My parents were told they have to make two living wills separately even though they are married. We are three children in total, one of which is my mothers child from a previous marriage. Both my parent's name are in the house documentation.
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answered on Sep 5, 2023
A "living will" is an advance directive that expresses one's wishes with respect to end of life medical decisions. My guess is what you meant to write was "last will and testament" or simply "will". It is very uncommon for a married couple to make a joint will... View More 
answered on Aug 29, 2023
Assuming that your late father lived and died in Puerto Rico, and having a copy of your father's death certificate, a request can be made to the Office of Notary Inspections ("ODIN", by its Spanish acronym), with whom are filed all the wills subscribed in the Commonwealth of Puerto... View More
My father and mother were gifted (via Escritura), a piece of land with a house built on it by them in Isabela, PR by my Paternal Grandmother in 1983. The property was registered but as far as we know from bills from the CRIM and Property Registry they only show my father's name on the... View More
answered on Jul 18, 2023
After November 28, 2020, Puerto Rico rule of law determines that the heirs of an estate are the deceased's spouse and children. Before that date, the estate belongs to the deceased's children with an inheritance lien in favor of your widowed mother (called in Spanish, "la cuota... View More
The land in question was given to us with documentation; Escrituras, segregated and Registered at the Property Registry through a Notary (lawyer) one of my siblings recently filed for a 'Cambio de Dueño" I noticed on the Global Catastro that when they processed the change, they left the... View More
answered on Jul 10, 2023
I'm assuming the change in ownership to which you refer is with the Puerto Rico Municipal Income Collections Center ("CRIM", by its Spanish acronym). When more than two owners are involved (i.e., when a community property is filed with CRIM), there are two forms that should be used.... View More
My father who was a resident of Puerto Rico passed away. He had a house where the mortgage was more than the value of the house. The house is going into foreclosure and will likely not bring much money. Am I responsible for that debt or does the debt stop with the value of the estate?
answered on Jul 6, 2023
The Rule of Law in Puerto Rico for hereditary estates is that the heirs, having accepted their inheritance, subrogate themselves in the deceased place regarding the estate's assets and liabilities. If an estate is more debt than assets, the heirs may repudiate their inheritance. Be advised... View More
answered on Jun 9, 2023
You do not provide enough information to answer your question. Several factors that affect the costs are: how many heirs are there? Are they all alive? If any have died, did he/she leave descendants? Are these descendants all alive? Are any heirs minors (underage)? Did the deceased leave bank... View More
My uncle and father co-own two houses and land in Puerto Rico. My father died several years ago and his lawyer has contacted me requesting my birth certificate to finalize the inheritance. My Uncle also wants to negotiate buying my half of the property. Can I contact a lawyer in Puerto Rico to... View More
answered on Jun 1, 2023
You can retain the services of an attorney in Puerto Rico, even if you live in New York. You do not state who hired the attorney who requested your birth certificate. Neither do you mention whether you're an only child or whether you have siblings. It seems that your late father did not leave... View More
¿Cómo puedo proceder a vender una casa (soy albacea y heredero del testamento) cuando uno de los herederos (total de 6 herederos directos) ha tomado posesión de la casa y se niega a aceptar cualquier venta de la propiedad?
answered on Mar 23, 2023
Primer paso (si ya no lo ha hecho) debe ser solicitar, mediante Petición al Tribunal, que se expida carta testamentaria a su favor como albacea. Para esto, debe otorgar declaración jurada aceptando usted el cargo de albacea. Esta declaración jurada se envía al notario que autorizó el... View More
Property filed under name of spouse who developed Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's. Can property be transferred to the healthy spouse? What rights, if any, do the children of the sick spouse have to the property in question? Do the children need to be considered in the transfer of property... View More
answered on Mar 6, 2023
Under Puerto Rico law, an incapacitated individual's property may not be transferred to another person. Nevertheless, the administration and care of said property may be assigned to another. The healthy spouse would need to incapacitate the spouse suffering from dementia and/or alzheimer, and... View More
As the current owner of land in Puerto Rico, am I permitted to lease the land to an individual or entity for the purpose of constructing a dwelling on the property?
answered on Jan 30, 2023
So long as you are the current sole owner of the land, you can lease said real estate to an individual or entity. Nevertheless, a lease contract is temporary by nature. Allowing a third party to erect a permanent structure on your land, of which you're not the owner, exposes you to legal... View More
Grandmother died in 2013 without a will and she had seven children/heirs. The house remains in my grandmother’s name to this day, and my aunt moved in and took control of the house without the consensus of all the heirs.
