Wealth Management in Spain: Protect What You Built Before You Move
Moving to Spain quietly rewrites the rules around your assets: your marital regime, your inheritance, your pension and your tax bill all change the day you become resident. We help expats secure, structure and pass on their wealth with tailored advice, starting with a free, no-commitment patrimonial review.
Resident in Valencia since 2016. Founder of BeTranslated. 25+ years in translation, interpretation and multilingual SEO.
Reviewed 22 June 2026 by Michael Bastin
Civil, legal and tax advice for your move to Spain
Relocating is not only a logistics project. It is a patrimonial event. The moment you become a Spanish tax resident, you sit inside a new civil-law, succession and tax system that rarely matches the one you left behind. Decisions that were neutral at home can suddenly trigger tax, freeze an inheritance plan or expose assets you assumed were protected.
Our role is to look at the whole picture: civil, legal and tax. We help you secure, structure, optimise, transmit and diversify your wealth, and we build investment solutions around your real profile, your means and your life plans, not a template. The goal is simple: that you arrive in Spain in control of your assets, not surprised by them.
The often-overlooked consequences of moving to Spain
Most newcomers focus on visas and housing and discover the patrimonial side too late. These are the five areas where a move quietly changes the rules, and where early advice pays for itself many times over.
Your matrimonial regime
Spain does not automatically recognise the matrimonial regime you married under abroad, and EU rules can shift which law governs your assets after you settle here. A regime that protected one spouse at home may behave very differently in Spain, with direct effects on ownership, debts and what happens on divorce or death.
Succession and inheritance
Spanish succession law, regional inheritance and gift tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones) and EU succession rules interact in ways that surprise families. Without planning, your estate can be split and taxed in a way you never intended, and heirs abroad can face a Spanish bill they did not expect.
Retirement and pensions
How your foreign pension is taxed in Spain depends on the type of pension and the relevant double-tax treaty. Lump sums, private plans and state pensions are not all treated alike, and the wrong sequence of withdrawals can cost you far more than necessary once you are resident.
Taxation: Modelo 720, life insurance and wealth tax
Residents must declare foreign assets on Modelo 720, and the treatment of life-insurance contracts (such as French assurance vie) rarely survives the move intact. On top of income tax, the regional wealth tax applies in the Comunitat Valenciana, so your global balance sheet, not just your Spanish assets, can be in scope.
Your global tax footprint
Becoming a Spanish tax resident usually means worldwide income and, often, worldwide wealth fall under Spanish rules. Regimes like the Beckham Law can change that picture for the right profile, but only if you plan before you arrive, not after you have signed a lease.
How we secure, structure and grow your wealth
Five disciplines, one coordinated plan. We combine civil, legal and tax advice with tailored investment solutions built around your profile, your means and your life project.
Securing
Protect what you have built: review ownership structures, marital regime, beneficiary clauses and contracts so a move to Spain does not quietly expose your assets.
Structuring
Organise your assets across borders in a way Spain recognises, aligning company holdings, property and accounts with your residency and your long-term plan.
Optimising
Model your income tax, wealth tax and the treatment of pensions and life insurance, and sequence decisions so you keep more of what is yours, legally.
Transmission
Plan succession and gifts with Spanish and EU rules in mind, so your estate passes to the people you choose with the lowest defensible tax cost.
Diversification
Spread risk across asset classes and jurisdictions with investment solutions matched to your profile, your means and your time horizon.
Tailored investment
No off-the-shelf product. We design solutions around who you are, what you have and the life you are building in Spain.
Your free first consultation and patrimonial review
The first step is a free, no-commitment patrimonial review (bilan patrimonial). It is a frank conversation to map where you stand and where the risks and opportunities are, before you commit to anything.
- 1
We map your situation
Assets, residency, family, pensions and goals. We look at the full picture, in your home country and in Spain.
- 2
We flag the consequences
We surface the matrimonial, succession, pension and tax impacts of your move, including Modelo 720, life insurance and wealth tax.
- 3
We propose a plan
You leave with a clear, prioritised set of recommendations and, if you wish, tailored solutions. No obligation, no pressure.
Why expats trust us with their wealth
Relocation and patrimonial planning, joined up. We see the move and the money as one project, because for you they are.
One coordinated team
We bridge the relocation and the patrimonial side, so your visa, residency, housing and wealth plan all point the same way.
Cross-border expertise
We work daily with the friction points between your home system and Spain: marital regimes, succession, pensions and double-tax treaties.
Tailored, not templated
Your plan is built around your profile, your means and your life project, and reviewed as your situation evolves.
Honest and independent
We tell you what we would tell a friend, including when the answer is to wait, restructure or seek a second specialist opinion.
Related reading
Wealth planning rarely sits alone in a relocation. These are the pages most of our clients read alongside this one:
Secure your move with a free patrimonial review
Before you sign a lease or move a single euro, let us map the consequences and the opportunities. A free, no-commitment first consultation is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy for your wealth.
Book your free patrimonial reviewFree first consultation. No obligation. This page is general information, not personalised tax or legal advice.