Q: My uncle in San Juan has passed away with no will. We are his nephews how can we apply for our inheritance?
We are three males US Citizens
A:
Your question does not state when your uncle passed away. The answer to your question, depends upon your uncle's decease date, since a different Civil Code applies s of November 28, 2020. When a person dies without a will, the following hierarchy applies.
If your uncle died before November 28, 2020, inheritance is passed on as follows: (a) your uncle's descendants would inherit from him in equal parts. (b) If the deceased left no descendants, the inheritance goes to his parents. (c) If the deceased parents are also deceased, the inheritance goes to his spouse. (d) If there is no spouse, the inheritance goes to his siblings, in equal proportions. (e) If any of his siblings has died, that sibling's portion is distributed equally among the sibling's children. (f) If no close relatives exist, the next closest relatives inherit up to the sixth degree. (g) If no close relatives exists up to the sixth degree, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico inherits.
If your uncle died on or after November 28, 2020, the hierarchy is similar, only that the spouse would inherit alongside your uncle's descendants, and before your uncle's parents, if they were alive.
A Petition for Declaration of Heirs before a Puerto Rico Court of Law must be submitted, accompanied by your uncle's death certificate and evidence of his close relatives who propose to inherit from him. Once the court issues the declaration, an estate tax filing must be prepared and submitted to the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, to request a tax waiver on the estate, assuming that no property taxes are owed. With the Declaration of Heirs Resolution and the tax waiver, a written instance prepared by your attorney will be submitted to the Public Registry, to request a change in ownership title be made in favor of your uncle's heirs. A change in ownership title must also be made with the Center for Municipal Income Collections ("CRIM", by is Spanish acronym). At that point, the heirs may decide whether to keep the real estate property or sell it.
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