Making a will in Murcia: types, cost and common mistakes

Making a will is the most effective way to order your own succession, reduce the tax burden on your heirs and prevent family disputes. The Spanish Civil Code regulates several types of will, each with different formalities and costs, and sets limits on what any person may freely dispose of. Anyone deciding to make a will in Murcia faces, in reality, a simple and inexpensive procedure before a notary — provided they understand the essential rules and avoid the mistakes that most often undermine the document's validity.

Types of will: open, closed and holographic

Article 676 of the Civil Code distinguishes between common and special wills — the latter reserved for exceptional cases such as the military or maritime will (Article 677). The common will, in turn, takes three forms.

The open will (testamento abierto) is one in which the testator states their wishes before a notary, who drafts them and incorporates them into the notarial record (Article 679). It is by far the most widely used: the notary advises on the content, ensures the drafting complies with the law and reports its execution to the General Register of Last Wills (Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad), so that it can always be located on the testator's death. Contrary to a common belief, an open notarial will does not require witnesses, except in limited cases — where the testator is blind, cannot read or sign, or where the testator or notary so requests (Article 697).

The closed will (testamento cerrado) is one in which the testator hands the notary a sealed envelope whose content is not disclosed (Article 680). The notary authorises the act without knowing the dispositions. It offers confidentiality but is rarely used, since the lack of advice on the content increases the risk of void or ambiguous clauses.

The holographic will (testamento ológrafo) is one written by the testator's own hand (Article 678). It may only be made by adults and must be entirely handwritten and signed by the testator, stating the year, month and day (Article 688). No notary intervenes when it is made, which reduces the initial cost but defers it: on the testator's death it must be formalised before a notary within five years, and whoever holds it must present it within ten days of learning of the death (Article 690). Any defect of form — an incomplete date, a doubtful signature, an uncorrected crossing-out — may prevent its formalisation and frustrate the deceased's wishes.

What it costs to make a will before a notary

The cost of a notarial will is not set freely by each office: it is governed by the official schedule of fees (arancel) approved by Royal Decree 1426/1989, which charges a low, fixed amount per testator. In practice, the total cost of an ordinary open will — including the drafting, execution before the notary and notification to the General Register of Last Wills — is usually in the region of 40 to 80 euros, with no VAT. It is therefore one of the best-value acts of legal foresight available: for a modest sum, the fate of an entire estate is ordered and the heirs are spared the longer and more expensive intestacy procedure that applies where there is no will.

Forced heirship: how far you can dispose of your assets

The freedom to dispose by will is not absolute. The legítima (forced heirship) is the portion of the estate that the law reserves for certain forced heirs and of which the testator cannot freely deprive them (Article 806). Under common civil law — the law applicable in the Región de Murcia — descendants are entitled to two-thirds of the estate (Article 808), and the surviving spouse to a usufruct (Article 834). Knowing these limits before making a will is essential: a disposition that ignores the legítima opens the door to a challenge. We examine forced heirship, tax and time limits in detail in our guide to inheritance in Spain; here it is enough to remember that the will must be drafted within that reserved margin.

The most common mistakes when making a will

The simplicity of the procedure should not lead to neglecting it. The defects we most often see are the following.

• Failing to update the will after a divorce, a new marriage or the birth of a child. A will made years ago may have become outdated and harm the very person it was meant to protect.
• Omitting a forced heir (preterición), which may render the appointment of heir void (Article 814).
• Relying on a holographic will drafted without assistance. It is the form most exposed to defects of form and to disputes over the authenticity of the handwriting.
• Failing to provide for substitutions or to order the spouse's usufruct, so that the pre-death of an heir or the lack of provision over the family home creates unwanted co-ownership.
• Overlooking the choice of law where the testator holds another nationality — a point of particular importance in a region with a strong presence of foreign residents.

Wills and non-residents: the choice of law

The Región de Murcia and the nearby coast are home to a significant population of residents of other nationalities. For them, a will is not only an act of estate planning but the means to choose the law that will govern their succession. EU Regulation 650/2012 allows a citizen to designate in their will the law of their nationality — the so-called professio iuris — instead of the law of their country of habitual residence (Article 21), which would otherwise be Spanish law. That choice must be made expressly and can only be made through a will (Article 22). We develop this point, together with the European Certificate of Succession and the applicable tax, in our guide to inheritance in Spain for non-residents.

How we help with your will in Murcia at RCM Legal

There is a recurring difficulty in succession matters: a will is made without prior advice on its real effects, or reliance is placed on a handwritten document that later fails to meet the formal requirements. The result is a challengeable will, a miscalculated forced heirship or, in the case of foreign nationals, the loss of the chance to choose the law governing their estate. Making a will is cheap and simple; making it well — so that it precisely expresses the testator's wishes and withstands any later dispute — calls for legal judgement.

At RCM Legal, as inheritance lawyers in Murcia, we analyse your personal, financial and family situation, design the content of the will — substitutions, legacies, the spouse's usufruct, the mejora between children and, where appropriate, the choice of law for non-residents — coordinate its execution with the notary and, when the time comes, handle the succession from start to finish. If you wish to order your succession with certainty or review a will already made, tell us about your case.