Making a will is one of the cheapest things you can sign at a notary's office and one of the things that saves a family most. For a moderate notarial fee you settle where your whole estate goes, you spare your heirs costly procedures and, often, the tax bill on the succession comes down. Even so, a lot of people die without a will. Here we explain what a will is, what types there are, what it costs to make one and why it is best not to put it off.
In this article
1. What a will is and what it avoids
A will is the act by which a person decides what will happen to their assets and rights after their death. It is a strictly personal, unilateral and revocable act: only the testator can make it, nobody can make it on their behalf and it can be changed as often as they like while they have capacity. The last valid will overrides any earlier ones.
It does far more than share out assets. A well-drafted will makes clear who inherits, prevents disputes between relatives, lets you appoint guardians for minor children, name an executor or someone to divide the estate, leave specific legacies and, above all, spares the heirs the long and costly declaration of heirs that intestate succession requires. In practice, anyone who makes a will saves their family time and money.
2. Types of will
The Civil Code provides for several types of will. In day-to-day practice three are used, each with its advantages and drawbacks.
| Type | How it is made | Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open (notarial) | Before a notary, who drafts it, keeps it and reports it to the Register of Last Wills. | Legal certainty, professional advice, cannot be lost or forged, easy to execute. | A (moderate) notarial cost and the need to attend the notary's office. |
| Closed | The testator drafts the content, places it in a sealed envelope and hands it to the notary, who authorises the deed without knowing the text. | Keeps the content entirely secret until death. | Rarely used. Risk of drafting errors and of nullity if the formalities are not met. |
| Holographic (handwritten) | Written entirely by hand by the testator, dated and signed. No notary involved. | Free, private, can be made at any time. | Must be probated after death (judicial or notarial validation). High risk of nullity and loss. |
Open will
By far the most common, and the one we recommend in almost every case. The testator tells the notary what they want, and the notary drafts it precisely, checks the testator's capacity and makes sure the legal limits are respected. Once it is signed, the notary keeps the original and reports its existence to the General Register of Last Wills. It cannot be lost, damaged or tampered with, and carrying it out after death is straightforward.
Closed will
It combines notarial involvement with secrecy of content: the testator hands over an already-drafted document inside a sealed envelope and the notary attests to the delivery, but not to the content. It is hardly used. Its main weakness is that, as the notary does not review the text, errors can slip in that cause entire provisions to be void.
Holographic will
This is the one a person writes entirely in their own hand, stating the date and signing it. It costs nothing and can be made at any time, but it carries serious drawbacks: it must meet strict formal requirements, it risks being lost or never found, and, to take effect, it must be validated and probated in a procedure after death. A poorly drafted holographic will frequently creates more problems than it was meant to avoid.
3. The reserved share and the limits on freedom to make a will
In Spain you are not completely free to leave your estate as you wish. The law reserves part of the inheritance for certain relatives, the forced heirs, through what is called the legítima (reserved share). The testator can freely dispose of part of their estate, but must respect the share the law gives those heirs.
Forced heirs are, as a general rule, the children and descendants; failing them, the parents and ascendants; and the surviving spouse, who is entitled to a usufruct over part of the inheritance. The amount and the specific regime vary depending on the applicable civil law, so each case should be analysed. A will that ignores the reserved share can be challenged by the heirs who were overlooked.
To understand in detail what part of the inheritance is reserved by law and to whom, see our guide on the reserved share and forced heirs.
4. How much it costs to make a will
This is where there is most misinformation. Many people think making a will is expensive, and it is the other way round: it is one of the most affordable notarial services. The fees for a simple open will are moderate and nowhere near what an intestate succession would cost the heirs.
We do not give exact figures here because the fee scales can vary and each will has its particulars (number of provisions, complexity, copies requested). Keep the order of magnitude in mind: it is a low expense, within reach of any budget, and among the best value for money in estate matters. The sensible thing is to check the notary's actual fees before making the will; at Equus Capital we help you do that.
The cost of making a will is a tiny fraction of the cost of not making one. Intestate succession multiplies the expense, the timescales and, very often, family conflict.
5. How it is made before a notary
The procedure is quick. You go to the notary's office with your identity document and explain how you want to distribute your estate. The notary advises you, checks your capacity, drafts the will in the proper legal terms and reads it aloud before you sign. It is usually done in a single visit.
Once signed, the notary keeps the original and reports the grant to the General Register of Last Wills, a central register that does not hold the content of the will but does record its existence, date and notary's office. On death, the heirs request the last-will certificate, which tells them whether a will exists and before which notary it was made, so they can request an authorised copy. This system guarantees that the last will is neither lost nor concealed.
6. What happens if there is no will
When a person dies without a valid will, intestate succession (ab intestato) applies. It is the law, not the deceased's wishes, that decides who inherits and in what proportion, in a set order: first the descendants, then the ascendants, then the spouse, and after that collateral relatives up to the fourth degree.
Before they can take the assets, the heirs must obtain a declaration of heirs: a notarial deed, also when siblings, nephews, nieces or other collateral relatives inherit, establishing who is entitled to inherit. This adds time, cost and paperwork that a simple will would have avoided entirely.
We explain the procedure step by step in our guide on inheritance without a will and the declaration of heirs.
7. Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Not updating the will
A will made twenty years ago may be out of date: the birth of new children, divorces, the death of appointed heirs, the sale of the assets that were bequeathed. It is wise to review it whenever family or estate circumstances change. Updating it is as simple and inexpensive as making a new one, which renders the previous one void.
Mistake 2: Poorly drafting the "in favour of"
It is common to find ambiguous or badly worded provisions when the testator wants to leave a particular asset to a particular person. Loose wording can raise doubts of interpretation, clash with the reserved share or end in litigation between heirs. That is what the notary and the legal adviser are for.
Mistake 3: Ignoring the reserved share
Disposing of the inheritance without respecting the share reserved for forced heirs opens the door to challenges. A will that leaves out a forced heir, even unintentionally, can end up partially annulled.
Mistake 4: Relying on a homemade holographic will
A handwritten will made without advice often ends up void, for failing to meet the formal requirements, or lost, because nobody knows where it is. What is saved in fees is paid many times over later.
8. How Equus Capital operates
At Equus Capital we treat the will as one part of succession planning rather than a stand-alone formality. We look at what the estate consists of, how the family is made up and what tax applies, and from there we propose an arrangement that respects the reserved share, reflects what the testator really wants and reduces the tax burden and future disputes between heirs. We coordinate the notary appointment, prepare the provisions and stay with the family afterwards: from designing the will to, when the time comes, handling the whole inheritance. What we want is for the testator's wishes to be carried out and for the estate to pass to the next generation in an orderly way.