We safeguard what you have built: your family, your business, and your property.

If you pass away without a will in Puerto Rico, the law decides for you who inherits and in what proportion, and your family will have to go to court to request a declaration of heirs (a court proceeding that determines who the heirs are) before they can touch a single asset. A will avoids that step, reduces conflict, and lets you decide.

What happens if I don't make a will?

What the law calls intestate succession begins. Your heirs will have to file a petition for a declaration of heirs in court, wait for the ruling, and then prepare the estate tax return and obtain the tax clearances from Hacienda (the Puerto Rico Treasury) and CRIM (the Municipal Revenue Collection Center). The process can take months and, if the heirs disagree, much longer. Meanwhile, the house cannot be sold, the account cannot be touched, and the business is left in limbo.

What can I decide with a will?

• Who receives your assets and in what proportion, within what the law allows.
• Who will be the executor: the person who carries out your wishes and administers the estate.
• Who will care for your minor children if you and their other parent are gone.
• What happens to your business: who receives it, who runs it, and how the other children are compensated.
• Specific bequests: the beach house to one child, the collection to a grandchild, a donation to your church.

The "legítima": what you cannot decide

The Puerto Rico Civil Code of 2020 reserves a portion of the estate, the "legítima," for the forced heirs, principally children and descendants. The remaining portion is freely disposable and you can leave it to whomever you wish. You cannot disinherit a child without legal cause, but you have much more room to decide than most people think.

How is it executed?

The most common will is the open will: it is executed before a notary in a public deed, and the notary reports it to the Powers of Attorney and Wills Registry. When the time comes, your family will be able to locate it with a simple certification. It is private during your lifetime and is only revealed after your death.

When should I make or review it?

• When you have children.
• When you marry, divorce, or become widowed.
• When you buy a property or start a business.
• When an heir has a condition that requires special protection.
• Every five years, even if nothing has changed.

What a will does not solve on its own

A will takes effect after your death. It does not cover what happens if you become incapacitated during your lifetime; that is what the durable power of attorney is for. Nor does it replace a trust when you want to control how and when assets are passed on. That is why, at Mi Legado (My Legacy), we work on all three documents as a single plan.

This article is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Each situation must be evaluated individually.

A will says who receives your assets. A trust also says how, when, and under what conditions. That is why it is the preferred tool when there are minor children, a family member who needs protection, a business that must keep operating, or assets you want to look after beyond your own lifetime.

What is a trust?

It is a separate estate that you (the settlor) create and hand over to a trusted person or entity (the trustee) to administer for the benefit of those you designate (the beneficiaries), following the instructions you left in writing. In Puerto Rico, trusts are governed by the Trust Act of 2012 and are established in a public deed before a notary.

Three situations where it makes a difference

1. Minor children or young adults. Without a trust, an 18-year-old can receive the entire inheritance at once. With a trust, you decide that they receive part at 25, another part at graduation, and the rest at 30, while a trustee covers education and health care.
2. A family member with special needs. The trust protects the assets from third parties and from poor decisions and, when well designed, does not affect government benefits the person receives.
3. A family business. The shares go into the trust with clear rules on who manages, how profits are shared, and how children who do not work in the company are compensated.

During your lifetime or through a will

• During your lifetime (inter vivos): it is created today and can operate immediately. It also works if you become incapacitated.
• Through a will (testamentary): it comes into being at death. Simpler, but it does not protect you during your lifetime.

Trusts and the "legítima"

A trust does not eliminate the forced heirs' "legítima." What it does is organize how the assets are administered and passed on. A good design respects the law and fulfills your wishes; a poor design can be challenged in court. That is why it is not a template document.

Who should be the trustee?

A family member, a professional, or an institution. What matters is that it is someone organized, honest, and able to account for their actions. We always recommend naming a successor trustee.

Is it worth it?

A trust costs more than a will, both to create and to administer. It is worth it when what you are protecting is worth far more than the comfort of leaving everything to chance. In the consultation we tell you candidly whether it makes sense in your case or whether a well-drafted will is enough.

