Spanish Wills & Inheritance in Mijas

Navigating Cross-Border Succession in Mijas: A Guide for International Property Owners

As the founder of costadelsolhabitat.com, I have spent years on the ground in the Costa del Sol Occidental, coordinating essential legal, administrative, and property management services for international families. Over this time, I have witnessed the rapid transformation of Mijas. According to the municipal padrón and INE-cited figures, Mijas has grown into one of the fastest-growing municipalities on the coast, reaching a population of 95,104 inhabitants as of January 2025. This is a remarkable surge from the mid-decade population of approximately 85,000 and the 91,000 registered in 2021.

What makes Mijas unique is its deeply international character. Foreign-born residents made up approximately 37% of the padrón in 2022, and foreign-nationality residents are commonly cited near 40% to 50% (with one source quoting 49.7%). Among the 127 distinct nationalities represented here, the British community is the largest, numbering around 10,000 residents—the largest British community of any municipality in Andalusia. We also serve a highly active Nordic and Scandinavian contingent of approximately 2,886 combined residents (with Swedes leading at around 900), and a substantial German community of about 1,020, alongside Belgian, Dutch, Moroccan, French, and Ukrainian owners.

Our municipality is geographically split, straddling the limestone Sierra de Mijas range—which rises parallel to the coast, peaking around 1,150 meters to form a natural balcony—and running along 12 kilometers of Mediterranean coastline. This 148.8 square kilometer territory is divided into three distinct nuclei: the historic white hill village of Mijas Pueblo (perched at approximately 430 meters), the bustling coastal resort of La Cala de Mijas, and the dense commercial belt of Las Lagunas, which is seamlessly fused with Fuengirola.

When you own a property in one of our many urbanizaciones—whether it is a premium villa in the pine-clad hillsides of Sitio de Calahonda, Riviera del Sol, El Chaparral, Miraflores, or the golf-side developments of La Cala Golf and Mijas Golf, or an apartment in Las Lagunas, El Coto, Torrenueva, or beachfront El Faro—understanding how Spanish inheritance law (herencias) interacts with your home country’s estate laws is critical. Failing to prepare can leave your heirs facing a complex, costly, and lengthy bureaucratic maze at a time of personal grief.

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The Legal Framework: Why a Spanish Will is Vital for Mijas Property Owners

Many foreign owners ask me if they truly need a Spanish will if they already have a valid will in the UK, Germany, or Sweden. While a foreign will can theoretically be used to inherit assets in Spain, the practical reality of executing it here is an administrative nightmare.

To use a foreign will in Spain, your heirs must have it translated by an official sworn translator (traductor jurado), obtain the Apostille of the Hague Convention (or legalisation), and secure a Certificate of Law (Certificado de Ley) from a notary in your home country explaining how the estate is distributed. This process is expensive, time-consuming, and frequently rejected by local Spanish registries due to minor drafting discrepancies.

The Impact of Brussels IV (EU Regulation 650/2012)

For European citizens and non-EU nationals alike, the EU Succession Regulation (known as Brussels IV) dictates which law applies to your estate. By default, the law of your country of "habitual residence" at the time of death will govern the succession of your entire estate.

If you are a British, German, or Swedish expat living permanently in La Cala de Mijas, Spanish law could automatically apply to your estate unless you explicitly state otherwise. This is highly significant because Spanish civil law dictates forced heirship (legítimas), which obliges you to leave a substantial portion of your estate to your children, overriding your freedom of testation.

To prevent this, you must draft a Spanish will that explicitly elects the law of your nationality (professio juris) to govern your estate. This allows British owners to maintain absolute freedom of testation, and German or Nordic owners to align their Spanish estate with their home country’s estate planning.

The Contrast Between UK and German Estates in Mijas

The administrative path diverges significantly depending on your nationality:

• UK Estates (Common Law): The UK system relies on executors and a grant of probate. Spain does not recognize the concept of an "executor" (albacea) in the same way. In Spain, ownership of the property passes directly from the deceased to the heirs. A Spanish will drafted specifically for your Spanish assets, operating in harmony with your UK will, bypasses the need to wait for UK probate to be granted before dealing with the Mijas property.
• German Estates (Civil Law / DE-ES): German estate law operates on the principle of universal succession (Gesamtrechtsnachfolge). Heirs inherit the assets and liabilities directly upon death. However, to register the property in the heirs' names at the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) in Spain, a German certificate of inheritance (Erbschein) is often required if there is no Spanish will. Coordinating a German Erbschein with Spanish notary requirements is notoriously slow. A separate Spanish will, limiting its scope strictly to your Spanish assets, simplifies this transition immensely.

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The Step-by-Step Inheritance Process (La Herencia) in Mijas

When an international owner passes away, we coordinate with local lawyers, gestores, and notaries to guide the heirs through the formal Spanish inheritance process. This path involves several highly specific administrative steps:

1. Obtaining the Certificates

The process cannot begin without the death certificate. If the death occurred outside of Spain, the certificate must be apostilled and translated. Once we have this, we apply to the Ministry of Justice in Madrid for the Certificate of Last Wills (Certificado de Últimas Voluntades) and the Certificate of Insurance Contracts. The Last Wills certificate officially states whether the deceased signed a Spanish will and before which notary.

2. Securing NIE Numbers for Heirs

Every heir must have a Spanish tax identification number (Número de Identificación de Extranjero or NIE) to accept an inheritance, pay taxes, or register property. Obtaining an NIE can be a major bottleneck. It requires securing appointments at the National Police station (often in Fuengirola or Malaga) or processing the application through a Spanish consulate abroad via a power of attorney (poder notarial).

