Making a testament in Spain is essential
If you, as a foreigner, own a property or any assets in Spain, it is not only advisable to make a testament also in Spain – it is essential! 1. You decide who to leave your assets and property and their amounts, not the Spanish law. 2. It can run concurrent with...Domestic partnerships in Andalusia
Almost all Spanish Communities have passed laws in order to equate domestic partnerships and marriages, however, the laws vary from one community to another. In this article we refer to the legislation of Andalusia: If you live in a domestic partnership, you should...Brexit 2020 and its consequences for UK citizens in Spain
On the 31st of January 2020 the UK will leave the European Union. Until the end of 2020 the UK wants to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the EU – a very short time frame. However, the petition for another prolongation of the transition period, which must be...Consumer rights in restaurants
The State (Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism) and the Autonomous Communities (Registry of Tourism) are responsible for the general regulations for restaurants, cafés and bars In Spain. The respective town halls monitor the compliance with urban regulations,...LOPD – the Organic Law on Data Protection
Throughout 2019 two laws which were reformed at the end of 2018 – the Organic Law on Data Protection (LOPD) and the Trademark Law – will generate great changes in the technological world. Here we have a look at the changes of the Data Protection Law: Video...Rights of citizens under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2018
In this article we inform you about how your personal data is protected, the rights that help you to take back control of your data and what to do, if things go wrong. You have the right to: information about the processing of your personal data, and obtain access to...Mortgage Floor Clauses
On the 21 December 2016, the European Court of Justice produced a Judgment, in relation to mortgage loans and the limitations set by the Spanish Supreme Court, regarding the unfair practice of clauses relating to minimum interest rates. The Bank of Spain has estimated...New Law on Citizen Security
This is one of the most controversial laws of the last 10 years. It came into force on the 1st July 2015 under the general condemnation of the opposition parties.
Ownership of Firearms in Spain
The Legislation on the use and ownership of firearms in Spain is probably one of the most restrictive in Europe. This is included in the Spanish constitution under article 149.26 where it is said that the Spanish government has exclusive competence control over production, sale, possession and use of firearms and explosives.
Divorce in Spain – planning and first steps
In cases of irretrievable breakdown of a marriage sometimes the only solution is to file for a divorce. Spain has one of the most comprehensive and fair family laws in Europe making the process quick and easy, moreover Spanish law doesn’t require stating a reason for the divorce and the process can be initiated by a single party.
Non-profit Associations in Spain
Spanish law defines an association as “a group of people who enter into an agreement, in order to accomplish a common objective with a non -profit motive, independent (at least formally) from government, public administration, political parties and companies.” National associations are regulated by Law 1/2002 of the 22 March and by royal decree 1497/2003 of the 28 November.
New law on judicial costs in Spain
On the 20th of November the Spanish parliament approved law 10/2012 on the taxation of judicial proceedings. In short this law will introduce an additional fee every time that someone initiates a legal proceeding in: the Civil court, the Labour court and courts dealing with public disputes. Not affected are the criminal courts and the military court (criminal cases represent approximately 70% of all legal proceedings in Spain).
Credit blacklists and consumer protection in Spain
The current economic climate has led to an increase in people and companies going into bad debts all over Europe. This has in turn fostered the emergence of “credit blacklists”, where people and companies that have defaulted payments are recorded. In principle credit blacklists are tools intended to help assessing the risk of financial and commercial transactions. Therefore, they are instruments with a legitimate and useful objective, helping to safeguard the economy.
EU citizen’s residency in Spain and European Parliament Directive 2004/38/EC
The European Parliament directive 2004/38/EC clearly set the conditions under which a citizen from one of the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland can reside in a different member state (EEA is the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). EEA citizens and family members have the right to move freely and reside in different EEA countries, nevertheless for stays over three months there are several conditions that have to be met.
Advantages of getting residency in Spain and the new rules applicable
There are several reasons to became resident in Spain, specially is you are thinking about selling your property, which include: If you are fiscal resident in Spain, and over 65 years of age, you are no subject to capital gain tax when you sell your property under the condition that it was your main residency for the previous three years.
Inheritance taxes in Spain – Differences between residents and non-residents in Andalucía
Spanish law states that if a foreign citizen owning assets in Spain dies, the inheritance process will be governed by his national law, no matter whether the deceased was a resident or not in Spain. Additionally the basic principle of universality will state that only one national law will govern the inheritance of the totality of the assets.
Divorce without frontiers
According to Eurostat, more than one million divorces are filed every year within the 27 countries of the EU; 13% of which involved citizens of different European nationalities. This state of affairs encouraged the European Commission to start a harmonisation programme with the objective of simplifying legal procedures for separation and divorces of couples with different EU nationalities.
Domestic Violence in Spain
Domestic violence is an important social problem in Spain. It is a type of physical or psychological violence which occurs within a household or an intimate relationship for example within a marriage, a family or cohabitation or even when dating. Domestic violence has many forms, including physical aggression but emotional abuse, intimidation; stalking and depravation of freedom are all forms of domestic violence. Even though the victims of domestic violence are predominantly women, children and elderly people are vulnerable and can also be victims.
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