Author: AntonioGuillen
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Here we go again
I am a usual reader of the news bulletin from Idealista.com. I like it because it comes every Friday with a summary of the most relevants news in respect of the property market. The interesting thing about this news bulletin is that it does not have any alliances and you can easily…
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Wills, wills, wills…
As one of the few Spanish lawyers living and practising in this country, I often come across international probate matters where the deceased had assets both in Spain and in the UK. In certain occasions, the deceased is a Spanish national who moved to the UK for work and ended up owning assets in this…
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To value or not to value? That is the question.
The other day a client was in the process of filing an Inheritance tax form and he asked me which value he had to give to a Spanish property he had just inherited. In England the answer is quite simple: you must use the open market value. This generally means getting the property valued.…
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The Neverending story
That’s it! I had enough of it this week. My colleague and I have been dealing with something that should be so simple but in the end can become a real nightmare. I am talking about changing the name in the utilities. The change of name should be something simple, something like “hello I am…
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Some good news, for a change
This article was written with Alejandro Yufera, lawyer from Barcelona, during his stay in our Manchester office. Dear bloggers: We have good news fromSpain. A buyer has recovered the deposit paid to a developer when he didn’t get the mortgage. This is the second resolution of the Civil…
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The Spanish Consulate in Manchester has closed- Now what?
A little bit of bad news this week. The Spanish Consulate in Manchester has been closed down. Apparently, it has been considered redundant as there are Consulates in London and Edinburgh. This means that if you live in one of the following regions (Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyshire, North Yokshire, Northumberland, Tyne…
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Red wine, property prices and cultural differences- A chat with Maria Vea
From left to right: Antonio Guillen, Alejandro Yufera, Maria Vea and James Haddleton at the Mint Hotel in Leeds This week I have the pleasure of interviewing a colleague from Spain, Maria Vea, who will give an insight into the legal and daily situation in Spain. Antonio: Maria, tell me a little bit about…
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No way out?
Recently and as a result of the sum of several factors such as the unstoppable fall of the sales of properties and an increase in mortgage defaults, Spanish banks have accumulated more than 150,000 million euros in property assets. Assets which, incidentally, the banks do not want but the truth is that since October 2008,…
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Mistakes made when granting a Spanish will- Part IV
This is my last article on the topic that I started some weeks ago. I could write about wills for weeks as this is a subject that I enjoy quite a lot but I am aware that this would make my blog quite boring and repetitive. I have therefore decided to conclude with an…
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Mistakes made when making a Spanish Will- Part III
This week I will talk about a mistake that is made after making a Spanish Will. I am talking about marriage. Obviously, I am not saying that marriage is a mistake (although some of my divorced friends may have something to say in this respect…). It is what happens with the marriage what worries me.…