How can you find out whether the deceased made a will?

By requesting the certificate of last wills from the “Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad”, the register kept by the “Ministerio de Justicia”, Spain's Ministry of Justice. It can be requested once fifteen working days have passed since the death, about three weeks. It states whether the person made a will and before which notary. With that information, anyone entitled to do so can ask the notary for a copy of the will.

Alburquerque Abogados

José Manuel Alburquerque
Inheritance and succession

The certificate of last wills

  • Anyone can apply for it.
  • It can be requested online with a digital certificate or Cl@ve (the Spanish government's online identification system), at a Ministry of Justice office, such as the one in Barcelona, or by post. Except when applying online, the full death certificate must be provided. There is a fee of a few euros.
  • It lists the wills the person made before a notary, with the date and the notary for each one. If there are several, the latest one revokes the earlier ones, unless it says otherwise.
  • The notary always asks for it in order to deal with the estate, whether or not there is a will.

How to obtain the will

With the certificate, you go to the notary who authorised the latest will or, if that notary no longer practises, to the one who now holds their records. The following people can ask for a copy:

  • Those named in the will, such as heirs, legatees or the executor.
  • The children or, if there are none, the parents.
  • Those who would inherit without that will, by law or under an earlier one.

If the certificate shows no will

The person may not have made a will, may have written it by hand or may have made it before a foreign notary. A handwritten will does not normally appear in the register, so it is worth looking through their papers. If one turns up, it must be taken to a notary within four years of the death, or within five if the Spanish Civil Code (“Código Civil”) applies. Once that period has passed, it is no longer valid. If none turns up, the estate is divided according to the law and a declaration of heirs must be obtained from a notary.

This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.