Where inheritance can get tricky is when it comes to real estate, especially property in Puerto Rico. Whether you’re making plans to bequeath your property or you’ve inherited property, it’s best to confer with a Vieques real estate law professional to understand how inheritance of real estate works in Puerto Rico.

How is personal property governed in Puerto Rico?

Personal property (i.e., all property except real estate) is governed by the law of the jurisdiction where the deceased person resided or was domiciled. If the foreigner´s national law states that the applicable law is Puerto Rico law, the judge must apply Puerto Rico substantive law.

What does it mean to be forced heir in Puerto Rico?

If you’ve never heard of this before, then now is the time to become educated. Forced heirship means that children, grandchildren or direct descendants are guaranteed some part of the inheritance. If there are no children or grandchildren, then parents are also included as forced heirs.

Who is the registered owner of real estate in Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico law looks at registered ownership and registered rights to determine the ownership of real property. Ownership rights of personal property are governed, generally, by the contracts which grant such rights. The owner of the real estate is the person or persons registered in the Property Register of Puerto Rico.

Do you have to pay taxes on property in Puerto Rico?

If you are a resident of Puerto Rico, you can expect to pay taxes on all properties you owned. If you just own property in Puerto Rico, like a vacation home, but are not a resident, the tax only applies to that property. As you may expect, the inheritance tax laws of Puerto Rico are also incredibly complex.

Is it legal to sell property in Puerto Rico?

If the foreign law states that the applicable law for real property located in Puerto Rico is the law of the jurisdiction where the owner resides, such disposition is not valid under Puerto Rico law.