Antonio Guillén is originally from Barcelona, Spain. He is a dual qualified Spanish Lawyer and English Solicitor at gunnercooke llp in Manchester. He has several years of experience in Spanish Law and advises UK clients in Spanish legal matters. Antonio was also the Honorary Consul for Spain in Manchester from June to 2013 to July 2017.
I am a UK citizen and would like an informal discussion (possibly leading to more formal procedures) if possible regarding a brush with the Spanish Legal system. Full details will be given upon request and any advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks.
Hi JC
Yes, that would be fine. I will contact you separately for an informal discussion.
Antonio
Hello Antonio, I have been searching for books and materials on drafting and administering international wills for my own education but to no avail. Could you kindly point me in the right direction. Much appreciated.
Hi. I don’t know any books on that topic. However, there is a book that I have found quite useful in the past for my job and this is “European Succession Laws” by David Hayton and published by Jordans. Apart from that there are several webinars on this topic. For instance, CLT http://www.clt.co.uk offers some webinar courses on this topic and you can watch them from your computer. I hope this helps. Regards
Hi Antonio
I am in the process of selling a property in Spain. Because of work commitments I am unable to attend the sale. Can I give power of attorney to a friend in Spain and what proceedured do I need to go through?
Hi
Yes, you can give power of attorney to a friend. You can sign the Spanish power of attorney in the UK. It has to be legalised with the Foreign Office with what is called an “apostille”. Another option is to sign the power of attorney at the Consulates in London or Edinburgh. Feel free to contact me on antonio.guillen@dwf.co.uk if you require further information on the procedure and costs. Regards
Hi Antonio
I have visited Tenerife for just under 3 months for the last 3 years and as I am on strong prescription medication have to get a form and permission to take it into the country, which I have done with no problem and always got the forms from the manchester office and sent the filled in forms with doctors notes back to them. I phoned the Edinburgh number but could not get them to understand what I needed. I am a male of 73 years of age. Could you email me the form or let me know where I can get one and where to send it back too. I am travelling in January 2012. Thank you Gavin
Hi Gavin
I would recommend you to send an email to the Consulate to the following email address cog.edimburgo@maec.es.
If you do not receive a response, let me know as I will go to Edinburgh in mid-December. I might be able to bring the form to Manchester and provide you with this.
So please try to contact the Consulate by email and if no success contact me on antonio.guillen@dwf.co.uk or 0161 603 4951. Hope this helps. Regards
Thank you, have sent the info to the Consolate. Will let you know how I get on.
Hi Antonio
I have a property in Mojacar Spain and would like to sell to UK resident – is it possible for me to complete the sale in UK sterling due to the uncertanty of the euro
Just to say Thank you for your help. Have received the forms back granting me permission to take medication to Tenerife on 21st January 2012. Regards Gavin
Hi Eric
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. Yes, you can receive the sale price in sterling. This is not a problem. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Regards
Hi Antonio, I would like to know how long a civil judgment against you in Catalunya lasts? On a related topic, we are not married but would becoming civil partners in Catalunya give the other party access to my partners assets in the event I lose. I understand only marriage would do that correct? Regards, steve
Hi Steve. The other party has 5 years to enforce the judgment once this is final. In response to your second question, a civil partnership would not give the other party the right to go against your partner’s assets. Hope this helps. Regards
Hi Antonio,
I wonder if you would help me. My sister lives in Spain (Madrid) and worked for a company called Vaughn Systems up until 3weeks ago. She was contracted for TEFAL.
She left because they failed to pay her for two consecutive months. She is getting nowhere with them and they refuse to email her back or give a reason. Now I am sure the same applies in Spain to a British employee as would to a Spanards in the UK.
She is deeply concerned, frustrated and having panic attacks trying to fight what she thinks is a losing battle. Law has to prevail and they have to pay her.
She has been to the embassy and is going to the consulate tomorrow. Do you have any other advice?
I appreciate your help and look forward to your response.
Many thanks
Jennifer Baxter
Hi Jennifer
Your sister has employment rights. I would recommend her to contact an employment lawyer in Madrid as soon as possible. If she cannot afford the legal fees, she can always seek the equivalent of legal aid in Spain. It is called derecho de asistencia juridica gratuita and she might be entitled to it. Best thing is to contact the College of lawyers in Madrid and ask for more information on this option. Hope this helps. Regards
Good Morning
Can you suggest a Spanish Criminal Lawyer in England.
Good afternoon,
I don’t know any Spanish criminal lawyer based in the UK. Criminal law requires continuous pressence at the Courts and therefore my impression is that they are all based in Spain. However, I do know one or two in Spain. I will be happy to provide you with a couple of names if you indicate the area in Spain where the offence took place. Regards
Many thanks for your advice, I only need some advice over a denouncement from some one who has lied which I can prove 100%, without doubt but I think? its causing problems, once again many thanks
Good afternoon
I am trying to place a wholesale request in a Spanish website (they dont deliver to Uk) and have arranged a Spanish address where delivery can be made but when I try to make the Paypal payment it goes back to their site and they want a DIN. Now obviously I dont have one being based in the UK ad I see that getting one is a long winded and expensive process. I am a disabled non driver so travelling to Scotland or London is a nono. Is this absolutely necessary for a small commercial transaction such as this?
Hi Norma
I don’t think a DNI number is required for this type of transaction. I suggest you give them your passport number as British nationals do not need a fiscal number. If still does not work, then I suggest you send them an email in English or in Spanish using a translation tool suchs as Google translator or similar programs. The email should explain the problem and provide your passport number.
Regards
Hi there Could you please tell me your charges for an NIE number and how long it takes ?
Thank you
Hi Carolyn
We don’t give quotes through the blog but I will be happy to give you a quote if you contact me via email to antonio.guillen@dwf.co.uk
Regards
Antonio Guillen
Hi Antonio,
I am UK resident who is being chased by a UK based debt collection agency for community fees for a villa I used to own on an urbanisation in murcia.
I had to surrender the keys to the villa back to the spanish bank as I could not manage the mortgage payments.
A lot of the owners on this urbanisation have also stopped paying their community fees because the resort has not been and never will be completed as promised and also it was not and is still not being properly maintained.
The debt collection agency have sent me a letter headed “COURT PROCEEDINGS” and mentions issuing the European Order for Payment.
Can this be contested, if so how? And to do this would I need a solicitor?
Any help/advise would be really appreciated.
Hi Mosa
Thank you for your email.
Did you sign a dacion en pago with the bank? If you did not, you are then still liable for the community fees. Returning the keys back to the bank is not sufficient. You need to sign a deed called “dacion en pago”. Once this is signed, you will be able to transfer your liability to the bank.
With regards to challenging the judgment, you should be able to do it but you will need some legal grounds to base your challenge and a solicitor.
Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Regards
Hi Antonio
My wife and I are thinking of buying a house in Spain in the next 12 months and have been given conflicting advice regarding NIE numbers. Some people say that we need to sort it out before we find a property and others say it should be done after a property has been found as it expires after 3 months. Can you clarify this for me?
Regards
Hi Ian
The NIE number does not expire. What expires is the certificate that you get when obtaining the number. Ideally, it would be better if you apply for the NIE 1-2 months before completion of the title deeds. However, the Tax Auhorities are quite flexible and very often accept expired NIE certificates. I personally get the NIE numbers for my clients whenever they need them and never had a problem. I hope this helps. Kind regards
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