Real estate succession abroad: Oman, Dubai, and Spain

Real estate succession abroad does not begin at the moment of the owner’s death. For an HNW investor, it starts already at the stage of choosing the market, the purchase method, the ownership structure, bank accounts, and documents designed to operate when the owner can no longer make decisions independently.

In Oman, the UAE, and Spain, the purchase agreement, Title Deed, or register entry alone do not solve the succession issue. The family may have formal rights to the property, yet simultaneously lack quick access to the bank account, rental operator, local lawyer, property manager, fee-payment portals, or documents required by a court or office. This transforms a real estate investment into an operational matter requiring time, translations, and local procedure.

The most important conclusion is simple: a foreign property should have its own succession plan. Such a plan includes a local will or coordinated wills, powers of attorney, instructions for the family, advisor contacts, a fixed-cost payment model, and a decision on whether the property should be held privately or through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). In portfolios spanning multiple markets, it is also worth checking how real estate in Oman, property offers in Dubai, and real estate in Spain fit into a single family asset control model.

This is not legal or tax advice. The article illustrates the mechanics of risks and decisions that are worth discussing with a local lawyer, tax advisor, and property management team.

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Why is foreign real estate succession a critical element of an investment strategy?

Purchasing an apartment in Oman, Dubai, or Spain is usually analyzed through the lens of location, entry price, rental potential, maintenance costs, taxes, and exit strategy. Succession is sometimes postponed because it feels like a family topic rather than an investment one. This is a mistake. In an international portfolio, succession affects liquidity, rental continuity, access to accounts, and the ability to make quick decisions in a crisis.

The most common problem is the succession gap. It arises when an investor has assets in several countries, but family documents are prepared only for the Polish legal system. A Polish will may carry weight, but a local office, court, bank, property register, or rental operator may require documents compliant with the jurisdiction where the property is located. In practice, the family may own the economic assets yet lack a fast track to manage them.

In Spain, the EU regulatory framework regarding succession matters is essential. The European e-Justice Portal - Regulation 650/2012 explains the framework within which EU regulations govern jurisdiction, applicable law, and the recognition of judgments in succession matters. For an investor from Poland, this means the necessity of making a conscious choice of law and preparing documents so that Spanish assets do not get stuck in translations, apostilles, and correspondence between institutions.

In Oman and the UAE, the logic is different. The investor enters a legal system where local civil laws, personal status laws, regulations concerning foreigners, and elements of Islamic law may play a role. This is not about fear-mongering regarding Sharia, but about a cold analysis: if the investor does not prepare local documents, decisions regarding the assets may be transferred to a procedure the family does not know, cannot control, and cannot quickly initiate.

The lack of a succession plan also has a purely operational dimension. Who will pay the service charge, community fees, local tax, utility bills, or mortgage installment if the owner's account is temporarily restricted? Who will answer the rental operator, sign repair approvals, collect correspondence from the registry, or make a sale decision when the heirs are in Poland? The property may be an attractive investment, but without a succession plan, the family loses agency in the first weeks and months following the event.

Succession is not solely about the owner's death. Equally important are the loss of legal capacity, serious illness, prolonged hospitalization, or family conflict that blocks decisions. Therefore, an investor should view succession as an element of risk management: who has the right to act, to what extent, based on which document, and in which country that document will be effective.

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Local vs. Polish Will: Oman, Dubai, and Spain in Practice

A Polish will can be an important family document, but regarding foreign real estate, it is often insufficient as an operational tool. For heirs, what matters is not only whether the will can ultimately be recognized, but also how long the procedure takes, who conducts it, what documents need to be translated, and whether rentals and payments can be maintained in the meantime.

In Dubai, the DIFC Courts Wills Service - overview plays a special role. It is a path utilized by some non-Muslim asset owners in the UAE because it allows registering a will within an English legal environment, formulated in connection with the DIFC Courts. The DIFC Courts Wills FAQ outlines practical questions regarding registration and the scope of wills. However, what matters to the investor is not just the DIFC label, but the scope of the document: what assets it covers, whether it concerns real estate, shares, accounts, child custody, and executors, and how it is to be used by the family.

In the broader context of the UAE, it is worth checking UAE Legislation - Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022, as it regulates civil personal status for non-Muslims at the federal level. This does not mean the investor can skip local analysis. The UAE has several layers of practice: federal law, emirate law, registers, courts, DIFC/ADGM, banks, and developer procedures. A will should be tailored to specific assets rather than treated as a universal form.

