Q: can i find out if my dad owned anything when he passed away?
My father lived in Puerto Rico along with my 3 siblings. I live in New York. He recently passed away and I went to Puerto Rico to see if he had a will I received a notice from the court that there was no will. I know the next step would be to go to court and establish that I am an heir however I would like to know is there a way I can find out if he actually owned anything before I proceed with more work and money to then find out he owned nothing. also I do not speak with my siblings so no help there
A: You can hire an attorney to do a real estate property search, via a title search study. As well, that same attorney could search within the local banks for any accounts left by your dad. In any case, you would have to do a Declaration of Heirs, via an attorney as well, so that the courts can declare who the heirs are if there was no will left. This would be necessary for the transfer of any properties, along with other steps to be taken afterward.
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