INHERITING IN BRASIL
After two decades of having proffered Inheritance, Estate and Succession services at an international level serving the English speaking community, LIMERES, Attorneys has decided to add to its team an expert Brazilian licensed lawyer who has a “hard to find experience” in assisting U.S. heirs who have inherited all across the Brazilian nation. Carla Padilha graduated in 2017 from PPUC-SP, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. She has been practicing Brazilian Inheritance Law, Estate Planning and Probate Litigation for almost the entire tenure of her career since graduating from law school in 2017. After 5 years of uninterruptedly working with Ms. Padilha in different Estate & Probate related matters all across Brazil, our law firm has extended to her an invitation to take-over LIMERES’s Brazilian / Portuguese desk to handle the entirety of our cases in full-time mode. We have reached this opportunity to work together after having handled several many inheritance cases of different sizes, forms and natures. Ms. Padilha’s impecable performance, attention to detail and knowledge in this field was the cause that inspired LIMERES to want to extend to her an invitation to work together with our team in this very specific area of practice where it becomes key to having someone as an expert as Carla Padilha.
LIMERES has been representing U.S. and Brazilian families and heirs, as well as clients from all around the world who predominantly only speak English -and little to no Spanish or Portuguese-, but require expert assistance in succession, estate and inheritance matters all across Latin America and in many cases in Brasil as well, but at the same time require that these lawyers have an expertise in inheritance law, be fluent in English and Portuguese, and are also required to be uniquely knowledgeable about the legal systems of both Brasil as well as the United States of America.
Brasil is the biggest and most powerful economy in The Americas, and after almost two decades of working in Brasil, LIMERES has decided to open a full-time Brazilian desk and name a licensed Brazilian lawyer with the background, knowledge and expertise of Carla Padilha.
At our Brazilian division at LIMERES our team of international inheritance lawyers can assist in the following areas:
* LIMERES has historically offered a free-initial consultation to most heirs and beneficiaries of all international inheritances -in this specific case Brazilian inheritances-, in order to analyze the entire case and navigate with all clients through what can become a complex process that will be contemplated once both attorneys and clients agree to work together in any given inheritance;
* Our lawyers at LIMERES once assigned to this specific Brazilian case will instruct the clients what documents need to be collected in order so that each applicant can become a rightful heir to the inheritance according to the Brazilian court system. Essentially all inheritances require collecting the following documents:
* [a.] valid and unexpired passport-copies of all applicants pretending to become heirs as well as a second form of ID in subsidy;
* [b.] A family tree describing all parties involved to understand how many inheritances need to be filed, as well as how many heirs could become part of the final inheritance judgment n Brazil;
* [c.] All birth, marriage and birth certificates as well as divorce decrees per the family tree in order to connect the decedent with all heirs;
* [d.] Deeds to all properties (real estate in general, rural land and farms);
* [e.] Titles to all water and air vessels as well as vehicles and motorcycles;
* [f.] Description of any and all assets to be identified such as: art collection, alternative investments, bank accounts, shares, stocks, bonds, treasuries, jewelry, gold, precious metals, cash, bitcoin, digital assets, cryptocurrencies, fire arms, etc.
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Contact LIMERES for a free initial consultation:
Email: Brasil@Limeres.com
USA: +1 (925) 791-8555
BR: +55-11-937771717
https://limeres.com/brasil
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The documents that LIMERES will require any Brazilian heir to sign so that representation can commence are the following:
* A broad power of attorney to represent each and every heir throughout the Brazilian court system;
* An attorney-client agreement detailing costs, fees and expenses involved as well as a predictable timeline of the case, and the rights and obligations of both the lawyer as well as the client;
* A certificate of residence and subsistence;
* A certified copy of each heir’s passport;
* Tax forms so that all heirs can be represented before Brazil’s tax revenue office.
All documents being submitted to our Brazilian office that must be exhibited before any Brazilian court or governmental agency must come in the following format: original, certified, legalized and apostilled versions, besides being translated into Portuguese versions.
If our team needs to assist our Brazilian clients with obtaining documents directly in Brasil this can be done so that clients do not have to travel.
A succession process in most Brazilian courts takes anywhere from 4 to 7 months until a judgment is issued. The reason why a Brazilian inheritance lawyer needs to get retained is mainly for the following purposes:
1. Identify a valid inheritance because a decedent has passed away and locate all the decedent’s legal heirs and creditors to the estate because of a testament/will, or because the general rules of Brazilian succession laws determine who the creditors and heirs are;
2. Collect all documentation so that an inheritance can be filed in the Brazilian court system;
3. Reach a final judgment naming all heirs to the estate;
4. Divide all property and assets per the heirs common agreement based on the general rules of succession laws;
5. Sell all property and assets in order to liquidate and disburse monies to all heirs;
6. Cancel all debts with all parties involved;
7. Pay taxes with Brazil’s tax revenue office (RFB, aka: Receita Federal do Brasil);
8. Repatriate funds to the USA or any jurisdiction in the world per each heirs’ written instructions;
LIMERES’s network of inheritance lawyers have represented cases and clients in most of the relevant jurisdictions throughout Brasil with an emphasis in the following cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Salvador, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Curitiba, Recife and Porto Alegre.
We have represented simple inheritances involving small estates with just one decedent, one heir and one property, but we have also represented Brazilian family offices inheriting multimillion dollar estates involving farms, corporations, and fortunes with multi-jurisdictional implications.
At LIMERES we have built a solid reputation for representing the English-speaking community all across Brazil and other nations. We are experts in international inheritances that involve multi-jurisdictional representations of English speaking clients, mostly living overseas.
Rights and Obligations of Clients and Lawyers in an inheritance case in Brazil.
Rights and Obligations of a Client in an inheritance case in Brazil.
Clients have the right to:
* Be informed at all times about the progress of their inheritance case in Brazil;
* Confidentiality in all communications maintained between attorney and client;
* Choose and change their lawyer at any stage of the probate case;
* Fair representation during all stages of probate litigation or even negotiations;
* Review attorney fees which must be fair and reasonable, and be established in writing before inheritance is even filed;
* Client is the decision-maker and not the lawyer, especially in key decisions.
Clients have the obligation to:
* Be honest and transparent at all times with inheritance information provided to lawyer;
* Pay lawyer fees according to the agreed terms in writing;
* Cooperate with lawyer in providing all documentation related to inheritance;
* Respect lawyer’s legal advice.
Rights and Obligations of a lawyer in an inheritance case in Brazil.
Lawyers have the right to:
* Compensation per agreement in writing;
* Withdraw from case if client does not cooperate, nor pays fees, or engages in unethical behavior;
* Right to professional independence.
Lawyers have the obligation to:
* Be competent, loyal and diligent;
* Maintain confidentiality at all times;
* Always act in good faith;
* Keep client informed.
Contact LIMERES for a free initial consultation:
Email: Brasil@Limeres.com
USA: +1 (925) 791-8555
BR: +55-11-937771717
https://limeres.com/brasil