Parents as Legitimate Heirs

An estate in Costa Rica can occur under the provisions of a Will that, should establish the heirs and legatees. In the absence of this last will, article 572 of the Civil Code determines who -by law-are the legal heirs of the estate. It provides different degrees of inheritance according to whether there are heirs in one degree or another.

Thus, the parents share a degree with the husband or common law spouse of the deceased person and the children of this. By law then, these three distinct heirs share a degree of equality. In the case of the spouse or cohabitant, he/she has limitations corresponding to the amount he can receive depending on the community property within the probate. But, as a rule, he/she is one of the co-heirs.

In some cases, while the estate is being processed, one of the parents of the deceased may die. If this happens, their inheritance position could then be expanded to include other people such as the deceased’s siblings, who will inherit within the estate of their brother via this situation.

It is, however, feasible for the Parents to assign their hereditary rights to the children of the deceased, in order not to dilute the assets of the inheritance or to simplify the processing of a process.

Any questions please send them to ablanco@arturoblancolaw.com