Declaration of heirs (no will)

What you need to have to hand

1. Cl@ve or certificado digital to request certificates on the sede de Justicia.
2. Deceased’s details: full name, DNI, date and place of death.
3. Proof of kinship: libro de familia or birth/marriage certificates.
4. Deceased’s last domicilio to pick the competent notary.

Documentation

1. Certificado literal de defunción (from the Registro Civil where the death was registered).
2. Certificado de Actos de Última Voluntad (Ministerio de Justicia, with Modelo 790-006).
3. Certificado de contratos de seguros de cobertura de fallecimiento (optional, same 790-006).
4. DNI/NIE of the deceased and the heirs.
5. Libro de familia or birth/marriage certificates proving the relationship.
6. Empadronamiento of the deceased (last domicilio) to justify notary competence.
7. Details of two witnesses with DNI (the notary may require them; better if they’re not direct relatives).
8. Papers for assets (deeds, IBI bills, bank accounts) if you’re preparing the acceptance.

Step by step

1. Request the certificado de defunción at https://sede.mjusticia.gob.es with Cl@ve. Select the correct Registro Civil and choose literal. If it’s not digitised, they’ll send it by post.
2. Wait 15 días hábiles from the date of death. Without that, Últimas Voluntades won’t be issued.
3. Request Últimas Voluntades (and, if useful, Seguros) at https://sede.mjusticia.gob.es with Modelo 790-006 and pay the fee online. Keep the receipt.
4. Gather proof of kinship and address: libro de familia/certificates and the empadronamiento of the deceased.
5. Contact a notary in the deceased’s last domicilio and ask for the acta de notoriedad de declaración de herederos abintestato. Bring the certificates and DNIs. They’ll tell you if they need two witnesses and whether they’ll publish edictos.
6. Wait the deadlines: if there are edictos, count ~20 días hábiles. Reply quickly to any notary queries.
7. Collect the acta (copia autorizada). With that you can accept and allocate the inheritance and then pay Sucesiones and plusvalía.

Time-savers

• Request everything online with Cl@ve during off-peak hours. The sede sometimes fails; Chrome/Windows tends to work better.
• At the notary, ask for a written quote first. It avoids nasty surprises.
• If you’re tight on fiscal deadlines, apply for a prórroga of Sucesiones before the 5th month after death.
• If the deceased lived in another comunidad, call the local Colegio Notarial to find competent notaries.
• Have witnesses already lined up so you’re not caught out when the notary asks.

Common mistakes that will mess up the process

1. Requesting Últimas Voluntades before 15 días hábiles: it gets rejected and you lose weeks.
2. Going to a notary that’s not competent (wrong domicilio): file rejected.
3. Not providing the literal de defunción (an extract may not suffice): the notary will throw it back.
4. Forgetting the empadronamiento of the deceased: the notary can’t prove competence.
5. Sleeping on Sucesiones deadlines: after 6 meses surcharges and interest kick in.
6. Not saving the Modelo 790-006 receipt: if the sede fails, you’ll have to repeat the request.