My aunt made a document for my uncle to sign in the U.S. in... View More
answered on Jan 10, 2023
There are three ways in which an heir can transfer his/her hereditary rights to another: by ceding said rights to another, by donating the rights or by repudiating his/her inheritance. The first two must be done by subscribing a deed (escritura) before a notary, with both the donator and the... View More
After grandmother died without a will, aunt entered house, removed uncle’s belongings & changed the locks.
Two offers from aunt:
Option 1 pay each sibling $5,000 for their share. $5,000 each for 7 heirs is $35,000 total valuation for house.
Option 2 threatened to go... View More
answered on Jan 5, 2023
From the scenario that you paint, Option 2 (going through the Puerto Rico courts) seems the better alternative. It will force an appraisal of the real estate, to determine each heir's share in the estate. Any expenses incurred in maintaining the property or even increasing its value will be... View More
We were told by executor that the siblings portion, since they have passed away, is cancelled. I
answered on Jan 3, 2023
I'm assuming that your aunt left a Will upon her demise. The date of your aunt's death will determine the answer to your question. If your aunt died before November 28, 2020, her estate is subject to the Puerto Rico Civil Code of 1930. After November 28, 2020, her estate is subject to the... View More
The home was purchased over 20 yrs ago by both for retirement purposes.
answered on Nov 9, 2022
You need to speak with a PR estate planning attorney if the property is in PR as you have stated. Things to consider include, is there a Will, what does the property deed say, is there a Trust? It is possible the property will pass to your mom per PR laws, Will and or other estate planning that is... View More
Mayaquez, PR is where my grandfather resided . Not getting much help from that side of family, was born in the US so not very close to them.
answered on Oct 27, 2022
When a close relative dies, such as the case of your grandfather, the first thing that needs to be done is whether the deceased died having left a Will or not. If no Will exists, a Declaration of Heirs must be petitioned from the Puerto Rico court. Depending on when your grandfather died, the court... View More
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answered on Jul 11, 2023
Your question cannot be answered without actually reading the will. Sometimes the will specifies what happens if an heir predeceases the testator. Sometimes it does not.
How Will the decease’s assets be divided, when some of the children have died?
answered on Nov 2, 2022
This is something that attorneys who work with estates would know better than civil litigation (the posted category) attorneys, but the question remains open for almost a week. I'm sorry for the family's loss. You could repost the question under Puerto Rico (see "show more... View More
answered on Oct 15, 2022
I'm assuming that the will was granted in Puerto Rico. If that's the case, the Puerto Rico Notary Law demands that an attorney-notary who has authorized a will must notify a certified copy of said will with the Office of Notary Inspection's Registry of Wills. If your sisters wish to... View More
a birth certificate, but the apparent sister doesn’t have a birth certificate with my father listed as her father nor does she have DNA results to prove a legal relationship. So what can she do to be eligible to receive my father’s inheritance? Can her and I perform a sibling dna test? Will... View More
answered on Sep 5, 2022
The test results only present a probability of kinship between 2 sisters, especially when related by only one parent. Photo comparison with grandparents and other relatives also help. How and under what circumstances DID your father recognize her as his daughter?
lady as his daughter too, that I don’t think is biologically his. Will this young lady have to provide proof that she is indeed an offspring of my father’s to inherit a portion of his estate?
answered on Sep 5, 2022
You don’t state what form did your dad’s recognition of your (apparent) sister take. If your dad recognized her as his legal daughter in a Last Will & Testament, she would only need to provide proof of identity. With no Will, you’d both need to go before the court for a Declaration of... View More
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