Q: I was left a house in Puerto Rico from my mother. I have no documents pertaining to the house.
How can I go about getting the deed and other papers I need to sell?
A: First, you have to make sure that the inheritance paperwork was finished so that the house is officially under your name. This can take time and effort and should only be done by an attorney. If you were "left a house" then we would assume it was via a will, which has to be validated according to PR laws. The other option is if you were the only child, thus, the only heir. Then a clearance has to be obtained from the PR Treasury Department via what is called the Inheritance Estate Form (in Spanish, "Planilla de Caudal Relicto"). Finally, the property can be transferred to your name at the Property Registry and the property tax agency known as "CRIM". This is just a summary, there will be other transactions needed. Then, and only then, can the property be sold.
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A:
Hello and thank you for using Justia. Your question is Twitter questions in one thus I will attempt to answer both of them.
Your first question is where can you get the documents pertainig to the house that your beloved Mother had. The documentación can be found by doing a Property Registry search either by name or property location in the "Karibe" web site of the "Registro de Propiedad" through the internet. This will allow you to get the documents related to the purchase of the property by your beloved Mother and the property description.
Your second question is related to you selling the property. This can only be done once the property is registered in your name. In orden to do that you will need to commence a Probate process with an Attorney in Puerto Rico. Depending on if your beloved Mother made a Testament or not. Once this is determines you then need to file an Inheritance tax return and request a tax release. With said tax release you then registered the property in your name and thus áre ready to sell.
The entire process (both Answers) áre handled by an Attorney at a cost of $ 2,000.00.
If you need additional information please feel free to contact me directly. Happy Holidays...
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