Estate Planning for French Expats in Spain: The 2026 Guide

French nationals are the second-largest expat community in Spain. They are concentrated in Barcelona's Eixample, Madrid's Salamanca district, and the Basque Country — particularly in San Sebastián, where the border culture makes cross-nationality families the norm rather than the exception. There are an estimated 100,000 French nationals registered as residents in Spain, with the true number likely significantly higher.

For most of them, estate planning sits at the intersection of two sophisticated legal systems — and the friction between those systems creates risks that most financial advisors, and even some lawyers, miss. An assurance-vie that is perfectly structured for French succession can become an unexpected tax liability in Spain. A will drafted without a professio iuris clause defaults to Spanish law and overrides French forced heirship protections. A French PEA account that has grown tax-free for twenty years may lose that status the moment you become a Spanish resident.

This guide covers the specific estate planning issues that French expats in Spain face in 2026. It is not a substitute for legal advice — it is a map to help you understand the terrain before you sit down with a notaire or notario.

EU Regulation 650/2012 — The Law That Determines Which Law Applies

The starting point for any cross-border estate plan involving Spain is EU Regulation 650/2012, which came into application on 17 August 2015. This regulation does one essential thing: it determines which country's succession law governs your estate when you die.

The default rule:your estate is governed by the law of the country where you are habitually resident at the time of your death. For a French national who has built their life in Barcelona or Madrid, this almost certainly means Spanish law applies by default — not French law.

Why This Matters for French Nationals Specifically

Spanish and French succession law are both civil law systems with deep historical roots — but they diverge in ways that matter enormously for family wealth planning. The two biggest differences are forced heirship rules (réserve héréditaire vs. legítima, covered in Section 2) and testamentary freedom: Spanish law gives you one-third of your estate to distribute freely (tercio de libre disposición), while French law gives you significantly less in families with two or more children.

If you are a French national habitually resident in Spain and you take no action, Spanish law governs your estate. For many French families, this is either acceptable or even preferable. But for others — particularly those with complex family structures, second marriages, or significant assets in France — defaulting to Spanish law can produce results you would never have chosen.

The Professio Iuris — Electing French Law

Article 22 of Regulation 650/2012 gives you a powerful option: you can elect the law of your nationality to govern your entire estate instead. For a French national living in Spain, this means you can formally elect French succession law in your will. This election is called a professio iuris.

To make this election, your will must include explicit language. A standard clause in Spanish notarial form reads:

This clause must appear in a validly executed will — ideally a Spanish notarial will (testamento notarial abierto) prepared with a notario experienced in cross-border succession. Without it, Spanish law applies by default.

When Electing French Law Makes Sense — and When It Does Not

The decision to elect French law is not automatic. The right choice depends on your specific family situation, asset profile, and succession goals.

The professio iuris is a powerful tool — but it requires a qualified cross-border lawyer or notaire to assess whether it serves your specific family situation. Always take specialist advice before making or omitting this election.

Réserve Héréditaire vs. Spanish Legítima — Which Applies to You

If you elect French law under EU Regulation 650/2012, French forced heirship rules — the réserve héréditaire — apply to your entire worldwide estate. If you do not elect French law, Spanish forced heirship rules — the legítima— apply instead. Both systems protect your children's inheritance rights, but they work differently, and the difference matters.

French Réserve Héréditaire

French law reserves a fixed proportion of the estate (la réserve) for children. The remaining portion (la quotité disponible) can be distributed freely.

French réserve héréditaire is enforced strictly. Children who are passed over — or receive less than their réserve — have a legal right to claim their share (action en réduction). French law also has specific rules about lifetime gifts: gifts made in the last ten years before death can be recalled into the estate for réserve calculation purposes.

Spanish Legítima

Spanish law also reserves a portion for children — the legítima— but structures it differently across three thirds of the estate.

The Spanish tercio de mejora— the “improvement third” — is the key difference. Spanish law allows you to favour one child over another for up to two-thirds of the estate, as long as each child receives something from the legítima estricta. French law has no equivalent flexibility: the réserve divides equally among children, with no preferential treatment permitted.

What This Means in Practice

If you have three children and elect French law, three-quarters of your entire estate — including your Spanish assets — must pass to your children equally. You have only one-quarter to distribute as you wish, including to a surviving partner.

