Case Studies from Lapchynskyi & Partners’ Practice

Below are summarized examples of typical matters handled by the firm across different practice areas. Clients are anonymized (initials are illustrative) and details are generalized to demonstrate the team’s approach.

Tax law: eliminating double taxation on dividends

Situation: Client M., who receives dividends from a company in Poland, faced double tax withholding — both in Poland and in Spain as a tax resident.

Solution: The team analyzed the application of the double taxation treaty between Spain and Poland, prepared documentation to credit the foreign tax paid against the Spanish IRPF return, and submitted the justification to the AEAT.

Result: Double taxation was eliminated, and the client was refunded the excess tax withheld through the tax credit mechanism.

Business: structuring activity when transitioning from TP to self-employment

Situation: A Ukrainian entrepreneur wanted to legalize his business in Spain, working as an autónomo while planning to set up an S.L. to scale up.

Solution: A phased structure was designed: registration as an autónomo to begin operations, parallel preparation of the S.L.’s incorporation documents, and selection of the appropriate tax regime and accounting support.

Result: The business was legalized without interrupting operations, and the client obtained a stable legal status and an optimal tax structure for growth.

Family law: divorce with a dispute over the division of joint assets

Situation: A couple of different nationalities (Ukraine–Spain) could not agree on the division of a property and savings acquired during the marriage in Spain.

Solution: A detailed analysis of the joint estate was prepared under the applicable Spanish marital property regime, negotiations were held between the parties, and a draft settlement agreement (convenio regulador) was developed.

Result: The parties signed a settlement agreement without litigating the merits of the dispute, significantly reducing the time and cost of the process.

Real estate: dispute over a deposit (arras) after a failed sale

Situation: The client had paid a deposit (arras) for an apartment, but the seller withdrew from the deal without returning double the amount, as required by the contract.

Solution: A claim was filed to recover double the deposit under Article 1454 of the Spanish Civil Code, supported by evidence that the client had fulfilled his contractual obligations.

Result: The court of first instance ruled in the client’s favor; the case is now on appeal to secure a final, favorable outcome.

Real estate: horizontal division of a building

Situation: The owner of a multi-unit building wanted to formalize a horizontal division in order to sell individual apartments as separate properties.

Solution: Technical documentation and a división horizontal deed were prepared, participation shares (cuota de participación) were calculated for each unit, and the changes were registered with the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad).

Result: The building was legally divided into independent properties, allowing the client to sell the apartments separately rather than the building as a whole.

Criminal law: defense in a fraud case

Situation: The client was accused of fraud (estafa) based on what was, in substance, a civil dispute with a business partner.

Solution: The defense was built on demonstrating the absence of criminal intent (dolo) and the civil nature of the dispute, and a motion was filed seeking reclassification of the matter.

Result: The criminal proceedings were dismissed, and the dispute was shifted to the civil track, where the parties reached a settlement.

Economic crimes: defense in a money laundering case

Situation: The client was drawn into a money laundering (blanqueo de capitales) investigation due to transactions carried out by a business partner, with which the client had no direct involvement.

Solution: A detailed review of the client’s financial flows was carried out, along with documentation proving the lawful origin of the funds and the absence of any connection to the partner’s alleged transactions.

Result: The client was cleared and removed from the list of suspects during the pre-trial investigation stage.

Debt recovery: recovering funds under an unfulfilled contract

Situation: The client company had not been paid for services rendered by a counterparty that evaded its obligations for over a year.

Solution: A formal demand letter was sent and, when unanswered, a claim was filed to recover the debt plus late-payment interest, with precautionary measures initiated over the debtor’s assets in parallel.

Result: The debt was recovered through the courts, and the funds, together with accrued interest, were returned to the client.

International business structuring: a Spain–Andorra holding

Situation: A client with diversified businesses in Spain and Andorra needed a consolidated structure for asset management and administrative optimization.

Solution: A holding structure was designed with a parent company in Andorra and operating S.L. entities in Spain, aligned with both jurisdictions’ reporting and beneficial ownership requirements.

Result: The client obtained a transparent, legally sound structure for managing a multi-jurisdictional business.

International tax optimization: relocating a digital entrepreneur’s income

Situation: An entrepreneur running a remote business wanted to legally optimize his tax burden when relocating to Spain, while keeping his international client base.

Solution: The applicable regimes were analyzed (including the digital nomad regime and relevant double taxation treaties), and the optimal tax residence and invoicing structure were selected.

Result: The client legally optimized his tax burden while remaining fully compliant with the law in both countries.

Immigration law: won appeal on investor residency permit

Situation: The applicant was denied an investor residence permit (Ley 14/2013) due to formal shortcomings in the documentation on the origin of the invested funds.

Solution: An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) was prepared with an additional package of evidence on the origin of the funds and a detailed rebuttal of the grounds for denial.

Result: The appeal was upheld, and the investor residence permit was granted.

Labor law: won case on unlawful dismissal

Situation: The client was dismissed without following the legally required procedure and without receiving the compensation she was owed.

Solution: A claim was filed with the Labor Court (Juzgado de lo Social) seeking a declaration that the dismissal was unlawful (despido improcedente), along with the calculation of the compensation and back pay owed.

Result: The court ruled the dismissal unlawful, and the employer was ordered to pay the full compensation.

Family law: recovering unpaid child support

Situation: The father had failed to pay court-ordered child support for several months.

Solution: An enforcement action (ejecución de sentencia) was filed, seeking to freeze the debtor’s bank accounts and garnish his wages.

Result: The unpaid child support was fully recovered, and an automatic recurring withholding mechanism was put in place going forward.

Inheritance law: settling an estate with an international element

Situation: Heirs from Ukraine needed to accept an inheritance following the death of a relative in Spain, including real estate and bank accounts.

Solution: The applicable law was analyzed (EU Succession Regulation 650/2012), documentation was prepared for accepting the inheritance, and the inheritance tax (Impuesto de Sucesiones) was settled taking into account the relevant regional allowances.

Result: The estate was settled without double taxation, and the property and accounts were successfully transferred to the heirs.