Notarisation of documents before a notary

What documentation is required

There are many legal events that happen to us throughout our lives.  
Events such as the death of a loved one, the desire to acquire a property in Spain, arranging the financial circumstances of a marriage, authorising a legal representative in Spain, making or accepting a will, etc. 
 
Below, we explain the most common cases and the documents required for notarisation. 
DECLARATION OF INTESTATE HEIRS 
- D.N.I. of the deceased person, literal death certificate and certificate of last will and testament (the latter can be requested by us). In your case, we may need a certificate of census registration of the deceased (not if the address that appears on their D.N.I./death certificate coincides with their last address). 
- Details of the REQUESTING PARTY (who must be one of those interested in the inheritance) and of TWO WITNESSES, of legal age and who know the family of the deceased: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and ID card number. 
- To determine the family group entitled to the inheritance, you must provide us with: Family Book of the deceased, or literal marriage certificates, birth certificates of the children, etc. We will specify the necessary certificates according to the family situation of the deceased at the time of death. 
- Details of the persons who are to be declared ABINESTED HEIRS of the deceased: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and ID card number. 
MARRIAGE CONTRACTS 
Marriage contracts, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THE ECONOMIC REGIME OF THE MARRIAGE, can be PRENUPTIAL (concluded before the marriage) or POSTNUPTIAL (after the marriage). We need: 
- Details of the grantors: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and ID card number. 
- Family Book or marriage certificate (IF POSTNUPTIAL). In this case, they may be followed by a LIQUIDATION OF COMMON PROPERTY, for which we will also need the titles of the properties (deeds, etc.) and their valuation, as well as the liquidation scheme: THE PROPERTY THAT WILL BE FOR EACH SPOUSE (REMEMBER that the community of property can only be liquidated on a 50/50 basis). 
 
SALE AND PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE 
- Details of the BUYER and SELLER: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and ID card number. IMPORTANT: Specify the economic regime of the marriage (if it is a SEPARATION OF PROPERTY, you must provide the deed of marital contracts registered in the Civil Registry where the marriage is registered). 
If one of the parties is a LEGAL PERSON (a company, for example), its representative must provide the deed of incorporation, the actual ownership and the deed of his or her appointment as attorney-in-fact or legal representative. 
- Title deeds of the SELLER and the last receipt of the I.B.I. (I.B.I.). 
- The seller must also provide a certificate stating that he/she is up to date with the payment of the PROPERTY OWNERS' COMMUNITY fees, if applicable, and an ENERGY EFFICIENCY certificate. 
- If the property is OFFICIAL PROTECTION, and is affected by rights of first refusal in favour of the Generalitat Valenciana, or by limitation of the sale price, the seller must provide the corresponding administrative authorisation. 
- MEANS OF PAYMENT: Copy of the transfer receipt (stating the charge and credit accounts) or of the bank cheque (specifying the account to which it is issued). THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO PAYMENT IN CASH. 
- Transaction costs: In the event that nothing has been agreed in this respect, the expenses according to Law are distributed as follows: 
The seller is responsible for: The payment of the title deed (EXCEPT for the authorised copy, which is paid by the buyer) and the Plus Valía (Municipal Tax on the Increase in Value of Urban Land). If the seller is a non-resident, the buyer will withhold 3% of the sale price, which will be paid, on account of the corresponding tax, to the Inland Revenue (form 211). 
The deadline for submitting this form is one month from the date of sale of the property. 
Likewise, the seller must bear the costs of eliminating encumbrances, for example, cancellation of mortgages, in order to make the sale free of encumbrances. 
The buyer is responsible for: Copies of the title deeds, the costs of registration in the Land Registry and taxes: I.T.P.O. or I.V.A. 
 
 
 
 
PURCHASE AND SALE OF COMPANY SHARES 
 
- Details of the BUYER and SELLER: name and surname, date of birth, civil status, profession, address and ID card number. IMPORTANT: Specify the economic regime of the marriage (if it is a SEPARATION OF PROPERTY, you must provide the deed of marital contracts registered in the Civil Registry where the marriage is recorded). 
If any of the parties is a LEGAL PERSON (a company, for example), its representative must provide the deed of incorporation, the actual ownership and the deed of appointment as attorney-in-fact or legal representative. 
- Title deed (escritura) of the SELLER . 
- Details of the company whose shares are the object of the sale. It is best to provide a copy of the DEED OF ESTABLISHMENT, where these details can be found and, in addition, it incorporates the COMPANY BY-LAWS: in these companies there are pre-emptive acquisition rights and it is necessary to know their scope and content to verify that the sale meets the necessary requirements. 
- MEANS OF PAYMENT: Copy of the transfer receipt (stating the accounts to be debited and credited) or bank cheque (specifying the account to be debited).  
- Operating Expenses: Specify who will pay for the deed. These operations are exempt from payment of I.T.P.O. (THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS). 
 