If you do not elect French law and Spanish law applies, you have significantly more flexibility: one-third of your estate can go anywhere, and the middle third can be directed to a specific child. For French expats in Spain with blended families, children from different relationships, or a surviving partner who is not the children's parent, this choice has real financial consequences that should be modelled before deciding on a professio iuris.

Assurance-Vie in Spain — The Planning Gap Nobody Warns You About

The assurance-vieis France's most popular inheritance planning vehicle. It is also the area where French expats in Spain face the most serious and least-understood planning gap.

How Assurance-Vie Works in France

In France, an assurance-vie is a life insurance contract that functions as an investment wrapper. It offers exceptional succession benefits:

• Premiums paid before age 70 pass to designated beneficiaries outside the estate (hors succession)
• Each beneficiary receives up to €152,500 tax-free (above which rates of 20% and 31.25% apply)
• The assurance-vie does not form part of the taxable estate for French inheritance tax purposes
• Beneficiaries are designated directly and do not share with other heirs

For a French family, the assurance-vie is essentially a private, flexible, tax-efficient way to direct wealth to specific people outside the constraints of réserve héréditaire and succession tax.

How Spain Treats Assurance-Vie

Spanish tax authorities do not recognise the assurance-vie in the same way. The Spanish position is that an assurance-vie held by a French national who was resident in Spain is subject to Spanish Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones(ISD — inheritance and gift tax) as though it were a regular inheritance.

The practical implication is stark: a French national who built up €400,000 in an assurance-vie thinking it would pass tax-efficiently to their children may find that their Spanish-resident children owe Spanish ISD on the full amount — minus credit for any French tax paid.

What to Do About It

This is an area that requires specialist cross-border tax advice before you need it, not after. Key questions to discuss with a French-Spanish succession lawyer or tax advisor:

• Was the assurance-vie contracted before or after becoming Spanish resident? Timing affects how each authority views the asset.
• Who are the beneficiaries and where do they live? Spanish-resident beneficiaries face Spanish ISD; French-resident beneficiaries may face French inheritance tax rules instead.
• Has a French-Spanish double taxation treaty credit been properly structured? The 1963 treaty (see below) provides relief, but it must be claimed correctly.
• Is the assurance-vie worth maintaining or restructuring? In some cases, restructuring to a Spanish-compatible vehicle may be more efficient.

The French-Spanish Double Taxation Treaty — How Double Taxation Is (Mostly) Avoided

France and Spain signed a Convention on Inheritance Tax on 8 January 1963. This treaty remains in force and is the primary instrument for avoiding double taxation on cross-border Franco-Spanish estates.

How the Treaty Works — The Basic Principle

The treaty allocates taxing rights between the two countries based on where assets are located:

France taxes worldwide assets of French domiciliaries but provides a credit for inheritance tax paid to Spain on Spanish-sited assets. Spain taxes Spanish-sited assets of individuals resident in Spain. In practice, this means that for most Franco-Spanish estates, double taxation is avoided — but only if both returns are filed correctly and the credit mechanism is properly invoked.

A Practical Example

Marie-Claire is a French national living in Madrid. She dies leaving an apartment in Madrid (€350,000), a flat in Paris (€280,000), a French bank account (€80,000), and a Spanish brokerage account (€120,000). Under the 1963 treaty:

• Spain taxes: the Madrid apartment and the Spanish brokerage account (Spanish-sited assets)
• France taxes: the Paris flat and French bank account — and potentially claims worldwide taxation, crediting Spanish tax already paid

Her children, resident in France, pay Spanish ISD first (within the 6-month deadline), then file a French inheritance tax return crediting the Spanish tax paid. In practice, this usually prevents true double taxation — but both filings must be correct.

The 6-Month Deadline

Spanish inheritance tax (ISD) must be filed and paid within 6 months of the date of death. This applies to all heirs of Spanish-sited assets, regardless of nationality or residence. Extensions of up to 6 additional months can be requested, but the initial 6-month deadline must be met for the extension to be granted.

For cross-border Franco-Spanish estates, 6 months is often uncomfortably short. Assets must be located, valued, tax returns prepared in two languages, and notarial formalities completed — all while a family is grieving. The best preparation is to have an asset inventory, a designated estate lawyer in each country, and clear documentation ready before it is needed.

The Digital Assets Problem — What Your Notaire and Notario Cannot Transmit

A French expat in Spain typically has a more complex digital estate than average. You may hold an assurance-vie accessed through an online platform, a PEA or securities account on a French broker, cryptocurrency in a French or Spanish exchange, Spanish and French bank accounts with online banking credentials, and personal messages, family photos, and memories stored in cloud services.

