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Hello out there,
After deciding to do a will (I live in the States but own a small home here) I wondered what is neccessary to ensure that if I died (hopefully not soon but you know..death and taxes..!) how would my sons claim my property? My house is in the name of a Corporation…
thanks,
Kathleenyou could sign the shares of the corp over to them now and have the shares in a safe deposit box. best to talk to a lawyer, though, but i was told this was the simplest way of doing it, but i am NOT a lawyer, and i don’t play one on TV either.
I’m pretty sure that maravilla is right on this. If your only Costa Rican asset is the real estate, and if it’s held in a corporation, transferring the stock to your heirs will probably do the trick. But what of the contents, etc?
Whatever else is true, you can be certain that no Costa Rican court will honor a will drawn in the U.S., and no U.S. Court will honor one drawn here.
The surest approach would be to have two wills.
great David, I will ask which is simplest and and will do the trick..
will have to ask about furniture etc too aktho not too valuable really. but still, best to cover all bases..your costa rican will has to be in spanish, for starters. so i would talk to your lawyers about the share transfers and a will to cover the distribution of contents, and while you are at it, ask him about the general rules of inheritance here in costa rica — my lawyer had told me once (6 years ago) that if i died without a will or transferring the shares, that my estate would be distributed equally between my husband and children.
We just addressed this issue. We have a home here in Costa Rica which is held in a corporation.
We recently returned to the U.S. My attorney modified our corporation books (and I mean literally, a book) to reflect our daughter’s name and passport number (she is an only child). We carried the original corporation books back with us and our daughter signed the book. When we returned, we added our signatures above hers in front of our attorney. Our daughter is now an officer of the corporation and upon our death can sell the house/corporation.
Our car is also held in a corporation and this could be handled the same way, but honestly don’t think our 1984 Toyota Landcruiser would be a big deal (hopefully) some years from now!
Sue, I think you’d be wise to reconsider the Toyota’s future, too. One way or another, it’s going to have to be disposed of in favor of another owner unless it is your plan to simply abandon it or sell it for parts.
Thanks everyone,
We bought a home in 2009, and placed it within a corporation. Like most people, I never thought about the death aspect! The info was very helpful.
A little more background on wills . . .
A married couple can file a joint will. It gets recorded in the National Archive. Typically, they name each other as co-executors and also a secondary executor.
When the first of them dies, the will is executed and then becomes void. That means that the survivor must create a new will as a single individual.
Marcia and I opted to file separate wills. That way, should I die first, she won’t have to devote her attention to creating a new will along with all the other things that will be going on in her life like looking for a younger, better looking guy, planning an extravagant new lifestyle, etc. This is a detail that would be easy for a survivor to overlook.
Also, Costa Rican law makes specific provision for the distribution of one’s assets should one die intestate. In the final analysis, your property will go to your local school, if I recall Petersen’s book correctly. Since that distribution may not be to your liking, a will is a real necessity.
david, surely you’re kidding about your assets going to the local school????? i thought my lawyer told me things are divided equally among spouse and children, if any. rather than the school, i would want all my assets to go to the local dog shelter!!
[quote=”maravilla”]david, surely you’re kidding about your assets going to the local school????? i thought my lawyer told me things are divided equally among spouse and children, if any. rather than the school, i would want all my assets to go to the local dog shelter!![/quote]
maravilla, the operative term in your entry above is “. . if any.” If you want your assets to go to the local dog shelter then you need a will.
I’m certainly not quoting verbatim, okay? But my recollection of Petersen’s treatment of this subject is that Costa Rican probate law provides for a very specific distribution of assets among one’s legal survivors including, perhaps, parents. If you die intestate and have no survivors, the ultimate beneficiary is your local school.
Someone with a current copy of Petersen’s book might want to verify this and jump in.
As an aside, U.S. probate laws provide an “ultimate beneficiary”, too. It’s the state of your residence. Every state maintains an escheats fund to which are deposited the estates of those who die intestate and who have no legitimate heir to make a claim. After a period of years, that money goes to the state. Costa Rica just does it a little differently.