INHERITANCE ADJUDICATION 
 
- Verbatim certificate of death, of last will and testament and of the life insurance register (if you do not have the last two, we will take care of requesting them). 
- Authorised copy of the will (if you do not have it, we will obtain it) or of the act of declaration of intestate heirs, if applicable. 
If the deceased died intestate, and you do not yet have the declaration of heirs, we will inform you of this. Details of the heirs: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and ID card number. 
- Title deeds (deeds) of the real estate (with the last receipt of the I.B.I.) and/or of the shares/participations owned by the deceased. 
- Bank CERTIFICATE, at the date of death, of the accounts (including those of securities, investment funds, etc.) owned by the deceased. 
- Documentation of vehicles, if applicable. 
- If there is life insurance (or similar), CERTIFICATE from the entity with details of the beneficiary and the amount to be received. 
REMEMBER that tax legislation establishes a period of SIX MONTHS, counting from the death of the deceased, to present the settlement corresponding to the Inheritance Tax, otherwise, there may be significant penalties. 
 
 
INCORPORATION OF COMPANIES 
 
- Details of the partners: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and National Identity Document. If any partner is married under a separation of property regime, the corresponding deed of marriage settlement must be provided, duly registered in the Civil Registry where the marriage is recorded. 
If the shareholder is a LEGAL PERSON, it is necessary to provide the deed of incorporation, the real ownership and that of the appointment of its attorney-in-fact or legal representative. 
AND THE PARTICIPATION OF EACH PARTNER IN THE TOTAL SHARE CAPITAL (in S.L.'s the minimum is 3,000.00 euros; and in S.A.'s the minimum is 60,000.00 euros). 
- CERTIFICATE FROM THE CENTRAL TRADING REGISTRY, in force (3 months from its issue), with the COMPANY NAME: We can process this for you. 
- COMPANY PURPOSE (specifying the activities that comprise it and the C.N.A.E. of the main activity), COMPANY ADDRESS and details of the ADMINISTRATOR (this may be a sole director, several joint or several directors, or a board of directors. It may be a legal entity, in which case the natural person who will represent it must be designated). 
- The COMPANY BY-LAWS (we can provide you with some). 
- As for the CONTRIBUTIONS, if they are MONEY, you must provide a CERTIFICATE of the deposit in an account in the name of the company being created (this is not compulsory for S.L.'s).  If they are NON-CURRENT, the title deeds must be provided (real estate, shares or holdings); this is not necessary for vehicles (we only need the documentation) and for movable property. 
A sole proprietorship, with a single shareholder, is possible. 
 
TO GRANT POWERS OF ATTORNEY 
 
- Details of the POWER OF ATTORNEY and the POWER OF ATTORNEY: name and surname, date of birth, marital status, profession, address and ID card number. 
Depending on the purpose of the power of attorney, the matrimonial property regime of the married persons must be specified: if it is a SEPARATION OF PROPERTY, the deed of marital contracts must be provided, duly registered in the Civil Registry where the marriage is recorded. 
If it is a POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR LITIGATION, the lawyer will give you a list of the lawyers and solicitors you need to appoint. 
If the power of attorney is given by a LEGAL PERSON (company, etc.), you must provide the deed of incorporation and the deed of appointment of the attorney-in-fact/legal representative. 
- FACULTIES: Content of the power of attorney. If you have any doubts, we can provide you with lists of powers according to the purpose of the power of attorney (general power of attorney, to buy, to sell, to accept inheritances, etc). 
It is important to note that if the power of attorney is granted in a notary's office abroad, the power of attorney must be apostilled by the Hague, otherwise it will lose its validity. In addition, this document must be translated into Spanish. 
 
TO TESTAMENT (TESTAMENT) 
 
- Details of the testator: name and surname, date and place of birth, name of parents (and whether they are living or not), marital status (if married: name and surname of spouse), profession, address and ID card number. If there are descendants: name and surname of descendants. 
- With this information, we will inform you of the options according to the limitations that may exist, if any, to the freedom of testament, due to the existence of forced heirs (or legitimated heirs). 
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES ("LIVING WILL"): 
If you would also like to grant the advance directives document you should also provide, in addition: 
- SIP card number and mobile phone number. 
- The details (with mobile phone number) of the person or persons of trust you are going to designate for dialogue, interpretation and decision making in this respect. 
As you can see, specific documents are required for each case. 
It is very important to know them in order to avoid last minute problems that may delay the legal proceedings, with the consequences that this entails. 
 
At DA Advisers we can help you to carry out all the acts that require public registration and also represent you before the Inland Revenue, the Social Security or the Commercial Registry. 
 
In Alicante on the 7th of September 2023 
Gabriel Díaz Garcia 
Chartered Economist of Alicante 3611 
European Actuary and Financial Advisor