Entre Ríos is one of the few provinces that once taxed inheritances, so heirs often ask whether the tax still exists. It does not: Entre Ríos repealed it in 2018. This guide explains how inheritance works in Entre Ríos today, covering who is protected by law, which court in Paraná or the interior takes the file, how titles are recorded and what heirs still pay.
Entre Ríos: geography and economy
Entre Ríos, literally “between rivers”, lies between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers in Argentina’s Mesopotamia and covers about 78,800 km². Its capital, Paraná, sits on high bluffs over the Paraná River and is connected to Santa Fe city by the Hernandarias tunnel under the river. The province borders Corrientes to the north, Uruguay to the east across the Uruguay River, Buenos Aires Province to the south, and Santa Fe to the west across the Paraná. Residents numbered about 1.43 million inhabitants.
The landscape is gently rolling, the “cuchillas” of low hills, crossed by streams and with extensive islands and wetlands in the Paraná Delta in the south. The climate is humid and temperate. The main cities are Paraná, Concordia (by the Salto Grande dam), Gualeguaychú (famous for its carnival), Concepción del Uruguay, Gualeguay, Victoria, Villaguay and Colón. A string of thermal-spring towns along the Uruguay River, such as Federación, Chajarí and Colón, draws tourists year-round, as does El Palmar National Park with its yatay palms.
Entre Ríos is Argentina’s leading producer of chicken and eggs, with a dense network of poultry farms and processing plants around Concepción del Uruguay and Colón. It is also a major rice producer and the heart of the country’s citrus industry around Concordia and Chajarí, alongside soybeans, wheat, corn, cattle and dairy. Planted eucalyptus and pine forests feed sawmills in the northeast. Tourism, from carnival to hot springs and river fishing, matters a great deal to the coastal towns.
Poultry, citrus and grain: Entre Ríos assets
Heirs in Entre Ríos often receive farmland, poultry farms (with sheds, equipment and supply contracts with processors), citrus groves or forestry plantations, along with homes in Paraná or the coastal towns. Some estates include island land in the Delta, where titles, flooding and access can complicate both registration and sale.
Entre Ríos successions under the national Code
A poultry farm near Concepción del Uruguay, a citrus grove outside Concordia, a weekend house in Gualeguaychú and a flat in Paraná: Entre Ríos estates are varied, but the inheritance rules are uniform. They come from the Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación, in force since August 2015.
Who is protected
A person with children may freely give away only one-third; the other two-thirds are the children’s reserved share (article 2445). Where no descendants survive, parents or grandparents are protected for one-half. A husband or wife is likewise protected for one-half. An heir whose share was reduced by a will or by lifetime gifts can ask the court to restore it.
The order without a will
- Descendants, sharing with the surviving spouse.
- Ascendants, sharing with the spouse.
- The spouse alone.
- Collaterals to the fourth degree: siblings first, then nephews and nieces, then others.
- The State.
Spouse and community property
The surviving spouse’s own half of the marital community is not inherited; it is simply theirs. When the deceased leaves children, the deceased’s half of community assets passes to the children, while separate assets are shared with the spouse taking a child’s share. With parents as co-heirs, the spouse receives half. The survivor may also stay in the last shared home for life at no cost (article 2383), unless it was co-owned with others.
Domicile abroad
If the owner lived in Uruguay, across the bridge from Colón or Concordia, Uruguayan courts handle most of the estate, yet article 2643 lets Entre Ríos courts take charge of the land in the province, and article 2644 applies Argentine law to it.
Wills
The Code accepts a holographic will that is fully handwritten, dated and signed (article 2477), and a notarial one, about which article 2479 states that a public will requires a notary and two witnesses. Families with a Uruguayan or U.S. will should note article 2513: a later will revokes an earlier one unless it expressly keeps it. Our wills page explains how to coordinate.
Courts and registry in Entre Ríos
Successions follow the Código Procesal Civil y Comercial de Entre Ríos (Ley 9776). Whichever town the deceased last called home determines the jurisdiction, and a first-instance civil and commercial judge there takes the file. Jurisdictions are centred on department capitals such as Paraná, Concordia, Gualeguaychú, Concepción del Uruguay, Gualeguay, Victoria, La Paz, Federal, Villaguay and Colón, and smaller seats may have multi-subject courts. The Superior Tribunal de Justicia sits in Paraná.
