About Inheritance and Succession in Argentina
In succession, tangible assets are distributed among the heirs taking into account the parameters established by law, while inheritance refers to patrimony, which are the assets and liabilities of the person.
What is probate? Difference Between Succession and Inheritance
Probate refers to the entire regulatory legal process or legal rules regulated by law in the process of transferring the deceased’s assets to heirs.
In succession, tangible assets are distributed among the heirs taking into account the parameters established by law, while inheritance refers to patrimony, which are the assets and liabilities of the person.
How much is the legitimate share of each descendant in the probate process?
The legitimate portion of the descendants is 2/3 of the inheritance, this indicates that the will can be made on the remaining third.
The parents are entitled to half of the property and the spouse is entitled to half of the property.
In Argentina, there are two ways to accept an inheritance before the law:
1) The Express, which refers to the document, in writing, presented to the authorities,
2) The Tacit, which refers to an act carried out by the heir that implies the intention to accept the inheritance before the authorities.
By accepting the inheritance, those involved in the process assume the assets, basically property, and liabilities of the deceased, which refers to debts. The heir may repent of renouncing an inheritance within ten years while the inheritance has not been.
In the new set of rules of the Argentine Civil Code, three types of heirs are registered:
1) Forced heirs: these are comprised of the person’s children, spouse and parents, who cannot be deprived of the inheritance by means of a will.
The preparation of a will in the Argentine system does not allow the disinheritance of a forced heir.
2) Non-forced heirs: included by relatives up to the fourth degree, such as siblings, nephews, uncles and cousins.
They inherit if there are no forced heirs or will.
3) Testamentary heirs: refers to the persons included in the will.
How much of the inheritance does the spouse have?
– The spouse is entitled to the inheritance in the same part as that of the descendants if they exist within the marriage, and does not inherit any part in the division of the property acquired by both spouses.
– If there are no ascendants and descendants, the spouse inherits all the assets.
– The spouse receives half of the inheritance if the ascendants inherit.
What happens when there are debts in the probate process?
Debts are paid with the assets of the estate and not with the assets of the heirs, the State accepts the inheritance on the condition that the estates of the deceased and the inheritors are separated.
Creditors can ask the judge to authorize the heir to accept the amount of the debts on behalf of the heir if he or she renounces the inheritance.
What are the rights of the State in the succession process?
If the heirs do not claim the assets reflected in the inheritance, the inheritance is declared vacant. In this case, the judge must order the property to be handed over to the State, which will dispose of it.