First of all you must obtain a death certificate, which will be available in the Civil Registry in the place where the death occurred.

Please take into account that if the death occurred in a hospital, it will be registered in the Civil Registry of the city where the hospital is located.

You can ask for for a free certificate from the website of the Spanish Ministry of Justice. If yo do not have a digital certificate, or the death registration is old, it will be delivered free by post to the address provided. It is advisable to request more than one copy.

On the online form, there are some questions asked that you almost certainly won’t be able to answer, such as the volume or page where the death is inscribed. Just fill the space with a «0» if you don’t have the answer and continue.

Once the Death Certificate has been obtained, you should also ask for a Certificate from the “Registro General de Actos de Ultima Voluntad” (Last Will Registry).

You can also ask for this certificate on-line from the same Spanish Ministry of Justice «sede.mjusticia.gob.es». A tax of 3.86 € must be paid for this certificate.

The Last Will Registry, will not have the deceased’s last will, but it will have the name of the notary who has custody of it. The certificate is necessary even when the name of the notary with whom the last will was made is known because the date on it also serves to confirm that it really is the last will.

With both certificates, Death and Last Will Registry, an interested party (inheritor, legatee or others) can obtain a copy from the notary where the Last Will had been made or is currently held.

If the notary office is no longer open ( because the notary has moved to another city, or retired, etc), the “Colegio Notarial” will advise you which notary now has custody of the documents (Protocolo) of the original notary who authorized the Last Will.

For international inheritance within the EU, the Certificado Sucesorio Europeo should be considered.