WILLS AND INHERITANCE IN JÁVEA · SPANISH WILLS, PROBATE AND INHERITANCE TAX
Wills and Inheritance
in Jávea
Most foreign owners in Jávea have a careful will at home and nothing in Spain, and it is their families who pay for that gap, at the worst possible moment.
- A Spanish will that elects the law of your own nationality
- Probate handled by power of attorney while the family stays abroad
- Valencia reductions and the 99% close-family bonus claimed where they apply
- Drafted and signed under Juan Bertomeu, abogado, ICALI 4643
Spanish will for €225 + VAT; inheritance, gifts and family transfers from €1,600 + VAT, confirmed in writing before we start.
Legal position last reviewed: July 2026
Spanish wills with a choice-of-law clause, cross-border probate and Valencia inheritance tax for non-resident families with property in Jávea, handled in English under a registered Spanish lawyer.
Why families with a Jávea property choose us
Your law, not Spanish forced heirship
EU Regulation 650/2012, known as Brussels IV, lets most foreign nationals choose the law of their nationality to govern their estate. We work with it every week, and we word the election so it actually holds.
The Valencia bonus, done properly
Close family can claim the Comunitat Valenciana reductions and bonus, and after the European court rulings that includes non-resident heirs. Plenty of families overpay simply because nobody told them.
Probate without the flights
With a power of attorney we accept the inheritance, file the tax and register the Jávea property in the heirs' names while the family stays at home. Most of our probates for foreign families run exactly this way.
On the ground, either side of Jávea
Jávea sits between our Moraira and Dénia offices, and we work across the town every week: at the property, with the local notaries, at the Registry. Well over 100 completed purchases here over the years, and 4.9 from 104 Google reviews across the two offices.
Who we help
Jávea is home to the largest British community in the Comunitat Valenciana, and most of the families we help here look alike on paper: a British couple with a villa in El Tosalet they bought back in the nineties, a German family on the Montgó slopes, Dutch or Belgian owners in Balcón al Mar or Costa Nova. The house has been the centre of family life for decades, and honestly, the paperwork has rarely kept pace with the house. Spanish forced heirship and a six-month tax deadline do not wait for anyone, so a Spanish will with the right choice-of-law clause, made now, is the kindest document you will ever sign for your children. Meet the people behind the firm
What we handle for you
A Spanish will for your Spanish assets
Signed before a notary here, it sits alongside your foreign will without disturbing it, and it carries the clause that decides everything: the choice of law.
The choice-of-law election
Through the professio juris most foreign nationals can elect the law of their nationality over the Spanish legítima. Four lines of text that change who inherits your house.
The probate, end to end
Deed of acceptance of inheritance, the Modelo 650 filing, which non-residents make with the ONGT in Madrid, and registration of the property. Two land registries serve Jávea, and we deal with the correct one for your finca.
Valencia inheritance tax
The 100,000 euro reduction per beneficiary and the 99% bonus for spouses, children and parents, claimed for non-resident heirs where the law allows it.
Title problems that surface at probate
Unregistered extensions, a lapsed cédula, a registry description that no longer matches the villa. We flag them early and fix what can be fixed, ideally before the inheritance rather than during it.
Heirs abroad, handled by power of attorney
The heirs sign a power of attorney before a notary in their own country and we do the rest, coordinating with the family's advisers at home so both sides of the estate fit together.
What an inheritance in Jávea really costs
These are the moving parts, not a quote. The final numbers depend on the estate, who inherits and where each heir lives.
