Lawyers

There are twelve law firms in Torre del Mar, covering the usual areas: civil, property, family, employment and inheritance. The area most of them list is immigration and residence, followed by property.

Firms that work in English

Three firms in town work entirely in English, with their websites written in it. Malaga Legal, on Calle Puerta del Mar opposite the police station, handles inheritance, immigration, criminal, property and family matters. CS Lawyers, on Calle Rioja, covers property, wills and inheritance, NIE and residence permits and powers of attorney, and also has offices in Torrox, Nerja and Marbella. My Lawyer in Spain, on Avenida de Andalucía, deals with buying and selling property, rental agreements, NIE, powers of attorney, residency, wills and inheritance. Pilar González and Lucena also have an English version of their website.

Ask how they charge before you tell them your case

There are three different models here and they are not interchangeable: a fee for the consultation, a provisión de fondos paid on account before work starts, and a percentage of what is recovered. Knowing which applies is the first question, not the last.

Specialism beats rating

An excellent employment lawyer is not the one you want for an inheritance. In a town this size the specialisms are not always advertised, so ask directly. That matters more than any public score.

Take the paperwork in order

Half an hour well prepared, with documents sorted by date, is worth more than three meetings of background. Especially in property matters, where the chain of documents is the case.

For foreign residents, the two areas that come up most are property purchase and inheritance, both of which interact with rules that differ from your home country. It is worth paying for one proper consultation rather than assuming.