Every week somebody writes me from Orlando, from Philly, from New York, with the same question: "When does probate open on my mom's house?"
And I tell them the same thing. There is no probate in Puerto Rico. There is the declaratoria de herederos, and it's a different animal.
Does Puerto Rico have probate?
Not the way it works in the States. It starts with two questions: was there a will? And if not, who are the heirs?
Over there the court opens a case and tells you what to do. Here nobody calls you. Your mom's house can sit in her name for twenty years, baking in the sun and feeding termites, and nobody sends you a letter.
And that's where people get stuck, waiting on a process that never starts, because here you're the one who starts it.
What is a declaratoria de herederos?
It's the paper that officially says who inherits when there was no will. Done in court or before a notary.
Who inherits depends on two things: whether there was a will, and when the person died. Deaths from November 28, 2020 go under the new Civil Code. Look at that date first.
I have the declaratoria. Why can't I sell?
Because the declaratoria only says who inherits. After that you still need the relevo from Hacienda. Without it you can't register the house, sell it, or get the money out of the bank, and it has a deadline; confirm that with your attorney or CPA. Then the CRIM debt has to be settled, every heir has to sign, and the house registered in your names at the Registro de la Propiedad.
Coño, and that's the part nobody tells you when they hand you that paper.
Do I have to get on a plane?
Not necessarily. If you live outside, you sign with a power of attorney, a poder. Your notary or attorney tells you how to sign it from there.
And if your family's house has been sitting like that for years, here's what it means for you: nobody starts this for you, and meanwhile the CRIM keeps running and the house keeps going down.
The lines, the offices and the trips to the house, I do those for my clients. The attorney or notary signs and files; I organize the case so that time counts.
Right below I left you where to start.