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HOW TO DECLARE YOURSELF AS AN INTESTATIC HEIR IN TIMES OF COVID
[/vc_column_text][us_separator][vc_column_text]In these times of the Covid 19 pandemic, where we have lost many loved ones, we have to face that very difficult moment where we have to declare ourselves heirs to the assets of a deceased relative. In Law, inheritance is the legal act by which a person who dies transfers their assets, rights and obligations to another or other persons, who are called heirs. An heir is understood to be the natural or legal person who has the right to a part of the assets of an inheritance. Our Civil Code already establishes the ways to succeed or declare oneself an Heir: By testamentary means or by Will By Intestate or Ab Intestato means (without a will) On this occasion we will deal with the Intestate or Ab Intestato form (without a will) since we are almost never prepared to talk about the subject of an Inheritance because we do not think about death, on the other hand we do not leave a will due to the costs and formalities that this implies. When a person dies without a will, before proceeding with the division and allocation of the assets that make up the inheritance, it is necessary to determine exactly who their heirs are, which is done through the so-called Declaration of Inheritance. The succession of the assets of a deceased person can be testamentary as well as ab-intestato, which means that when the deceased in his will only disposed of a part of his assets or did not include all of his assets in the will, either because he acquired new assets after the will or because he did not want to include them, then the assets that were not disposed of in the will will open the ab-intestato or intestate succession. We will explain in a clear manner, a brief summary of where the ab intestato succession arises, what is the figure of ab intestato succession, what is the form or procedure in which one can succeed, who is authorized to do so and how the law regulates this type of actions, which in Book III of the Civil Code of 1906 gives us broad knowledge of this figure. Article 960 of the Civil Code establishes who are called to the succession or who have the right to declare themselves heirs. 1. Descendants (children) 2. Ascendants (parents) 3. Their collaterals (siblings) 4. Their grandchildren 5. Grandparents 6. The surviving spouse (in this case, if there are children, they are only entitled to a quarter of the inheritance) 7. The municipalities. Before which body should the inheritance application be submitted? Well, this must be submitted to the Civil Courts of the deceased's last domicile. In which it must be submitted with an application for a declaration of inheritance, accompanied by:
- Certificate of residence of the deceased
- Death certificate
- Birth certificate of the deceased
- The document that proves the relationship, in this case, birth certificates of the heirs or marriage certificate if it is the spouse who is declaring themselves heir.
We can also go to a Notary Public to request a declaration of inheritance at a Notary Office, since Notaries are authorized to process and resolve successions due to death submitted to them, without prejudice to granting them to other heirs with equal or better rights. In this case, if we do so at a Notary Office, the process is more expeditious. We must remember that effective possession of the inheritance is granted to the heir who requests it by showing a seemingly valid will in which they are appointed as heir (1038 CPC); and to the intestate heir who proves their marital status entitling them to the inheritance, provided that there is no evidence of testamentary heirs, nor are other intestate heirs with better rights presented (1039 CPC). For comprehensive advice on inheritance in Honduras or for more information, please contact the following email address: szelaya@lexincorp.com. or infohn@lexincorp.com[/vc_column_text][us_separator][vc_column_text]
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[/vc_column_text][us_person image=”7720″ name=”Sylvia Zelaya” role=”Socia” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Flexincorp.com%2Fequipo_honduras%2Fsylvia-zelaya%2F|title:Sylvia%20Zelaya||” layout=”cards” img_size=”full”][/us_person][/vc_column][/vc_row]