3. Drafting the Deed of Acceptance of Inheritance

Once the wills and NIEs are in order, a Spanish notary must draft the Deed of Acceptance of Inheritance (Escritura de Aceptación de Herencia). The heirs, or their legally appointed representatives via a power of attorney, must sign this deed before the notary. This step formally transfers the ownership of the Mijas property.

4. Settling the Taxes (ISD and Plusvalía)

There are two distinct taxes that must be calculated and paid within six months of the date of death (though a one-time six-month extension can be requested within the first five months):

• Inheritance Tax (Impuesto de Sucesiones y Donaciones - ISD): This is governed by the autonomous community of Andalusia. Fortunately, Andalusia currently offers highly generous tax relief, including a 99% tax credit on inheritance tax for close relatives (Group I and II: spouses, children, and parents), meaning the actual tax liability is often minimal for immediate family. However, the tax return must still be formally filed.
• Municipal Plusvalía: This is a local tax levied by the Ayuntamiento de Mijas on the increase in the value of the land from the date the deceased acquired it to the date of death. The calculation depends on the cadastral value (valor catastral) of the land and the number of years it was held.

5. Registration at the Land Registry

Once the taxes are paid and stamped by the regional tax office, the inheritance deed is submitted to the relevant Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad—Mijas is covered by registries located in Mijas/Fuengirola). Only when this registration is complete are the heirs legally recognized as the new owners of the property.

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Managing and Safeguarding the Estate During Transition

While the legal paperwork is being processed—which can take anywhere from three to nine months for cross-border estates—the physical property in Mijas cannot be neglected. This is where our local coordination services become invaluable.

Mijas presents a highly specific set of environmental and administrative challenges that can rapidly degrade an empty property if it is not actively managed:

Environmental and Climate Stressors

Mijas enjoys approximately 320 sunny days a year, with around 3,000 sun hours and a mere 493 mm of annual rainfall. However, this climate is demanding:

• Extreme UV and Heat: Summer highs frequently reach into the 30s C, bringing a very high UV index (frequently 9-10+). This intense solar load causes rapid material UV degradation and fading of outdoor awnings, terrace fabrics, and artificial grass—common features in the apartments of Riviera del Sol, Calahonda, and Las Lagunas.
• Wind and the Terral: The coast experiences regular sea and land breezes, alongside the dry, easterly Levante and westerly Poniente winds. In summer, we occasionally experience the terral—a hot, dry wind blowing down off the Sierra de Mijas that spikes temperatures rapidly. Unsecured awnings or terrace furniture can easily be destroyed or cause structural damage during these wind events.
• High Salitre (Salt Residue): Along our 12 kilometers of coastline—affecting properties in La Cala, El Faro, and Torrenueva—the air carries high levels of salitre. This salt residue accelerates the corrosion of metal gates, window frames, and outdoor air conditioning units.
• Local Pests: Empty properties are highly vulnerable. The pine-heavy hillsides of Calahonda, Riviera del Sol, and Mijas Golf are prone to seasonal processionary caterpillars, which are highly toxic to pets. Termites can silently damage older structures, and bird-proofing is often required to prevent nesting on open terraces.

During the probate period, we coordinate regular property inspections, air conditioning servicing, and pest control to ensure the asset does not lose value.

Navigating Local Regulations and Community Rules

If the heirs intend to sell the property or transition it into a holiday rental to offset costs, they must navigate a complex web of local regulations:

• The PGOU de Mijas: Property modifications are governed by the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (PGOU de Mijas, Texto Refundido 2013, with recent modifications registered across 2024-2025). Works are split into obra menor (minor works like installing pergolas, glass curtains, or decking, which are processed via a declaración responsable) and obra mayor (structural changes or pool builds requiring a full visado project).
• Ley de Costas: For frontline coastal plots in zones like Torrenueva or La Cala, any work within the servidumbre de protección (protection setback zone) requires additional authorization from the Demarcación de Costas.
• Sierra de Mijas Constraints: Properties high up on the slopes bordering the Sierra de Mijas-Alpujata—a protected monte público and candidate Parque Natural of approximately 29,000 hectares, backed by the CSIC—face strict environmental and fire-prevention regulations regarding landscaping and clearing.
• Comunidad de Propietarios: Inside an urbanización, the community statutes must formally approve external changes (such as glass curtains or terrace enclosures) before a municipal permit is even meaningful. Furthermore, if the heirs wish to obtain a tourist license to rent the property, they must ensure the community statutes do not explicitly ban holiday rentals, in addition to registering the property with the Andalusian Tourism Registry.

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Practical Timelines and Professional Coordination

Managing a cross-border estate from afar is a daunting task. The table below outlines the realistic public timelines and administrative steps involved in resolving a Mijas estate:

Phase	Action Required	Typical Timeline	Key Considerations
Phase 1	Death certificate collection, apostille, sworn translation, and applying for the Últimas Voluntades certificate.	1 to 2 months	Essential to determine if a valid Spanish will exists.
Phase 2	Obtaining NIE numbers for all heirs and drafting powers of attorney if heirs cannot travel to Spain.	1 to 3 months	Can be processed via the Spanish Consulate in the home country or locally in Malaga/Fuengirola.
Phase 3	Signing the Escritura de Aceptación before a local notary and calculating taxes (ISD and Plusvalía).	1 to 2 months	Tax filing must be completed within 6 months of death to avoid penalties.
Phase 4	Submitting deeds to the Land Registry and updating the Cadastre (Catastro).	1 to 2 months	Finalizes the legal transfer of ownership.

By securing a clear, well-drafted Spanish will today, you save your loved ones from navigating these steps under stress. As bilingual brokers who understand both the legal landscape and the physical reality of Mijas property management, we are here to coordinate every step of the journey—ensuring your legacy on the Costa del Sol is preserved exactly as you intended.