Sebastian Limeres
LIMERES is an Argentine law firm founded in 2004. We represent clients in succession proceedings before Argentine courts when assets are located in Argentina. Free initial consultation for inheritance and real estate matters.
Our work is Argentine law only. No one at LIMERES is licensed to practice law in the United States. The firm works in English and Spanish, with 30+ lawyers in 23 provinces and offices in Recoleta, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and in Nordelta, Tigre, in Buenos Aires Province.
What a succession is
In Argentina, transferring a deceased person’s assets into the names of the heirs is done through a court succession (sucesión). It is a judicial proceeding even when the family is in agreement, and even when a will exists. Until the court has issued its ruling and the assets are registered, heirs generally cannot sell or formally transfer Argentine real estate, or complete the transfer of many other local assets such as company shares or bank accounts.
This page is an overview of that Argentine proceeding: when it is required, how testamentary and intestate cases differ, and two will formalities that often matter when more than one instrument exists. For the practical path we use with heirs who live in the United States — assembling documents, powers of attorney, and moving proceeds abroad — see Argentinian successions and international inheritances.
When an Argentine succession is needed
A succession in Argentina is usually required to transfer assets that are situated here — typically real estate, bank or brokerage accounts, vehicles, and shares in Argentine companies — into the heirs’ names. A probate already completed in another country does not, by itself, replace that Argentine court step. Which court hears the case generally depends on the deceased’s last domicile and, for real estate, on where the property is located. Assets in more than one province can require coordinated filings.
Testamentary and intestate proceedings
If the deceased left a will that Argentine law recognizes, the court examines and, if appropriate, approves that will (sucesión testamentaria). If there is no will, or the will does not govern the estate, the court identifies the legal heirs and issues a declaration of heirs (sucesión ab intestato). In both situations it is the court’s ruling that later allows the inventory, registration, partition or sale of the assets.
Wills: the public form and a later will
A separate wills page explains forced heirship and the handwritten (holographic) form. Two rules from the Civil and Commercial Code are worth stating here, because they often decide whether an instrument will be easy for the heirs to use, and whether an earlier will still stands.
Under article 2479, a will by public act (testamento por acto público) is made as a public deed before a notary (escribano) and two qualified witnesses, whose names and addresses must appear in the deed. The testator may give the notary written or spoken instructions so the notary can draw up the will in the ordinary form; those preliminary instructions cannot later be used against the text of the deed. When the drafting is finished, the will is read and signed by the witnesses and the testator. The witnesses must be present without interruption from the beginning to the end of the act, and the notary must record that fact. The general rules on public deeds (articles 299 and following) also apply.
Under article 2513, a later will revokes an earlier one unless the later will expressly confirms the earlier will, or the terms of the later will show that the testator meant to keep the earlier one, in whole or in part. Anyone who already has a will in another country, or more than one Argentine will, should have each new instrument state clearly what happens to the previous ones.
How we work
We open and follow succession proceedings where the assets are, through our network of 30+ lawyers in 23 provinces. When the client is outside Argentina, the work is typically done under a power of attorney, so travel is often unnecessary. We coordinate with the client’s counsel and advisers in their home country on the Argentine-law side of the matter only.
Talk with us
Free initial consultation for inheritance and real estate matters.
United States
+1 925 791 8555
Argentina
+54 9 11 4162-0021
Questions @ Limeres .com
Attorney Advertising. LIMERES is an Argentine law firm that advises clients worldwide on Argentine law. No one at LIMERES is licensed to practice law in the United States. This page is general information, not legal advice.