Q: Mother's boyfriend passed away and they shared joint ownership of the home in Puerto Rico. He had no will.
Mother's boyfriend passed away and they shared joint ownership of the home in Puerto Rico. He had no will and now she wants to sell. She was the beneficiary on his 401k. Does she have full ownership of the home now and if not what steps must she go through to sell the home. He does have a some siblings but no children. The ones she has been able to get a hold of have said they are willing to sign over any claim but there are few siblings she does not know how to get in touch with. Also he passed away over 10 years ago if that matters.
A:
Hello and thank you for using Justia. You first have to define joint ownership. If the property is registered in the Property Registry Department un both names then we have a legal Community Property Society.
Once this is established, an Estate must be created for Probate. You have stated that the siblings are his Inheritors thus his parents have both passed on. To create the Estate you will need the death certificate and original birth certificates of all siblings. If any siblings has passed on, you will need the original birth certificates of thier children. (Inheritors)
The documents are submitted to the Court for Declaration of Inheritors.
The next step is to file the Inheritance Tax Return requesting a Tax Reléase certificate. The Law States that this Tax Return has to be filed within nine months of death thus you will pay penalty for filing ten years latter.
The following step is to register the Inheritors in the Property Registry Department.
Now you are ready to begin the liquidation of the Estate. This is when the Inheritors can renounce thier share of the Inheritance in favor of your Mother. The remaining Inheritors and your Mother will sell the Property.
Your Mother will receive half of the procceds from the sale. The other half of the procceds Will first be used to respond for half of the expenses during ten years of maintenance of the property incurred by your Mother. The remaing amount shall be divided in favor share among all Inheritors, your Mother receiving the shares of those Inheritors whom renounced thier share in favor of her.
If you need additional information please feel free to contact me directly.
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