Titles and inheritance in Puerto Rico: the family home

In Puerto Rico it is common to live in a parent’s or grandparent’s home that is still in their name at the Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). The home belongs to the heirs from the moment of death, but the papers do not change by themselves.¹² This guide is for families in that situation. It explains who inherits under the Civil Code, how the declaration of heirs works, how the inheritance is recorded and why a clear title matters to sell, mortgage, insure and apply for help. It is not legal advice: for your own case, we show you where to find free help.

What the will certification from the Office of Notary Inspection costs

$5⁷

To tell CRIM about the change of owner when you inherit

30 days⁵

Of their property, what a person with forced heirs can leave freely

Half¹

The longest each heirs' agreement not to divide the estate can last

4 years¹

What happens to the home when the owner dies

Under the 2020 Civil Code, an inheritance includes the rights and the obligations passed on by a person’s death, and the succession (sucesión) opens at the moment of death. It can be testate (with a will), intestate (without a will, or with one that does not work) or mixed.¹ Each person called to inherit can accept or reject the inheritance, independently of the others, and that decision cannot be undone. Acceptance can be express, in a document, or implied, through acts that presume it.¹

One date matters a lot: if your relative died before the 2020 Code took effect, their heirs are governed by the prior law. The Code took effect 180 days after it was approved.¹ If you do not know which law applies to your case, ask during legal guidance before you sign anything.

Who inherits if there is no will

The Civil Code sets an order. Each group inherits only if there is no one in the group before it:¹

1. The descendants and the surviving spouse. The children and the spouse inherit in equal shares. If a child died earlier, that child’s children (the grandchildren) inherit in their place.
2. The ascendants. If there are no descendants and no spouse, the parents inherit; if not, the grandparents or other closest ascendants.
3. The collateral relatives. Next come siblings and nephews and nieces, first, and then other relatives up to the sixth degree.
4. The people of Puerto Rico, if there is no one else.

With a will, the person decides more, but not everything. The legítima (forced share) is the part the law reserves for the forced heirs, and a person who has them can only freely dispose of half of their property. The surviving spouse can ask to be allotted the family home with preference and, if their share is not enough, a right to live there for life, free of charge, in proportion to the difference. The Code gives the spouse a forced share in ownership, not in usufruct (a right only to use).¹

With a will and without one

Testate succession

There is a will

• The person decides, respecting the forced heirs' share.¹
• You ask ODIN for the confirming certification.⁷
• The inheritance is recorded by presenting the will.²

Intestate succession

There is no will

• The law sets the order: children and spouse first.¹
• You ask ODIN for the negative certification.³
• A declaration of heirs is made, before a notary or in court.⁴

Either way, the home stays in the name of all the heirs until the partition is made.²

The declaration of heirs, step by step

From the death to the title in your name

1. 1. Ask for the will certification

   First

   ODIN issues it with a written request, a copy of the death certificate and $5.00 in fees.⁷

2. 2. Choose where to make the declaration

   If there is no will

   Before a notary or in court. The court does not accept it without the negative certification.³⁴

3. 3. Record the inheritance at the Registry

   With the will or the declaration, in favor of all the heirs, in abstract shares.²

4. 4. Make the partition

   By agreement of all, if they are legally capable, or in court if there is no agreement.¹

5. 5. Record the allotment

   With a deed signed by all the heirs or a final court ruling, the home is put in the name of the right person.²

6. 6. Tell CRIM

   Within 30 days

   An inheritance is also a change of owner that you report to CRIM.⁵

The declaration of heirs (declaratoria de herederos) is the document that identifies the heirs. By law it must state the date of death, the deceased’s marital status, the heirs and the surviving spouse’s right to the widow’s usufruct share (cuota viudal usufructuaria), if there is one.² A notary can handle it just as a court can, and the family chooses. If a dispute or objection arises among the people involved, the notary has to stop, and fees are agreed in writing.⁴ The guide on the notary in Puerto Rico explains how to check a notary.

What the Property Registry says

With the will or the declaration, the inheritance is recorded in favor of all the heirs.² Until there is a partition, the Registry does not say “the home belongs to María”: it says each heir has an abstract, undivided share in everything the person left. If there is only one heir, the inheritance document already counts as the allotment.²

Example with real numbers

An example: grandmother's home, with no will

An example in words of what the Civil Code and the Registry Act say; every family has its own case.

Grandmother dies without a will; she leaves three children and had no spouse

The three children inherit in equal shares¹

One of the children had died earlier

That child's children (the grandchildren) inherit in their place¹

After the declaration of heirs

The home is recorded in favor of all of them, in abstract shares²

One of the children wants to keep the home

Partition: an agreement of all in a deed, or the court if there is no agreement¹

Meanwhile, one of the heirs lives there

They can ask CRIM for the exemption; the home counts as a single home⁵

If grandmother died before the 2020 Code took effect, the prior law applies.¹ A lawyer-notary or a legal aid organization can review your case.

