Chile Forum

Hello,

My Mum has been in the process of selling her property for the last 3 or 4 years.
The buyer has been dragging her feet and my Mum was not a pushy person.
Now my Mum has passed away and the property has not yet sold.
Can anyone help me?
I want to know what happens now.
The price was very low I believe.
Will the sale now be cancelled?
Who does the property go to if it doesn't sell?
Mum had no will.
Dad is alive and I have a brother.
Will the property go to Dad?

Can anyone give me some info or send me to somewhere that I can get some answers?

Thank you
Carol

That's is very sad and I am sorry for your loss. I can't help with your query but hope that someone can and that this is sorted out soon.

ccllewis wrote:Hello,

My Mum has been in the process of selling her property for the last 3 or 4 years.
The buyer has been dragging her feet and my Mum was not a pushy person.
Now my Mum has passed away and the property has not yet sold.
Can anyone help me?
I want to know what happens now.
The price was very low I believe.
Will the sale now be cancelled?
Who does the property go to if it doesn't sell?
Mum had no will.
Dad is alive and I have a brother.
Will the property go to Dad?

Can anyone give me some info or send me to somewhere that I can get some answers?

Thank you
Carol

So sorry about your loss. I´m not lawyer but I know for a fact that when you are married and one passes away,by chilean law 3/4 of the property belongs to the survivor spouse ( your father) and 1/4 to you and your sibling.He must do the "posesión efectiva¨.I would suggest to hire a competent lawyer with regard to the sale.The moral unfortunately is....never to be passive, be persistent, give deadline dates, don´t let anyone push you around and never ever let your guard down.Take it from a chilean that doesn´t take crap from the rest of the chileans.

According to
http://www.spencerglobal.com/chile-inhe ... chile.html
it doesn’t seem to be quite how Gloria describes it:

Fifty percent of the assets must go to the rightful heirs also called “forced heirs” (spouse, direct descendants, or ascendants). Twenty five percent of the assets are called the “quarter of improvement” and it may be given to any of the forced heirs at the discretion of the tester. The last twenty five percent is called “quarter of free disposition” and may be given to anyone the testator wishes.

Maybe I’ve misunderstood, Admin?

What if all forced family heirs are non-residents, do the same rules apply? Or can a Will overrule them?

zizzles wrote:According to
http://www.spencerglobal.com/chile-inhe ... chile.html
it doesn’t seem to be quite how Gloria describes it:

Fifty percent of the assets must go to the rightful heirs also called “forced heirs” (spouse, direct descendants, or ascendants). Twenty five percent of the assets are called the “quarter of improvement” and it may be given to any of the forced heirs at the discretion of the tester. The last twenty five percent is called “quarter of free disposition” and may be given to anyone the testator wishes.

Maybe I’ve misunderstood, Admin?

What if all forced family heirs are non-residents, do the same rules apply? Or can a Will overrule them?

As I stated from the get go, I'm not a lawyer, however I have from time to time the opportunity to educate myself with chilean laws and for what I understand is the way I wrote it...could I be wrong? possible.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
¿A quiénes puedo dejar mis bienes?
En Chile los testamentos son restringidos. No existe libertad absoluta para disponer de los bienes ya que la ley obliga al testador a cumplir con asignaciones forzosas a favor de ciertas personas. Las disposiciones del testamento que no las cumpla no tendrán valor.

Las asignaciones obligatorias abarcan:
Los alimentos forzosos que el difunto debía por ley, deben pagarse con cargo a los bienes de la herencia.
Las legítimas que se componen por el 50% de los bienes (mitad legitimaria) y les corresponde a los herederos como el cónyuge, descendientes o ascendientes (padres y abuelos)
La cuarta de mejoras se compone del 25% de los bienes y con ella se puede favorecer la cuota de determinados herederos (cónyuge, descendientes o ascendientes). El 25% restante, llamada "cuarta de libre disposición", puede dejarse libremente a cualquier persona.

