Q: Our parents are deceased and they left us a house. There was 8 of us but one of our brothers passed.
We are all on agreement to sell the house except my deceased bothers’s kids. They never lived in PR, they live in the states. Can we sell the house without their consent? We are definitely giving them my brother’s portion of the sale.
A:
You cannot sell an hereditary estate when one or more heirs are against the sale. It has to be a unanimous consent; or else, you'll need to go before the Puerto Rico Courts. This would be the legitimate way to anull your nephews' and/or nieces' lack of consent. Living in the states, your nephews and/or nieces would need to be served by edict, in order for the Puerto Rico court to obtain jurisdiction over them. Once a sentence is obtained, your nephews'/nieces' would be consigned with the court, awaiting your nephews and/or nieces decision to request the funds through the court.
Some heirs try to stop the sale of an hereditary estate. Nevertheless, the Puerto Rico Civil Code and its relevant jurisprudence state that no one is forced to remain in a property community.
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