Interview with Álvaro Delgado, Vice Dean of the Official Notary Association of the Balearic Islands and owner of the Notary office: “Notaría Unión”

As Vice Dean of the Official Notary Association of the Balearic Islands, what are the challenges that Notary Offices face today, especially focusing on the specific economic and social aspects that exist in the Balearic Islands?

Notary Offices in the Balearic Islands currently face two types of challenges: one is organisational and the other is technological.

The organisational challenge consists in providing a suitable response to all our currently assigned functions (we now perform jobs that were formerly typical of Courts such as marriages, divorces and other voluntary jurisdiction cases) adapting our offices and staffs to fluctuating job situations, a flood of legislation as well as the rush and demands posed by today’s society. Nowadays, it is not easy to set up a Notary Office and properly train the personnel in the Notary field, since the level of specialisation has grown and there is a low supply on our islands.

We also face a major technological challenge. Two months ago, a genuine revolution took place in the Spanish Notary Office with the creation of the Electronic Protocol Act, and the introduction for the granting of some deeds and bank policies by means of video conference. This entails a major investment in resources and training, and it is also the starting point for a radical change in our profession, which for more than 500 years has exclusively relied on paper-based and physically present documents. The Notary protocol records on paper shall not disappear but the new electronic protocols shall facilitate remote granting and telematic access by individuals and companies to their documentation.

In the current context, after years of high inflation and rising lending rates, what is your opinion on the state of foreign investments in Mallorca and how does this affect the number of notarised deeds. Has Brexit had a major repercussion?

In 2023, we observed a significant decline in real estate investments in Mallorca. The rapid rise in interest rates (4 points in one year), the complex global geopolitical situation and the economic crisis in some countries that are important to us such as Germany have had a major impact on the investment figures and in the number of deeds. With regards to Brexit, there have not been significant changes in investments by British citizens, although this situation has complicated the bureaucracy of their acquisitions, especially on rural land, since they are no longer covered by European regulations that exempted them, for example, from obtaining military authorisation.

Based on your direct experience in the field, how do you think the new legislative changes in the inheritance tax will affect the processing of inheritance acceptances in the Balearic Islands?

The recent legislative changes in the Balearic Islands have caused a major increase in succession agreements (the so-called “living inheritances”, also called “lifetime inheritances”) because many parents want to take advantage of the currently favourable tax situation to advance the delivery of part of their assets to their descendants, foreseeing that future taxation may worsen due to political changes or a standardised intervention by the central Government.

Your professional relationship with the Law Firm, Buades Legal, dates back several decades. Tell us when the relationship began and how you have evolved over the years based on the types of issues in which you have collaborated and currently collaborate.

I have had a great personal and professional relationship with Joan Buades for more than 25 years (we worked together in the Board of Directors for RCD Mallorca) and I have worked closely with all the members of the law firm, especially those who manage the real estate matters and corporate business. The types of issues that we deal with is similar, but what has significantly changed is the legislation and the complexity of today’s documents. Several decades ago, the sale-purchase deeds consisted of 5 or 6 pages, but now they have more than 30 pages, and they have to comply with a lot of administrative formalities that did not formerly exist.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising all economic sectors and it seems that the areas related to law and legislation are no exception. What is your opinion about this new reality and how do you think it will affect the daily work in the Notary office?

Notary Offices are immersed in a technological revolution that will not be alien to AI, since in the future, it shall help us to draft documents and implement internal electronic protocol processes and our extensive collaboration with public administrations. In my opinion, AI undoubtedly provides major advantages and risks, which shall require adequate regulation of its use and its limits. However, just like the arrival of cell phones, computers, photocopiers and Internet, all technological innovations are always good; you just have to use them well.