Summer: separations and divorces. Expatriates with assets in Spain

FROM White Baos Solicitors experience, we can say that statistically during the summer months, and especially in September (as the family courts are closed in August), it is when consultations on divorces and separations and the num ­ ber of family court claims presented increase.

It is a time when the children are usually on school holidays, and the whole family, parents and offspring spend more time together, and in some cases, in unusual circumstances which are different from the rest of the year, with different people, etc.

Thus, while on holiday we might think that having more free time, and without the stress from work and childrens activities, etc, that it is an ideal time for couples and families. The truth is that the numbers say otherwise, and the fact may simply be that as we spend more time together there are more possibilities of potential conflicts.

The truth is that this reality also takes place repeatedly every year, and after holiday periods, also, January, after the Christmas holidays, is a month when more families breakdown than what normally occurs.

If unfortunately, this happens, it is essential to prepare efficiently the divorce or separation and make sure that you have in place all the necessary or important documentation and information.

Also, if you are an expatriate living in Spain or liv ­ ing in your country: United Kingdom, France, Germany, etc, there are legal and practical issues that must be considered.

If you live in Spain, there are concepts of international law that may be of vital importance and could determine the law applicable for the divorce, the applicable law and the matrimonial property regime, and the application of the rules of one country or another, that could be very relevant.

If you do not live in Spain, and your intention is to initiate the divorce or separation process in your country, your assets in Spain become a part of it, therefore it is essential that an expert Spanish Law Firm in this field helps you and your lawyers. For example in divorces by mutual consent, drafting the agree ­ ments one way or another may involve higher costs or taxes to be paid, the possibility to register the court order directly and or the direct change of ownership of properties in Spain at the Land Registry, etc.

If you find yourself in this situation, and unfortunately it is not possible to resolve your family problems, if you are a foreigner with properties or assets in Spain, whether resident or not, you should seek legal advice about the correct steps to be taken, because the consequences can be very different. Contact us and our family law department, and we will help you.

The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys information related to legal issues.

Anna Ellis

THE Special Scheme for the Self­Employed (RETA) closed the seventh month of the year with a monthly loss of 1,314 self­employed workers in Andalucia (­0.2 per cent), with Sevilla being the province with the largest loss (­0.6 per cent). This decline was marked by the fall in enrolment in education (­4.6 per cent) and com­ merce (­0.2).

The total number of self­employed workers has reached 3,344,562 self­employed workers in Spain and 570,615 in Andalucia.

The president of ATA An­ dalucia, Rafael Amor, confirmed: “The data known today on enrolment in Andalucia are within normality.

“Of the fall in self­employed workers, more than half are in education, a sector that tends to reduce its activity in the summer months.

“Nevertheless, we continue to be a leading region in terms of the number of self­employed, with more than 570,000.

“So far this year, one out of every three self­employed people who have registered in Spain is Andalucian,” said Rafael Amor, who believes that the growth of the self­employed in Andalucia is due to the fact that “Andalucia is a land of entrepreneurship and there are many facilities for starting up your own business.”

Comparing 2023 with 2022:

In the data on the self­employed, if we compare with July 2022, the Social Security data show that the communities with the greatest weight of tourism have increased their enrolment in Spain over the last year, while nine have lost self­employed workers, in addition to the two autonomous cities.

In other words, if we compare July 2022 with July 2023,