Buying in Spain
Buying as an unmarried couple in Spain: how do you protect each other?
You can buy split usufruct and bare ownership as an unmarried couple, retaining usufruct for the surviving spouse.
19 March 2026
You can buy split usufruct and bare ownership as an unmarried couple, retaining usufruct for the surviving spouse.
Buying usufruct in Spain results in lower costs in new builds. You can also avoid Flemish inheritance tax.
The right of occupancy in Spain is an inheritance planning tool. This is a light version of a split purchase in Spain.
On the extinction of usufruct in Spain - usually due to the death of the usufructuary - the bare owner acquires full ownership. The
What is a split purchase? A split purchase is a property transaction where ownership is split: the parents buy the usufruct (the right to use the