Home Costa Rica Inheritance Law Applicable inheritance laws in Costa Rica
Applicable inheritance laws in Costa Rica

Applicable inheritance laws in Costa Rica

According to the rules, anyone who owns a property or properties in the country is bound by the stipulations on the Civil Code. It also goes to show that there is no discrimination on property ownership regardless of the owner’s nationality or race. Property owners in the country are considered Costa Rican citizens.

Territorial principles apply on real estates and other form of assets. The local courts will have the authority to determine which principle applies on properties in the country. These courts are called Civil Courts and judicial procedures pertaining to inheritances are being processed here.

The judicial process pertaining to inheritance matters may take from one to four years and usually depends on the complexity of the matter on hand. However, Costa Rican laws made it possible to resort to a faster procedure which is done at a public notary. If all the heirs are already of legal age, then an agreement may be done this way, provided of course that all the signatories are agreeable with the terms. If there’s conflict then it may have to go through the Civil Courts for a longer judicial process.

The territorial principle adopted by the legal system makes it less complicated for people to transfer property to heirs with different nationalities e.g. spouses of different nationality or religious beliefs. Therefore, incidences of discrimination are virtually non-existent.

Anyone is within their rights to make their own will and specify who can get their properties or assets once they have gone on. There’s no obligation for the creator to set aside part of the properties or monies for any cause. However, there are situations where the judge can reserve part of the estate on those who are dependent on the deceased such as immediate family members (wife, husband or children). The reservation stays until the final decision comes out after the probate hearings. This may be avoided if a properly documents will had been created. However, the practice of drafting a will is not usually done by Costa Ricans.

Foreigners’ options
Foreigners living in Costa Rica have two options when it comes to officially documenting a will. The first option is to have a public notary to draft the will specifying his or her assets in the country. This will be recognized by Costa Rican authorities and the instructions on the will must be followed as stated. The second option is to have a will that had been drafted elsewhere to be validated by the Costa Rican authorities. An exequatur will be summoned to Costa Rica for the approval of the foreign documented will and these transactions will be recorded at the Public Registry.

Most texts would stress that it would be advisable for foreigners to draft their will with a local notary rather than abroad. This is due to the fact that there will be additional proceedings if the latter is done which includes going through the embassy of your country of origin. Having a locally drafted will makes it easier to process since it will adapt Costa Rican proceedings.

 

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