The fact is that Buenos Aires inheritance law, or Argentinean inheritance law to be more precise, is not much different than the inheritance law found in most developed countries. However, this law has some specific characteristics too. At Kier Joffe, we are well-aware of these facts and we are always glad to help our clients with any issues that may be handled with the help of Argentinean inheritance law.
Similar to many other countries, primary heirs in Argentina include – children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents and spouses, siblings and nephews/nieces. We have listed the heirs based on their priority. According to the inheritance law, these individuals have the right to the inheritance, no matter what the will says. So, there’s a part of the estate that can’t be eliminated and this means that there are forced heirs in Argentina. This is what the law recognizes as a legitimate portion. This portion includes four-fifths of the estate. On the other hand, the testator is free to delegate the remaining portion of their estate in any way they want.
Widowers, as well as widows that don’t have children, can get half of the inheritance of wills. In case the deceased individual had children, but he or she doesn’t have a spouse, four fifths of the estate is distributed to the children. It is possible for the forced inheritors to receive less than four fifths of the property, but the testator can’t guarantee that any other asset except for the one fifth will be distributed to another individual. In addition, in case the testator leaves over one fifth of their estate to another person, the forced inheritors have every right to challenge the claim in court.
It’s worth mentioning that the assets that are part of the conjugal partnership, as well as the assets that were gained during marriage, are known as shared possessions. So, the surviving spouse gets half of the assets that were earned during her or his marriage with the deceased person. In case there are descendants, the rest of the assets are split between surviving children. Every child gets an equal share. In case there are no children involved, but the deceased has surviving parents, they will get 50% of the inheritance.
Finally, in case there are surviving ascendants and spouses, half of the inheritance is divided into completely equal parts between the spouse and ascendants. The individual assets are the assets that each spouse has before they’ve become married or the assets that they have received as a donation or inheritance after their marriage. In case there are ascendants and children, each of them will get an equal part. Foreigners or heirs that live abroad have the same rights, but they may have to pay different taxes.
If there are any legal matters involving Argentinean inheritance law that you have to settle, our advice is to use professional lawyers who know inheritance law inside and out. This is exactly what you will get from Kier Joffe legal office.