In Oman, the key distinction is between the mere right to purchase and the subsequent exercise of rights by the family. Foreigners purchase real estate within specific legal frameworks, particularly within Integrated Tourism Complex (ITC) projects. For this reason, succession requires checking not only the will, but also project regulations, developer documents, SPA clauses, registration requirements, and the stance of local advisors regarding heirs from outside Oman. The institutional point for verifying the market and procedures remains the Oman Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, while the practical background of investing in ITCs is expanded upon in the article Real Estate in Oman: How to Invest Wisely in ITC Projects (Real Estate in Oman: ITC Projects).

In Spain, a local notarial will limited to Spanish assets is often a simpler tool than later relying solely on a will from Poland. Not because the Polish document is irrelevant, but because heirs must in practice present documents in a local form, often with sworn translation, an apostille, and compliance with Spanish notarial procedure. A local will can shorten the path and limit the number of questions that arise upon transferring ownership title.

The practical sequence of actions is as follows. First, the investor determines which countries the assets span and whether the documents should cover only real estate or also shares, accounts, and rentals. Next, a local lawyer checks what law can be chosen and how the document will be executed. Then, a local will or a set of documents coordinated with the Polish will is prepared. The final stage involves storing originals, appointing an executor, updating contacts, and providing instructions to the family on where the documents are located.

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Ownership Structure: Private Purchase or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)?

Succession begins with answering the question of who should own the property. A private investor, a married couple, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a family foundation, a holding company, or another legal vehicle are not merely accounting variants. Each model impacts inheritance, taxation, financing, rentals, family risk, and ease of sale differently.

The private model is usually simpler when purchasing a single property. Fewer organizational decisions, fewer ongoing costs, easier contact with the developer, and simpler unit handover. The problem arises when the property becomes part of a larger portfolio, has multiple heirs, or generates rental income. In such cases, probate proceedings can affect ongoing cash flow, and heirs may have differing expectations: some want to sell, others to keep the asset, and others lack the funds for fees.

The SPV model involves holding the property as an asset of a company, with succession taking place at the level of shares or control over the company. In theory, this facilitates rental continuity, contracts with operators, and banking relations because the same entity remains the property owner. In practice, this requires checking local rules: whether the company can acquire a given type of property, how financing works, what accounting duties exist, whether an audit is required, what registration costs are, and how profits and dividends are taxed.

The concept of perpetual succession—the continuity of a company's existence regardless of the death of its shareholder—is useful, but it does not solve everything. Shares must also be inherited, sold, or subjected to a family control mechanism. If a company has two partners, provisions must be made for what happens after the death of one. If a Polish family foundation is a shareholder, the relationship between Polish law, the law of the company's state, and the law of the property's location must be verified.

An internal threshold of USD 1.5–2M can be treated as a point where an SPV should be mandatorily analyzed, but not as an automatic recommendation. For one investor, a company will make sense at a lower portfolio size because they have multiple heirs and active rentals. For another, it will be unnecessary even with a more expensive property if the asset is meant to serve the family as a second home and does not require extensive management.

Before choosing a structure, it is worth asking five questions: who is to make decisions after the owner's death or illness, who will finance fixed costs, whether the property is to be sold or maintained, whether the portfolio will be expanded, and whether the family has the competence to handle a foreign company. We write more broadly about when a company helps and when it only increases costs in the article Buying real estate abroad: company or individual? (Buying Real Estate Abroad: Company or Individual).

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Operational Continuity: How to Avoid Account Freezes and Property Management Deadlocks?

The biggest succession problems are often not abstractly legal, but technical. The family does not know who manages the apartment, where the developer portal credentials are, which account holds the funds for the service charge, who has contact with the rental operator, and what the insurance policy number is. The owner may have an orderly will, but if no one can pay the bills and make operational decisions, the property remains exposed to losses.

In the UAE and Oman, access to bank accounts after the owner's death may require probate procedures, court documents, or local decisions. The article does not assume an automatic scenario for every bank, as practice depends on the institution and documents. However, for the investor, the principle of caution applies: funds for property maintenance should not be accessible through a single personal account and by only one person alone.