Inheritance tax (state scale)
Progressive state tariff, applied before the Valencia reductions and bonus
Ley 29/1987 del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones
7.65% to 34%
Valencia bonus, Groups I and II
Spouse, children and parents, for deaths from 28 May 2023
Ley 6/2023 de la Generalitat Valenciana
99%
Valencia bonus, Group III
Siblings, nephews and nieces; the date of death fixes the rate
Ley 5/2025 (DOGV 31 May 2025)
25% from 1 June 2026; 50% from 1 June 2027
Reduction per close-family beneficiary
Applied per beneficiary before the tax scale
Ley 13/1997 de la Generalitat Valenciana
€100,000
Modelo 650 filing deadline
Non-residents file with the Oficina Nacional de Gestión Tributaria (ONGT)
AEAT; Ley 29/1987
6 months from death
Plusvalía on inheritance (Jávea)
IIVTNU paid through Xàbia Tributa, the town's own tax office, not SUMA; check the current ordenanza figure
Ajuntament de Xàbia ordenanza fiscal IIVTNU; Xàbia Tributa
up to 30% (2023 published rate)
Our fee for a Spanish will is €225 plus VAT, and inheritance, gifts and family transfers start from €1,600 plus VAT, with the full inheritance of Spanish assets quoted on request. We tell you the fee in writing before any work begins.
See all our fees for Jávea in one place
Estimates only. Final costs depend on the property and your circumstances.
How an inheritance with us works
01
We review the assets, the family and any existing wills
02
We advise on the Brussels IV choice of law
03
We prepare the deed of acceptance of inheritance
04
We file Modelo 650 inside the six-month deadline
05
We register the property in the heirs' names in Jávea
What we need from you
- Death certificate
- Any Spanish or foreign wills
- Passport, and NIE if the deceased had one
Costly mistakes we see in Jávea estates
Relying on the will from home alone
What goes wrong: Probate of the Jávea property runs through translations, apostilles and foreign probate first, which adds months and real cost.
How we prevent it: A Spanish will covering only the Spanish assets lets the probate here start straight away.
A Spanish will without a choice-of-law clause
What goes wrong: Spanish forced heirship, the legítima, can redistribute the estate in ways you never intended.
How we prevent it: We include the professio juris election of the law of your nationality in every will we draft.
Assuming the Valencia bonus is for residents only
What goes wrong: Heirs overpay inheritance tax that the law never asked them to pay.
How we prevent it: Since the European court rulings, non-resident heirs can claim the regional reductions and bonus. We apply them where they fit.
Leaving the villa's paperwork for the heirs to sort out
What goes wrong: A lapsed cédula or an unregistered extension turns a routine probate into a legal project, in the middle of grief.
How we prevent it: A title review now, while the owner can still sign, is quicker and far cheaper than repairs during probate.
The villa the family has owned since the nineties
A pattern we see over and over in Jávea: the villa was bought twenty or thirty years ago in El Tosalet, Balcón al Mar or up on the Montgó, and over the years someone added a pool, closed in the naya, extended a bedroom. Nobody updated the registry, the cédula quietly lapsed, and none of it mattered while the owners were alive. It starts to matter the day the heirs try to register the property in their names or sell it. Fixing an unregistered extension or reviving a second-occupation licence during probate, with grieving heirs spread across three countries, is slower and more expensive than fixing it now, while the owner can still sign. If you own one of these houses, a title review today is the cheapest part of your estate planning. Selling an inherited property in Jávea
Visit Our Offices
Visit our offices in Moraira and Dénia
Jávea sits between our two offices, Moraira on one side and Dénia on the other. Meet us at either for property and tax matters connected to Jávea, the Marina Alta, and the wider Costa Blanca, or we come to you: the property, the notary, wherever the case needs us to be.
Moraira office
Calle del Dr. Calatayud, 39, planta baja, 03724 Moraira, Alicante
Property and tax legal support for international clients. For Jávea we work from both offices.
Dénia office
Calle Ramón y Cajal 5E, Oficina 1, Dénia, Alicante, Spain
Broader support across the Marina Alta, Alicante province, and international client matters, including everything connected to Jávea.
Wills and inheritance in Jávea: your questions answered
Common questions from non-residents in Jávea and the wider Marina Alta.
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This page is general information about Spanish wills and inheritance for non-residents, not legal advice for a specific estate. Every family's position is confirmed individually before any work begins.
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PHONE (CALLS)
+34 609 477 889WHATSAPP (MESSAGES ONLY)
+34 614 08 68 07DÉNIA OFFICE
Calle Ramón y Cajal 5E, Oficina 1, 03700 Dénia, Alicante
MORAIRA OFFICE
Calle del Dr. Calatayud, 39, planta baja, 03724 Moraira, Alicante