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If you have assets in Costa Rica, you should also have a will in Costa Rica. That’s the best way to save your heirs an incredible amount of problems. When you purchase a property here, get it done at closing so you won’t forget. If you use a foreign will for your Costa Rican assets, your heirs must go through probate here, which can take years.
Thousands of retirees move to Costa Rica yearly and do not plan to die here, but they often do. This can create many problems that nobody realizes until it is too late.
Give your heirs a copy of the deed or title documents and explain where the property is located! It’s amazing how many emails I receive from heirs who know that a family member bought a property here. But they don’t know anything about the property. They only know the name of the person who passed away. And it’s impossible to find the property title without any information. That’s how the property gets lost, and eventually, squatters take over, or the city will foreclose on it. Isn’t that a shame?
In this blog, I will try to cover legal aspects like a will in Costa Rica and probate. I am not an attorney, so I describe everything from the point of view of a real estate broker. For legal consults, contact a lawyer in Costa Rica.
When you read this article about a will in Costa Rica, please do not call us to take care of the remains of your loved ones. We are a real estate network, not a funeral home. If the deceased owns a property in Costa Rica that needs to be sold or rented, we can assist, but only after you become the legal owner of that property.
Your assets inside and outside Costa Rica
Save trouble, money, and time, and get a will in Costa Rica for the assets you have in Costa Rica. Talk to your lawyer before buying property, a car, or other assets in our country.
For many years, putting assets in a Costa Rican corporation was customary. So, the corporation’s shares could be endorsed and kept in a safe deposit box. However, since the creation of the corporation tax, many have their assets in their name. If the owner of those assets in a corporation has not been updated with the latest laws, that property might already be lost. Property with a house on it, neighbors may notice and help you out. If the property is land without construction, the heirs might never be able to recover it.
According to the Costa Rican civil code, a will must be drafted in Spanish. Then, it must be signed in the presence of a Notary Public and three witnesses. You don’t read Spanish? Then, the will must be signed by at least 2 other witnesses who can translate the will for you. A will can also be executed without a Notary Public if it is handwritten by the testator and witnessed by at least 4 witnesses.
Probate
If you do not have a will in Costa Rica and pass away, your heirs must go through probate in the Costa Rican court system. This is sucesión or mortual in Spanish. This can take anywhere between 6 months and 2 years. There are several solutions. I recommend you contact your attorney to learn more. Nonetheless, drafting a will in Costa Rica before you pass away is much easier.
For your information, Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills are not legal here.
A foreign will
Do you have a foreign will to be executed in Costa Rica? Then, you have to go through the following steps:
1. You must obtain a Costa Rican probate court judgment that recognizes the conveyance of the specific property as valid to the specific beneficiary (ies).
2. This judgment must be certified by the issuing court and authenticated by the Costa Rican consul nearest your hometown. Then, officially translated from your language into Spanish and authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Relations in San Jose after that.
5. A Costa Rican attorney must apply for recognition of the foreign judgment. This process is called “exequatur” at the 1st Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.
6. Begin a new probate process in civil court with territorial jurisdiction over the Costa Rican estate.
More info
Although I don’t like to talk about death, I have learned that it’s necessary in over 30 years of selling real estate. I have also written articles about funeral homes and cemeteries, cremation, and repatriation of the deceased.
So, when you purchase a property in our country or any other assets, like a car or a business, you should talk to your attorney to draft your will or testament. Contact us when you can show you’re the legal property owner and need to sell it; we are the experts.