Opening requires the death certificate and kinship records. The court orders a wills search and a single-day edict (thirty days for claimants, article 2340), then issues the declaratoria or approves the will, and oversees inventory and partition. Properties are recorded in the Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble, organised by department. ATER (Administradora Tributaria de Entre Ríos) handles fiscal valuations and real estate tax, and the court collects the provincial tasa de justicia on the estate’s value. Uncontested estates usually reach the declaratoria in four to eight months.
The inheritance tax that no longer exists
Entre Ríos once had an Impuesto a la Transmisión Gratuita de Bienes, created in 2013 by Ley 10.197, which taxed inheritances, legacies and gifts of assets in the province or received by residents. Ley 10.553 repealed it with effect from January 2018, and ATER confirms the repeal. Today, heirs pay court and professional fees, registration fees and possibly stamp duty, but no inheritance tax. If a death occurred while the tax was in force (roughly 2013 to January 2018) and the succession was never processed, ask a lawyer whether any liability could still be claimed. Land just across the Paraná in Buenos Aires Province remains subject to that province’s ITGB.
Rural land and the Uruguay River
Foreign heirs should also know that Ley 26.737 is enforceable again: the Supreme Court paused its repeal on October 9, 2026. Its quotas per department and nationality, its ceiling for each foreign holder and its exclusion of foreigners from significant permanent water bodies therefore apply. In Entre Ríos, riverfront and island properties in the Paraná delta may raise that last question, and the Uruguay River frontier falls within border security zones. Transfers on death to forced heirs remain valid even above the limits, although the area counts.
Heirs living abroad
Uruguayan powers of attorney and civil records are in Spanish and need only an apostille. U.S., UK and other heirs add a sworn translation in Argentina. Each non-resident heir needs a CDI from ARCA. For a working poultry or citrus farm, agree early on who signs with the processor or packer, who pays workers and who deals with SENASA.
Citrus, rice and the islands: practical points
The Concordia and Chajarí citrus belt depends on packing and export contracts and on phytosanitary registrations that must stay current, or the fruit cannot be sold. Rice farms near Villaguay and San Salvador depend on water from wells, dams or rivers, and the permits behind them should be checked. Island land in the delta may have unclear boundaries because rivers move. In each case, list the contracts and permits on day one, and consider asking the court for an administrator if the heirs live far apart.
Families on both sides of the Uruguay River should also remember that Uruguay has its own succession rules. Property in Uruguay is handled there, while Entre Ríos land is handled here.
Poultry sheds and integration contracts
Around Concepción del Uruguay and Basavilbaso, many family farms raise chickens under integration contracts with processing companies. Those contracts, the sheds and the equipment are estate assets, and the company will want to know who signs for the farm while the succession runs. Heirs should agree quickly on a manager so batches are not interrupted.
Entre Ríos FAQ
Do heirs pay inheritance tax in Entre Ríos?
No. The tax was repealed by Ley 10.553 from January 2018. For deaths during the years it applied, have a lawyer check any possible liability.
We inherited a poultry farm. What first?
Keep it running. Locate the integration contract with the processor, the employees, SENASA registrations and environmental permits, and agree who manages during the case. A court-appointed administrator is an option.
Can a weekend house in Gualeguaychú be rented during the succession?
Yes, if all heirs agree. Until the estate is divided, that rental income is the estate’s and has to be reported. Disagreements can be resolved by naming an administrator.
Our island property has no clear title. Can it be inherited?
Delta islands often have irregular titles or fiscal land issues. Heirs inherit only the rights the deceased had, so start with a title and cadastre study.
Which court handles a succession for someone from Colón?
The court of the jurisdiction centred on Colón, if that was the last domicile. Your lawyer will confirm the exact court when filing.
Can a Uruguayan heir sign in Montevideo?
Yes. A power before a Uruguayan notary with an apostille is accepted, and no translation is needed.
Contact
LIMERES handles Entre Ríos estates through a network of over 30 lawyers in 23 provinces, run from Recoleta and Nordelta. The first consultation is on us. Send us your question.