English-speaking lawyers in Madrid: inheritance, divorce, dismissal and claims
More than thirty years handling cases in the west of Madrid. We study every case before taking it on, and we tell you frankly whether it has any prospect of success — including when the answer is no.
The matters we work on
Eight areas of law, and a separate site for accident compensation. If your matter fits none of them, tell us anyway: we will point you to the right person.
Inheritance and probate
Lifetime gifts that were wrongly counted, legítima shares (the fixed portion of an estate the law reserves for close relatives) that do not add up, challenges to a will, objections to the cuaderno particional (the written division of the estate) and the ending of co-ownership over inherited property.
See inheritanceCriminal defence
Defence from the first police or court statement through to an appeal before the Tribunal Supremo (the Spanish Supreme Court).
See criminal defenceCivil law and tenancies
Evictions, debt claims, contracts and claims against insurers.
See civil lawDivorce
By agreement and contested, winding up the sociedad de gananciales (the default marital property pool) and applications to vary existing orders.
See divorceFamily law
Custody, contact arrangements, child maintenance and breaches of existing orders.
See family lawDismissal and employment
Challenging a dismissal within twenty working days, claims for unpaid wages and resignation with compensation under art. 50 ET (the Workers’ Statute).
See dismissalCompany and commercial
Disputes between shareholders, directors’ liability and recovery of unpaid invoices.
See company lawAdministrative and regulatory
Penalty proceedings brought by town halls and by the Comunidad de Madrid, licences, planning enforcement and the recurso contencioso-administrativo (court review of an administrative decision). We do not handle traffic fines or low-value penalties.
See administrative lawPersonal injury and accident claims
Road traffic, accidents at work and medical negligence. We handle these from a separate site of our own.
See personal injuryDecisions we have obtained
Every figure comes from a judgment, an order or a binding settlement held on file at the office. They are taken from the decision itself, not rounded up.
€3,600,000
Net value of the estate whose cuaderno particional the court ordered to be drawn up again from scratch
50%
Reduction in a prison sentence obtained before the Second Chamber of the Tribunal Supremo
€20,838.30
Compensation for an accident at work, with the award upheld on appeal
Every case is different. Results obtained in the past neither guarantee nor indicate the outcome of any other proceedings.
What happens once you bring us your case
The same order in every matter, whether it is a seven-figure estate or a claim for two thousand euros.
We read first
Before giving a view we read the papers: the will, the deeds, the contracts, the payslips or any earlier decision, depending on the matter.
We tell you whether there is a case
If the matter has no prospect of success we say so, and there are no proceedings. If it has, we tell you what is at stake.
Settlement before litigation
Many matters are put right without a claim once the figures are on the table. It is quicker and it costs less.
Proceedings, if they are needed
With the likely cost and timescale set out in writing from the start. If anything changes along the way, we say so.
Estates that do not add up are what we do best
Most estates are settled without any dispute: the inheritance is accepted, the tax is paid and the property is registered. That does not call for a firm like ours. We come in on the other kind of estate.
Gifts made during the deceased’s lifetime
Computation and collation are not the same thing. Applying one where the other belonged shifts the whole division, and it is a common error among professionals too.
Children from different marriages
With a surviving spouse holding a usufruct and gifts made unevenly, the division stops being a formality and becomes a problem of arithmetic.
Deeds of division that do not work out
The division drawn up by the contador partidor (the person appointed to divide the estate) can be challenged. Once it has been accepted, undoing it is far harder: the time to look at it is before you sign.
One case in point: the court ordered the cuaderno particional of an estate with a net value above €3,600,000 to be drawn up again, because the contador partidor had applied one approach to some lifetime gifts and a different one to others.
Read how the case went → · Inheritance lawyers in Villanueva de la Cañada
What people ask us before they call
How much does the first consultation cost?
The first consultation is not free: we quote for it. Before you instruct us on anything you will know in writing what we are going to do and what it costs. We do not work with open-ended quotes or with surprises at the end.
That way you know from the outset what you will pay and why.
Do you only act in Villanueva de la Cañada?
The office is in Villanueva de la Cañada and that is our natural area — Las Rozas, Majadahonda, Boadilla del Monte, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Brunete, Villanueva del Pardillo and Quijorna — but we act anywhere in Spain where the matter justifies it.
In inheritance matters, moreover, the case is heard by the court for the deceased’s last address, not the heirs’ own: living outside the area is no obstacle.
Do you take on any case?
No. We study every case before taking it on, and we tell you frankly whether it has any prospect of success — even when the client insists on going to court. We would rather lose the instruction than put someone into proceedings whose ending we already know.
For the same reason we do not promise results: we explain what can reasonably be expected, how long it may take and what it may cost.
What languages do you work in?
We work in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, and we act as a matter of course for foreign clients with matters in Spain.
Who will handle my case?
Both partners study it. There is no one lawyer who signs and another who does the work: Pedro Pablo Clavería Ibáñez (ICAM 56.254) and Alberto Clavería Jiménez de Laiglesia (ICAM 120.820) work together on every file.
Tell us about your case
If you have a matter on your hands and do not know whether it is worth pursuing, the first conversation is for exactly that: finding out whether there is anything to be done.
First consultation: quoted before we start. You will know in writing what we are going to do and what it costs.
28691 Villanueva de la Cañada (Madrid)