Q: My Inlaws do not have a Will and wish to leave the home to one child. Can a Will serve the purpose?
There are 3 living children.
A: I'm assuming that your in-laws live in Puerto Rico; else, I cannot help you. You tell me that your in-laws have three offspring. For the sake of discussion, I'm assuming that none are minors nor incapacitated. The Puerto Rico Civil Code establishes that -absent a will- all three have equal rights to inherit from their parents, in equal shares. If either or both of your in-laws grant their last will and testament, they may certainly improve one or two of their children's participation, but may not exclude them unless they disinherit the other two; and the legal causes for disinheriting a child are also strictly stipulated in the Puerto Rico Civil Code. If either or both of your in-laws omit any of their children without legally disinheriting them, they incur in pretermission, and the Will may be contested before a court of law. They can, however, favor one child above the others by issuing a Will. The Puerto Rico Civil Code of 2020 establishes that, so long as they divide the "legitimate half" of their estate among all three offspring, they may leave the "free disposition" half of their estate to whomever they please.
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