Most legal problems foreign residents face in Spain are not complicated. They become complicated because nobody explained the process in a language the client actually thinks in.
Santamaría Baeza Abogados is an Alicante law firm working with English-speaking clients across the province — from the city itself down the coast to Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, and north to Jávea and Moraira.
What does an English-speaking lawyer in Alicante actually do?
The same work as any Spanish lawyer, conducted so the client understands each step. In practice that means three things: explaining the Spanish procedure and its deadlines in English, dealing with notaries, registries and courts on the client’s behalf, and allowing clients abroad to act by power of attorney instead of travelling.
Where foreign residents most often need us
Buying or selling property
The Spanish conveyancing process places almost all of the risk before signing, not after. The checks that matter are done in the weeks before the notary appointment: verifying the nota simple at the Land Registry, confirming there are no outstanding charges, checking the property tax and community fees are up to date, and confirming the property is legally what the seller says it is.
Our managing partner, Vicente José Santamaría Baeza (Alicante Bar no. 8,150), works in civil, commercial and real estate law, including complex transactions and mortgage enforcement proceedings. A private purchase contract signed before those checks is the most expensive document a buyer can sign in Spain.
Wills and inheritance
A Spanish will costs about €60 in notary fees and prevents most of the delay a foreign family faces after a death. It also lets you elect, under EU Regulation 650/2012, for the law of your nationality to govern your succession — which for a British national preserves testamentary freedom instead of applying Spanish forced heirship.
On the tax side, the Valencia region’s 99% relief means a spouse or child inheriting €200,000 now pays around €124. The details are in our guide to inheritance in Spain for foreigners and the inheritance tax calculator.
Accident and injury claims
If you are injured in a road accident in Spain — as a driver, passenger, cyclist or pedestrian, resident or visitor — you are entitled to compensation under the statutory scale in Ley 35/2015. The insurer has three months to make a formal offer, and the claim generally must be brought within a year, though that period restarts once a formal offer is notified.
We handle these claims with no money up front: no lawyer’s fee, no medical expert’s fee, no court agent’s fee. If you do not recover, we do not charge.
Employment and dismissal
If you work in Spain and are dismissed, you have 20 working days to file. That deadline is absolute, and it is the reason most valid claims are never brought. Our employment department is led by Laura Cano Gálvez (Alicante Bar no. 5,376), with over twenty-five years in Spanish employment law.
Why us rather than a gestoría or an agency
A gestoría handles administration. It cannot represent you in court, cannot advise on the legal risk in a contract, and is not bound by the professional obligations that apply to a registered lawyer.
Every lawyer in this firm is registered with the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Alicante, with a public bar number you can verify. That is worth checking before instructing anyone in Spain, regardless of how good the English on their website is.
Ask any Spanish firm for the bar registration number of the person who will actually handle your matter, and check it. It takes two minutes and it is the single most useful piece of diligence a foreign client can do.
How we work with clients abroad
- First conversation by phone or video, in English, to establish whether you have a matter worth pursuing.
- Written scope and fee before anything starts. No open-ended hourly billing on fixed-scope work.
- Power of attorney where you cannot be in Spain, executed before a notary in your own country and apostilled, or at a Spanish consulate.
- Updates in writing, in English, at each stage — not only when we need something from you.
Coverage across Alicante province
We act before the courts of the whole province and attend notaries throughout it. Beyond the city of Alicante, our foreign-resident work concentrates on Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and Jávea.
Office: Av. de Aguilera 39, Ent B, 03007 Alicante. Monday to Thursday 08:00–19:00, Friday 08:00–15:00.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be in Spain to buy a property or accept an inheritance?
No. In both cases you can grant a power of attorney to your lawyer, signed before a notary in your own country with an apostille, or at a Spanish consulate. Many of our property and inheritance matters complete without the client travelling.
How much do you charge?
It depends on the matter. Accident claims are handled on a no-win-no-fee basis at 15% plus VAT of what is actually recovered, with nothing paid in advance. Property, wills and inheritance work is quoted as a fixed fee in writing before we start.
Can you help if I already signed something I now regret?
Often, yes — but the timing matters enormously. Spanish law sets short limitation periods: one year for accident claims, 20 working days for dismissal, six months for inheritance tax. Send the document over before assuming it is too late; it frequently is not.
Do you work with clients who are not resident in Spain?
Yes. A significant part of our inheritance and property work is for non-resident owners in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia who hold property on the Costa Blanca.
What languages do you work in?
Spanish and English. Documents are drafted in Spanish where the law requires it, with an English explanation of what each clause commits you to.
Get an answer before you commit
If you have a Spanish legal question and no clear sense of whether it is serious, the useful first step is a short conversation rather than a formal instruction.
Tell us the situation and we will tell you in plain English whether you have a problem, what the deadline is, and what it would cost to deal with it. Call 654 581 493 or write to us from the contact page.