Solutions may include a joint account, a company account, an operational reserve held by the manager, or an agreement with the operator clearly designating individuals authorized to contact them in emergencies. Each of these solutions must be checked locally. A joint account can help a spouse with liquidity, but it does not always resolve title succession. A power of attorney can help with day-to-day operations, but usually expires or loses practical utility upon the principal's death. Therefore, a power of attorney and a will are not substitutes, but tools for different scenarios.

The agreement with the rental operator should anticipate situations where the owner is unresponsive. Who approves air conditioning repairs when the unit is rented? Who accepts a short-term drop in rental rates if the market softens seasonally? Who has the right to receive financial reports, change transfer details, or terminate the agreement? If such authorizations are unclear, even a well-located apartment can stop generating returns during the exact time the family needs things organized the most.

Fixed costs must be included in the plan: service charge, renovation fund, utilities, insurance, IBI in Spain, local taxes, community management fees, and rental license fees if required. The investor should maintain an operational reserve and payment instructions for at least several months. This is not an administrative detail. A lack of payments can trigger interest, restrict services, or worsen relations with the operator.

In practice, it is worth creating a digital family safe. It should contain document scans, a list of accounts, portal accesses, contacts for the lawyer, manager, accountant, and transaction supervisor, as well as instructions on what not to do without consultation. The topic of powers of attorney and remote operation is expanded in the article Power of Attorney for Buying Property Abroad: Rules, Risks and Documents (Power of Attorney When Purchasing Real Estate Abroad), and a broader operational perspective is described in the text How to manage a real estate portfolio abroad? ROI, NOI, and practical strategies (How to Manage a Foreign Real Estate Portfolio).

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Inheritance Taxes and Forced Heirship in an International Portfolio

Succession of foreign real estate does not end with the transfer of ownership title. Equally important are taxes, administrative fees, and family claims. The investor should assume that every country views succession differently, and a Polish family may simultaneously grapple with local taxes, notarial costs, registry fees, and forced heirship claims.

In Spain, the primary tax in inheritance and gift matters is ISD (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones). The Agencia Tributaria - Inheritance and Gift Tax describes the Spanish system and obligations regarding inheritance and gift tax. Crucial for the investor is that the tax burden can vary regionally. Andalusia is analyzed differently than Madrid, and differently than regions where reliefs are weaker or conditions for their application are more restrictive. Therefore, with Spanish property, the purchase price alone is insufficient; an inheritance scenario must be calculated.

In Dubai and Oman, the conversation often starts with the statement that there is no classic inheritance tax. This should not lull one into a false sense of security. The absence of a single tax does not mean the absence of costs. Court fees, registry fees, translation, legalization, legal services, title transfers, or data updates in registries and with operators may arise. In Dubai, real estate transactions require checking current fees at the Dubai Land Department - Title transfer application and the conditions of a given action, as calculation methods may depend on the transfer type and documents.

The Polish perspective is equally important. Foreign real estate can affect the estate mass and settlements among heirs. If one child receives a property in Spain, another company shares, and a third cash, questions arise regarding forced heirship, valuation, and liquidity. An heir may formally inherit an apartment worth millions of PLN, but lack the cash for taxes, fees, and family settlements.

Liquidity risk is one of the most underestimated topics. The owner sees a high-value asset, but the heirs see costs, documents, and deadlines. If the succession plan does not provide for a cash reserve, insurance, a sales instruction, or division rules, the family may be forced to sell at an unfavorable moment. In such a scenario, the problem is not the quality of the property, but the lack of working capital and an agreed-upon decision.

A good practice is combining legal and tax advisory. A local lawyer will answer how to transfer ownership. A tax advisor will check what liabilities will arise locally and in Poland. A family advisor or succession lawyer will help structure relations between heirs. A broader fiscal background for investors can be found in the article Property taxes abroad - investor's guide (Foreign Real Estate Taxes: Investor's Guide).

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Owner's Checklist: How to Build a Family Succession Pack?

A Family Succession Pack is a practical set of documents and instructions that allows the family to act without searching for information across emails, messengers, and binders. It does not replace a will or legal advice, but ensures that a will can be executed more efficiently and the property does not lose operational control.

The first part consists of ownership documents. Depending on the market, these should include the Title Deed or register entry equivalent, Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA), Completion Certificate, developer agreement, handover documents, payment plan, insurance policies, rental operator agreements, rental license if required, and bank financing documents. Each scan should be labeled: what it is, where the original is, and who can issue it.

