standardized cost of €2,450, which includes transport and burial or incineration, and the delivery of ashes in an urn to the family’s home when requested and when possible. The city is also monitoring the capacity of the local cemeteries in conjunction with the Health Consortium, funeral operators, and the municipal board of local cemeteries to try to keep up with demand. (Given the Vatican’s 2016 decree banning the scattering of ashes or their being kept in private homes, the demand from Catholic families for space in local cemeteries had increased even before the pandemic hit.) And no, according to Spanish law, people who die from COVID-19 do not have to be cremated.
To learn more about repatriation, funerals, applicable laws, expat rights, inheritance tax, and other end of life issues, contact your local consulate and/or a law firm.
*The help hotline is a collaboration with the Official Association of Psychologists of Catalonia, offering support seven days a week, from 9am to 8pm: +34 649 756 713.