This article is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Each situation must be evaluated individually.

A will takes effect when you are gone. A durable power of attorney takes effect when you are alive but cannot decide: an accident, a surgery, dementia. Without one, your family would have to ask the court to declare you incapacitated and appoint a guardian, a long, costly, and painful process, just to pay your bills or make decisions about your property.

What is it?

It is a power of attorney signed before a notary in which you designate a trusted person (the agent) to act on your behalf and which, unlike an ordinary power of attorney, remains in effect even if you lose the capacity to make decisions. That is its essential feature and the reason for its name.

What can it include?

• Managing bank accounts, payments, and collections.
• Managing, renting, or selling property.
• Representation before Hacienda, CRIM, Social Security, and other agencies.
• Decisions about your business: signing contracts, paying payroll, running day-to-day operations.
• Medical and care decisions, if you choose, or in a separate advance directives document.

You decide the scope: broad or limited to specific matters. You also decide when it applies: immediately or only when a physician certifies that you cannot make decisions.

Why is it urgent for a business owner?

If the owner of a small or medium-sized business becomes incapacitated without a durable power of attorney, no one can sign the payroll check, renew the lease, or negotiate with the supplier. The business comes to a halt just when the family needs it most. A well-drafted durable power of attorney, together with a partner agreement, keeps the business running.

Whom should I name?

Someone you trust completely, who is organized and available. It does not have to be your closest relative; it has to be the most capable one. Always name a substitute and, if you wish, require them to report to another person.

How is it executed and revoked?

In a public deed before a notary, with notice to the Powers of Attorney and Wills Registry. As long as you have capacity, you can modify or revoke it whenever you wish. It ends at death: from that moment, the will takes over.

Common mistakes

• Thinking your spouse can automatically act for you. That is not the case for many acts.
• Signing an ordinary power of attorney believing it is durable. An ordinary one ends with incapacity.
• Making it so broad that no one supervises it, or so limited that it is useless when needed.
• Not telling your family where it is and who the agent is.

This article is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Each situation must be evaluated individually.

Most inheritance disputes are not born of greed. They are born of silence: the child who cared for mom and was never recognized, the sister who believed the house was meant for her, the business everyone assumed would continue as it was. A family meeting guided by an attorney puts those conversations on the table while the parents can still speak for themselves.

What is it?

A structured gathering, at our office or at the family's home, where parents and children talk about three topics: the estate and how it will be distributed, the care of the parents in later life, and the future of the family business, if there is one. Cynthia acts as facilitator: she organizes the conversation, explains what the law says, and turns the decisions into a concrete legal plan.

Why with an attorney?

• Neutrality. We are not part of the family; no one feels that anyone is being favored.
• Legal reality. Many expectations collide with the "legítima," with community property, or with debts. Better to know now.
• Follow-through. The meeting ends with agreements that become a will, trust, durable power of attorney, or partner agreement.

How does it work?

1. A preliminary conversation with the parents or whoever convenes the meeting.
2. Preparation: each participant receives a short guide to the topics and the ground rules.
3. A two-to-three-hour meeting: everyone speaks, legal questions are clarified, and the agreements are recorded.
4. A written plan with the agreements and the recommended documents.
5. Follow-up: we prepare and execute the documents; if needed, a second meeting.

Topics that tend to come up

• Who keeps the parents' house and how are the others compensated?
• Who will care for dad or mom and how is that care recognized?
• What happens with the business: who runs it, who owns it, how are those who don't work in it paid?
• Are there debts, loans between relatives, or assets outside the island?
• Where are the documents, accounts, and passwords?

When is the right time?

Now, while everyone is well. The best meetings happen without urgency: after a retirement, when the first grandchild is born, when the business enters a new stage. The worst meeting is the one that happens in a hospital.

What it is not

It is not family therapy or a trial. It is a practical, respectful conversation for making decisions. If the family needs additional emotional support, we say so candidly and refer them to professionals.

This article is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Each situation must be evaluated individually.