David,
It appears that foreign wills are acceptable but not preferable.
From Client email sent by Phil Baker:
Dear friends, acquaintances and clients,
I urge you to create a Will or better yet a Trust here in Costa Rica. Below find some general information regarding Wills. What will happen with your estate after your death is your choice. Please choose now while you still can. Probate in Costa Rica can be a long dreary and expensive process that your heirs will not want to endure. I have seen people simply walk away from property here as they did not wish to travel or endure expenses and uncertainties of the Costa Rica legal system and the probate process. You must avoid probate. A Will or Trust is the best way to do so.
Regard /Saludos
PB
FORIGN AND DOMESTIC WILLS
Foreigner have two options: a will made by Costa Rican notary regarding assets in Costa Rica (domestic). The other option is to validate a foreign will with the Costa Rican government; in this case, an exequatur must be granted and sent to Costa Rica for approval and then duly recorded in the Public Registry. Recognizing a will executed in a foreign country requires embassies proceedings and the exequatur. This takes more time and is more expensive. Executing a domestic will is faster and easier.
The Costa Rica Civil Code recognizes two types of wills: The Open Will (public) and the Closed Will (sealed or private).
Open Will
An Open Will written in the presence of a Notary or written by the Notary requires three witnesses. If the grantor (testator) writes the will by hand, then a Notary Public and two witnesses are required. A Notary Public is unneeded if the grantor signs the attested hand-written Open Will and it is witnessed by four witnesses. If it is not hand written by the grantor, six witnesses must attest to it.Closed Will
The writing of a Closed Will follows certain requirements. Once signed by the grantor the will is sealed in an envelope and a Notary must draft a notarization on the envelope. The notarized statement must state that a sealed envelope containing a will was handed to the Notary by the grantor and that the grantor has informed the notary as to the number of pages contained in the will. It must also indicate that the will was written and signed by the grantor and whether or not it contains annotations or smudges. The Notary must record the proceeding in their protocol book (acta) and it then must be signed by the grantor and three witnesses.Intestate Succession
In the absence of a will or if a will is found invalid, inheritance follows intestate succession. The distribution of property and assets, in the absence of a will, depends on each case but usually if the deceased was married, the spouse inherits the major portion of the estate. From the total wealth of the deceased, the judge allocates the amount corresponding to conjugal property rights, and the balance is distributed between the legitimate heirs appointed by the judge. The Civil Code defines legitimate heirs as follows:First Degree: The spouse, children and parents of the deceased. If the deceased has no spouse, children or parents, the judge summons other relatives arranged in the following degrees:
Second Degree: The grandparents and other legitimate ascendants.
Third Degree: The natural brothers and sisters on the mother’s side.
Fourth Degree: The nephews of the deceased.
Fifth Degree: The uncles of the deceased.
Sixth Degree: The State. If the estate does not pass to the preceding five degrees, then the Civil Code specifically directs that the property must pass directly to the Board of Education in the district where the property of the deceased was located.Minor Children
If the property (or part of it) goes to a child, or children not legally adult (minor) the property can be registered under the name of the minor in the Public Registry; however, the minor is not able to administer the property. In this case, a guardian must act on behalf of the minor. A guardian should be appointed in the will, but if not the court can appoint one. The guardian priority order established at the Costa Rican Family Code is as follows: The grandparents are first; and in their absence, one of the brothers or sisters of legal age, and aunts and uncles are the third option. If relatives are unwilling to accept guardianship, the court appoints an independent guardian.The above information addresses frequently asked questions. We urge you to contact us immediately regarding your specific situation and any questions regarding a Will and/or Trust.
Scott featured Phils’s book Phil Baker’s Costa Rica Now. Contact philbaker@cr-now.com
But again….if a primary property (house, car) are held in corporations and the ADULT heirs are named as officers of said corporations, they may then sell the properties with only their own signatures…..yes? Our attorney says that this is a perfectly valid way to transfer major assets.
As to furniture, etc., why couldn’t the heir just dispose of what remains on Craig’s List or a yard sale? Who would have the authority to dispute their right to sell these miscellaneous items?
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