The second part is a contact map. It should contain the local lawyer, notary, accountant, property manager, rental operator, developer representative, bank, insurer, and the PlanoGroup representative familiar with the transaction history. For each contact, it is worth noting the communication language, case number, email address, phone number, and scope of responsibility.

The third part is family instructions, often called a Letter of Wishes. This is not a poetic document, but a clear instruction: whether the property is to be kept, rented, or sold; where the keys are; who knows the tenant; what the payment deadlines are; which decisions require family consent; which actions must be consulted with a lawyer; and what not to sign under time pressure.

The fourth part is operational access. The owner should describe developer portals, payment systems, utilities, smart home apps, the email box used for correspondence with the operator, the payment schedule, and account details. Passwords should not be transmitted in a plain text file. It is better to use a password manager with an emergency access plan for a designated person.

The fifth part is the update schedule. The succession plan should be reviewed after purchasing a new property, selling an asset, changing tax residency, marriage, divorce, birth of a child, changes in local law, changing rental operators, or modifying the ownership structure. For a stable portfolio, a review every 2–3 years is sensible; for an active portfolio, reviews should happen more frequently.

Finally, it is worth adding an exit scenario. Succession does not always mean keeping the property within the family. Sometimes the best decision is an orderly sale and division of funds. Therefore, the Family Succession Pack should include sale criteria, minimum requirements for the broker, a list of documents needed for the transaction, and valuation methods. This topic is expanded in the article Exit strategy: How and to whom to sell a property? (Exit Strategy: How and To Whom to Sell a Property).

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When Is It Worth Talking to an Advisor Before Purchasing?

The best time to discuss succession is the stage before signing the SPA or choosing the purchase structure. At that point, you can still decide whether the buyer should be an individual, a married couple, a company, a holding company, or another entity. You can also check costs, bank requirements, documents needed for a proxy, and the impact of the decision on taxes and family settlements beforehand.

PlanoGroup can help organize the process from an investment and operational side: pointing out questions for the local lawyer, gathering transaction documents, comparing ownership models, preparing a risk list for the family, and connecting the client with the right specialists. This does not replace local legal or tax advice, but it reduces decision-making chaos and helps the investor view the property as part of a portfolio, not an isolated purchase.

If you are planning a purchase or organizing a portfolio in Oman, Dubai, or Spain, it is worth analyzing succession before choosing a specific unit. At that point, questions about law, taxes, rentals, and family become elements of due diligence rather than problems postponed for later.

FAQ

Does a Polish will suffice for foreign real estate?

A Polish will may be valid, but in practice, it is often not the most efficient tool for managing foreign real estate. A local bank, registry, notary, or court may require translations, apostilles, confirmation of applicable law, and documents compliant with local procedure. Therefore, regarding Spain, Oman, and the UAE, it is worth considering a local will or a coordinated set of documents. The goal is not to multiply paperwork, but to shorten the path for heirs.

What documents should the owner's family have?

It should not be treated automatically as a substitute. A well-prepared succession plan separates the scope of documents: one document may cover assets in Poland, another property in Spain, and a third assets in the UAE. It is crucial that the documents do not contradict each other. Each will should clearly indicate which assets it covers and whether it revokes previous dispositions. This requires coordination among lawyers from the relevant jurisdictions.

Does spousal co-ownership solve the succession problem?

Co-ownership can facilitate day-to-day management, but it does not solve the entire problem. Upon the death of one co-owner, it must still be determined what happens to their share, who has the right to make decisions, and what the procedure is regarding the registry, bank, and rental operator. Co-ownership without family instructions, a will, and a payment plan merely postpones the problem.

When does purchasing through an SPV make sense?

An SPV is worth analyzing for a larger portfolio, multiple units, active rentals, multiple heirs, planned financing, or intentions to further scale investments. A company can improve operational continuity, but it incurs costs: registration, accounting, reporting duties, potential audits, and tax advisory. The decision should be preceded by an analysis of the entire portfolio, not just a single property.

How often should the succession plan be updated?

The plan should be reviewed after any significant change in assets or family. A new property, asset sale, change of tax residency, change of operator, divorce, marriage, birth of a child, or changes in local law should trigger a document review. For a stable portfolio, a review every 2–3 years is a good rhythm.