{"id":33577,"date":"2026-03-19T15:08:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/?p=33577"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:08:59","slug":"buy-unmarried-couple-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/ongehuwd-koppel-kopen-in-spanje\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying as an unmarried couple in Spain: how do you protect each other?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br>When buying a property in Spain, many couples opt for a classic 50\/50 division of full ownership. However, there is a lesser-known but legally and fiscally particularly interesting technique: the split purchase of bare ownership and lifetime usufruct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Especially for unmarried partners, this approach can make a significant difference. Below, we explain in a general and anonymous way how this purchase structure works and why it is often preferable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The baseline: buying together without marriage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When two partners buy a property together without being married, they generally do not enjoy automatic inheritance protection in Spain. Even under Belgian law, there is only limited protection that does not apply to a second residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specifically, on the death of one of the partners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the remaining partner does not automatically retain the right to use the property;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the deceased's heirs (e.g. children) can claim rights to his share.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In practice, this can lead to <strong>uncertainty or even forced sale<\/strong> of the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The solution: split purchase with lifetime usufruct<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of a traditional full ownership purchase, one can opt for a <strong>split structure<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both partners each buy a share in the <strong>bare ownership<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the same time, together they acquire the <strong>lifelong usufruct<\/strong> on the entire asset.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This provides that the usufruct only ends on the death of the <strong>surviving partner<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This technique can be complemented by a <strong>recruitment clause<\/strong> (or similar clause), automatically strengthening the rights of the surviving spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/clause-of-accretion-or-tontine-in-spain\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/beding-van-aanwas-of-tontine-in-spanje\/\">Read more about the stipulation of accretion.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Caution:<\/strong> this construction is not always possible in new builds or when buying on plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is this of interest to unmarried partners?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Retention of use without additional inheritance tax<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Since usufruct is already established on both partners at the time of purchase, no new usufruct needs to be transferred via inheritance upon death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the surviving partner retains the <strong>full use and enjoyment<\/strong> of the property;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>there is <strong>no additional tax levy<\/strong> On a transfer of usufruct through succession.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is particularly relevant as unmarried partners in many Spanish regions are <strong>be taxed more heavily<\/strong> in inheritance tax than married people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Protection against intervention by heirs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Without this structure, heirs of the first dying partner can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Become co-owner of part of the property;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and in some cases force sales.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a split purchase:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>heirs only obtain the <strong>bare ownership<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>it remains <strong>full right of use<\/strong> with the surviving partner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, the latter <strong>remaining undisturbed in the home<\/strong>, regardless of family situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/split-purchase-spain\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/gesplitste-aankoop-spanje\/\">Read more about split buying in Spain.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For unmarried partners, the split purchase of bare ownership and lifetime usufruct offers a thoughtful and protective structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>it ensures <strong>permanent use of the property<\/strong> for the surviving spouse;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>avoids <strong>unwanted interference from heirs<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and can <strong>more tax-efficient<\/strong> are than a classic purchase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Those wishing to acquire property together in Spain without a marriage bond would therefore do well to have this technique thoroughly checked beforehand <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/buying-in-spain\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/kopen-in-spanje\/\">analyse and get correct legal elaboration. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can buy split usufruct and bare ownership as an unmarried couple, retaining usufruct for the surviving spouse.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138,132,150],"tags":[225,700,972,226],"class_list":["post-33577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aankoop-in-spanje","category-erfrecht","category-praktisch","tag-gesplitste-aankoop","tag-naakte-eigendom","tag-ongehuwd-koppel-kopen-in-spanje","tag-vruchtgebruik"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33577"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33582,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33577\/revisions\/33582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}