Neither your French notaire nor your Spanish notario can transmit this information to your heirs. A will can name a beneficiary for a cryptocurrency wallet — but it cannot give them the private key or seed phrase. An estate administrator can be appointed — but they cannot access an online account without credentials. The legal framework is complete; the practical transmission is not.

The PEA — An Additional Gap

The Plan d'Épargne en Actions (PEA) deserves specific mention. The PEA is a French tax-advantaged equity wrapper. It offers significant tax advantages in France: gains after 5 years are exempt from income tax (though social contributions still apply). For Spanish residents, the PEA is not recognised as a tax-advantaged vehicle. Spanish tax authorities may treat PEA gains as regular investment income subject to Spanish capital gains tax.

If you die as a Spanish resident, the PEA is included in your taxable estate for ISD purposes. Your heirs may also face significant practical difficulties accessing a French PEA from outside France, particularly if they are not French speakers or are unfamiliar with the French brokerage system. This compounds the legal complexity with an access problem.

How Sucesio Addresses the Gap

Sucesio is not a will, a notary, or a tax advisor. It is a secure digital vault that complements your French and Spanish estate planning by transmitting what legal documents cannot:

• Access credentials for online accounts (banking, investment platforms, email)
• Seed phrases and private keys for cryptocurrency wallets
• Access instructions for your assurance-vie platform and how to file a claim
• Instructions for your PEA broker and how to liquidate or transfer holdings
• Personal messages to loved ones, family documents, and memories

Sucesio transmits this information securely to your designated recipients after death is verified — filling the practical gap that exists between a legally valid estate plan and heirs who can actually access what you intended for them.

Practical Checklist for French Expats in Spain

Work through this checklist with your legal and financial advisors. It is not exhaustive and does not replace professional advice.

Legal Documents

• Spanish notarial will (testamento notarial abierto) — executed in Spain, in Spanish, before a Spanish notario
• Professio iuris clause — in your Spanish will, if electing French law; must be explicit and correctly worded
• French will or notarial arrangement — for French assets, particularly if French réserve héréditaire protection is a priority
• Poder notarial (power of attorney) — grants someone authority to act on your behalf in Spain if incapacitated

Financial Planning

• Assurance-vie review — confirm Spanish tax treatment; review beneficiary designations; consider restructuring if appropriate
• PEA review — understand Spanish tax treatment; consider liquidation before establishing Spanish fiscal residency
• French-Spanish tax domicile assessment — confirm where you are fiscally resident and the implications for each asset class
• ISD tax projection — model the Spanish inheritance tax liability on your Spanish assets for your heirs

Practical Steps

• Asset inventory — a complete, up-to-date list of all assets in both countries with approximate values
• Designate an estate lawyer in each country — ideally a French notaire for French assets and a Spanish abogado/notario for Spanish assets, who communicate with each other
• Share the 6-month deadline with your heirs — they need to know this before they need it
• Digital assets plan — a separate record (or Sucesio vault) of online accounts, credentials, and crypto access
• Family communication — discuss your estate plan with your heirs; surprises in cross-border estates are expensive

How Sucesio Complements Your French and Spanish Estate Plan

A well-structured Franco-Spanish estate plan typically involves a Spanish notarial will (with or without professio iuris), a French will or notarial arrangement for French assets, assurance-vie and PEA structures reviewed and aligned with Spanish tax reality, a clear understanding of the 1963 double taxation treaty, and a designated lawyer in each country. Sucesio does not replace any of these elements. It fills a different gap: the practical transmission of information that legal documents cannot carry.

Your notaire cannot include your assurance-vie platform password in your estate file. Your Spanish will cannot attach your Bitcoin seed phrase. Your estate administrator cannot access your French online banking without credentials. Sucesio stores this information in an encrypted vault and releases it to your designated heirs after death is verified — through a structured process that does not rely on anyone finding a piece of paper in a drawer or guessing a password.

For French expats in Spain specifically, the Sucesio vault is particularly valuable for assurance-vie access instructions (platform login, policy number, how to file a claim), French bank account credentials, PEA and securities account access, and personal messages and legacy documents — letters to your children, family history, things you want them to know.

Your estate in 2026 is partly legal, partly financial — and partly digital. Sucesio addresses the digital part, so your heirs receive everything you intended to leave them.

Frequently Asked Questions