En resumen, el 50% de los bienes va a los herederos forzosos, el 25% va para mejorar a alguno de los beneficiados por la primera mitad, y el otro 25%, a quien el testador desee.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you everyone for your help.
From what I can make out it seems that we could loose 25% to someone.
My Mother does not have any parents still alive but she has aunties and cousins.
My father is less pushy than my mother.
It looks like we might have trouble getting this property sorted out.
Does anyone know how I can get a hold of a competent lawyer who will understand these circumstances?

Thank you
Carol

Contact the Admin. You don't only need a lawyer, you need a lawyer who understands your needs.
You are dealing with Napoleanic law, not the British law we grew up with. Some of it may seem counterintuitive.
Also, an attorney who does not understand the english speaking world will be offended at your requests for updates and explanations. He is used to telling clients not to worry (s)he has it under control.
Be prepared for a long time frame and multiple trips, each of a long duration. Have all your personal identity and marriage documents and those of your spouse properly prepared for legalization (search this site). You may need your husbands permission or approval to do anything in Chile. (Napoleanic law).
In case I forgot to mention; contact the Admin.
Good luck and be patient.

Sorry, just got to this thread.

Definitely going to need a lawyer, and a lawyer that understands international law.

The laws do apply to people not living in Chile with regards to assets in Chile, especially in regards to real estate (territorial integrity overrules international law sort of thing).

The sale of the property going through will depend on what stage she was at in the sale. For example, it might turn out that the proceeds go to the estate as money (e.g. she already signed the buy / sale contract), or perhaps the sale is just getting going and it is up to the people inheriting the property to decide to move forward. Way too many variables to unpack on a public forum. Much depends on your family situation, what assets are there, and so on.

By the way, quick side note. If you are a foreign national, with rights to inherit in Chile, MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED WITH THE CHILEAN CIVIL REGISTRY. Why? Because that way you preserve your rights to inherit through the normal probate process in Chile. If they don't know you exist during probate, how can they know that you have a right to whatever portion of the estate?

One of the biggest messes we run in to are people that find out after everything has been liquidated that they had a right to an estate. It gets much harder to collect your portion, after the money has been spent. You still have the right to the estate, but it might be too costly to collect. For example, this is a common problem with Children from other marriages that live outside the country or have never been to Chile. Also a growing problem of the children of foreigners that retire in Chile, and the kids don't know they have a right to say mom or dad's property they bought in Chile.

admin wrote:By the way, quick side note. If you are a foreign national, with rights to inherit in Chile, MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED WITH THE CHILEAN CIVIL REGISTRY. Why? Because that way you preserve your rights to inherit through the normal probate process in Chile. If they don't know you exist during probate, how can they know that you have a right to whatever portion of the estate?

One of the biggest messes we run in to are people that find out after everything has been liquidated that they had a right to an estate. It gets much harder to collect your portion, after the money has been spent. You still have the right to the estate, but it might be too costly to collect. For example, this is a common problem with Children from other marriages that live outside the country or have never been to Chile. Also a growing problem of the children of foreigners that retire in Chile, and the kids don't know they have a right to say mom or dad's property they bought in Chile.

Where do they have to go to register? Consulate abroad? or it can be done here in Chile?

Oh boy this sounds harder than I first thought.
I need to somehow find out where they were at in the sale.
I think everything was signed so we probably have to work out how we are going to get the money from the sale.
How do I register with the Chilean civil registry?
I was born in Chile so shouldn't they know I exist or is it just not that easy?
How do I find a lawyer?
This is all way beyond me. I am glad I found you guys but I still don't know where to start.
I have asked my Dad what is happening with this property and he just says he doesn't know.
I am worried that this lady buying the property won't pay and we will be left in a mess of red tape.

Thanks
Carol

Is there somewhere on the net that may have any details of the sale recorded?
I know the place is in Valparaiso but I don't know much else.