Run it with your numbersDocument checklist

If grandmother left the home to someone in her will as a bequest (legado), that person records it with a deed of payment of the bequest signed by all the forced heirs, and the documents include a certification from the Treasury Department (Hacienda) on the release of the inheritance tax lien.²

Several heirs: the hereditary community

When several people inherit, the Civil Code says there is a hereditary community (comunidad hereditaria). Each heir can sell their share (their abstract part) without asking permission, but selling the home itself takes everyone’s consent. If one heir sells their share to an outsider, the others have 30 days to buy it first. The heirs can agree not to divide the estate for up to four years, and renew that agreement.¹

Any heir can ask for the partition at any time. It can be testamentary, by agreement (if everyone is legally capable and agrees) or judicial (if there is no agreement). The partition includes the inventory, the appraisal, paying the debts and the allotment. And after the partition, creditors can collect from any heir, but only up to the value of what that heir received.¹ At the Registry, sales or mortgages are only recorded on specific shares already allotted, although all the heirs together can sell their whole hereditary right to a third party.²

Why a clear title matters

A home still in the name of someone who died is what the glossary calls heirs’ propertyheirs' propertyHeirs' property is, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), family land owned jointly by the descendants of someone who died without the estate going through probate. The heirs have the right to use it but do not have clear title to sell it, and each generation usually adds more owners. Without proof of ownership it can be hard to get federal benefits, and a third party could force a partition sale. In Florida, a special law protects heirs in partition lawsuits: the value is set by an appraisal and the other owners can buy out whoever asked for the sale.See the full definitionClose. You can live in it, but any paperwork becomes harder:

• Selling or mortgaging. The Registry requires that the seller’s or borrower’s right be recorded first; if not, it denies the recording.² The heirs cannot record property in their favor without first, or at the same time, recording their relative’s title.²
• Insuring. Property insurance can only be enforced by someone with an insurable interest, and if the policy names a person, it only applies up to that person’s interest.⁶ The guide on insurance and hurricanes in Puerto Rico explains policies.
• Applying for help. The AFV’s HOME Program rehabilitation help requires you to hold title to the property, that it be your main residence and that it have no mortgages or liens.⁸ For FEMA’s individual assistance, the regulation accepts as an owner-occupant the legal owner and also a person living there with no formal title and no rent, if they show with documents their legal responsibility for the home, such as tax receipts, repair or improvement receipts, court documents or a letter from a public official.⁹ The guide on how to prove you own your home without a formal title explains that proof.
• CRIM. Inheriting is a change of owner that you report to CRIM within 30 days. An estate’s home counts as a single home for the exemption, which goes to the heir who lives there; and if one spouse dies, the other keeps it without applying again.⁵ The guide on CRIM explains it.

Free legal help, if you need it

None of this requires you to hire anyone in particular, but inheritances have details that change from family to family. If you cannot afford it, LSC funds legal aid organizations in the territories¹¹ and lists Community Law Office, Inc. and Puerto Rico Legal Services, Inc. in Puerto Rico.¹⁰ The Notarial Act exempts notaries of Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico and of law school legal aid clinics from certain stamps when they make deeds for people who are indigent.³ The guide on free legal aid explains how to ask for it.

If this is your situation

What matters most for your situation

You inherited with your siblings

Selling the home takes everyone's consent; each of you can sell your share, with 30 days of first refusal for the others.¹

Your husband or wife died

You can ask to be allotted the family home with preference.¹ The CRIM exemption continues without a new application if you are the original owner.⁵

A hurricane damaged the inherited home

For FEMA, tax receipts, repair receipts or court documents can serve as proof.⁹

You live in the states

The declaration of heirs can be handled before a Puerto Rico notary.⁴ First ask ODIN for the will certification.⁷

Mistakes that cost you

The mistake and what to do instead

• Mistake: Leaving the home in the deceased's name for years.

  Instead: Make the declaration and record the inheritance: without it you cannot sell or mortgage.²

• Mistake: Signing a «sale» of the home without all the heirs.

  Instead: The home itself can only be sold with everyone's consent.¹

• Mistake: Going to court without the will certification.

  Instead: First ask ODIN for the negative certification; the court will not process the petition without it.³

• Mistake: Forgetting CRIM.

  Instead: Report the change of owner within 30 days.⁵

• Mistake: Throwing away tax and repair receipts.

  Instead: Keep them: they can serve as proof of your responsibility for the home with FEMA.⁹

What to do this week

1. Get the death certificate and ask ODIN for the will certification.⁷
2. List all the heirs following the Civil Code’s order, and confirm the date of death.¹¹
3. Ask for a title study or a Registry certification to see whose name the home is in.²
4. Ask CRIM for the debt certification and report the change of owner.⁵
5. Put the tax, repair and improvement receipts in one folder, kept outside the home.⁹
6. If there is a disagreement or you cannot afford it, look for an LSC-funded legal aid organization: it is a free option, not a requirement.¹¹ More topics are under Puerto Rico.