Inheritance investigations · Nationwide
Estates stop for two reasons: nobody can find the assets, or nobody can find an heir. We establish what the deceased actually held in Spain and locate the people entitled to it, then document both in a signed report your notary or solicitor can act on.
We report in English and work directly with your legal team. The first call costs nothing.
It's --:-- in Spain — an investigator is available now.
What we handle
Locating beneficiaries who emigrated, changed name, or lost contact with the family decades ago. An estate cannot be distributed until every entitled heir is found, and it is often a single missing person holding everything up.
Establishing what the deceased actually held in Spain: property, company interests and assets on record. Families frequently know something existed but not where, or suspect there was more than has surfaced.
The documentary groundwork foreign executors struggle with: confirming a death, establishing whether a Spanish will exists, and verifying ownership before the notary stage.
Short answer Through lawful record work and enquiry on the ground: the registers a licensed detective may consult, documentary verification, and confirmation in person of what the records suggest. Slowly, by elimination, and documented at every stage so the result can be relied on.
Spanish property ownership is recorded at the Registro de la Propiedad, and an extract called a nota simple shows the current owner and any charges. The difficulty for a family abroad is that these systems are searched by property rather than by person, are in Spanish, and have rules about who may consult what. That is what a licensed detective is authorised to do.
The output is a signed report: what was established, how, and with what degree of certainty. Where something remains uncertain it is recorded as uncertain, because a notary will not act on an overstated finding and neither should you.
01
Names, dates, a last known town, an old letter, a bank reference. More than you think is usually enough to start.
02
We tell you what is realistically findable and quote a figure for the case before anything begins.
03
Registers, verification, and confirmation on the ground where records alone are not conclusive.
04
To you, your solicitor or the notary — in English, prepared for the next step to actually proceed.
Common questions
We only know a name and a region. Is that enough?
Often, yes. A full name including both Spanish surnames, an approximate date and a region is a workable starting point. We will tell you at the assessment stage whether we think it is enough before you commit anything.
Can you handle the probate itself?
No. Acceptance of the inheritance, the tax and the registration are legal and notarial steps. We establish the facts those steps depend on, and can work alongside a Spanish lawyer if you do not yet have one.
The death was twenty years ago. Is it too late?
For the investigation, generally not — records persist. For the tax position and any deadlines, take advice urgently, because those consequences do not improve with time.
Do you work for solicitors and notaries directly?
Regularly. We report to the instructing firm and correspond through it unless told otherwise. For law firms
What if the heir does not want to be found?
An adult is entitled to decline an inheritance and to decline contact. Where there is a legitimate interest in locating them — and an estate that cannot otherwise be settled is one — we locate and report. Whether they engage remains their decision.
Confidential · No obligation · No cost
Leave a number and we'll call you back within 24 hours. You tell us what you know; we tell you what is realistically findable and what it would cost. Cases start from €1,200 plus VAT, quoted per case.