Who legally inherits?

I second the question. My wife's father passed a month ago. Sisters & brothers are coming out of everywhere. The worst part is that people are telling me she will walk away owing money and have to pay it.

Let?s assume you marry your boyfriend, buy a house and have a child with him, in that order. Then, your husband dies without a will. Who inherits the house?

1) 50% of the house is not part of the inheritance. It belongs to you as a community-property spouse.

2) The remaining 50% of the house will be divided in equal parts among your husband?s legal heirs: his 4 children.

Which beats which

Fabio J. Guzman said:

Let?s assume you marry your boyfriend, buy a house and have a child with him, in that order. Then, your husband dies without a will. Who inherits the house?

1) 50% of the house is not part of the inheritance. It belongs to you as a community-property spouse.

2) The remaining 50% of the house will be divided in equal parts among your husband?s legal heirs: his 4 children.

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I would love to be corrected. I was told that the family claim overides any will made in the D.R.... What power does a Will have here...Your thoughts Mr. Guzman. and should Tourists make wills here?....Thanks.

Dominican law reserves a certain percentage of the estate to the children. For example, a person with three or more children can only dispose by will of 25% of his/her assets; the remaining 75% is reserved for his or her children. The percentage is reduced to 66.7% if there are two children and to 50% if there is only one child.

Thanks.

Mr. Guzman, thanks for the information. Helpful as always. M

Further Question on Inheritance

Please bear with me - I'm a newbie but I've read the threads on inheritance.

Situation is this - spouse and I - both non Dominican's - buy property jointly. Spouse has a couple of kids - I have none.
Say spouse dies first. From what I've read - half of property goes to me as community property, half to kids.

At this point can the kids sell their half interest to someone else, force me out or pledge loans etc. against their half interest?
Reason I ask is - the kids are deadbeats - owe lots of $, etc. I would prefer to live there till I meet my maker - without undue problems. Is that possible given the situation? aranoid:

Fabio J. Guzman said:

Let?s assume you marry your boyfriend, buy a house and have a child with him, in that order. Then, your husband dies without a will. Who inherits the house?

1) 50% of the house is not part of the inheritance. It belongs to you as a community-property spouse.

2) The remaining 50% of the house will be divided in equal parts among your husband?s legal heirs: his 4 children.

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mr. guzman...
in questioning his heirs.... do you mean declared children or children from previous legal marriages?

Declared children

Newer laws say that all the kids declared are to inherit equally.

As always, wait for the expert's opinion on this.

HB

But I am wondering about non- declared children who are admittedly the husbands.? Gets complicated here.

more questions

Is living together the same as being married?

Other question...Say I am married to a Dominican with kids. The house is only in my name. If he dies does his kis still have the right to the house?

And if we are married and his X wife and kids live in a house he owns. Does this mean that if he dies then that house is half mine? Does the X wife get some if she is living in the house?

Yes,No,No,Maybe,That Depends,Only On Weekends,and Ask Fabio

:classic: :classic: :lick: CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC :classic:

Is living together the same as being married?

Before 2001, the answer would have a definite no. Then on October 17, 2001, the Dominican Supreme Court ruled that a woman had the right to sue for the wrongful death of her companion in an automobile accident under the following conditions: a) the couple must have lived as if they were husband and wife, in a public relationship, not hidden or secret; b) the relationship must be stable and long-lasting; c) the relationship must be monogamous and non-adulterous since its origins; and d) the couple should be of different sexes. The ruling goes on to say expressly that "marriage and extra matrimonial companionship are not . . . equivalent realities.?

After that ruling there has been many suits, one of them filed by my firm, seeking various legal remedies for companions, including suits to divide ?community? assets after the end of a relationship. These cases are now working their way up to the Supreme Court.


Other question . . . Say I am married to a Dominican with kids. The house is only in my name. If he dies does his kids still have the right to the house?

If spouses are married under community property rules, which is the norm in the DR, it is irrelevant in whose name the property is titled, it belongs to the matrimonial community, and in case of the death of a spouse, the 50% belonging to the deceased spouse goes to his or her heirs. (I?m assuming the property was purchased during marriage since property acquired by a spouse before marriage is not community property).

And if we are married and his X wife and kids live in a house he owns. Does this mean that if he dies then that house is half mine?

Yes, if the house was purchased during your marriage

Does the X wife get some if she is living in the house? No.

Bienes muebles

Let's say I'm married for over 5 years with a childless man. He has property already before we married, including a house.
I assume I have no right on his house because he already had it prior to marriage, would the judge through me in the streets after being legaly and publicly married to this man for years?

Also, Do I have the right to the movable stuff (money, furniture, jewelry, etc.) that we have?

Thanks for the repply.

Mercy

If he has neither children nor parents, he can leave 100% of the house to you by will. If he doesn?t, it will go to his brothers.

As for the movable property (in essence, everything but real estate) you will get 50% of whatever belonged to your spouse at the time of your marriage or was acquired by either of one of you during marriage (Article 1401 of the Civil Code). This happens if there is no will. With a will, you could get 100%.

Question about USA based assets, "pour-over wills and living trusts

Sr. Guzman;

Since we're discussing Dominican law as regards inheritance, here's a good question for you.

US Citizen who is a Dominican permanent resident, is married to a Dominican citizen with 3 children (whom he adopts) has royalty rights to properties in the USA which is transferred to a "Living Trust" trustee prior to his death and that "Trust" document specifically designates beneficiaries (both Dominican and US Citizens living in their respective countries) who are to receive funds generated by the properties. In addition, the aforementioned person leaves a will which transfers all his properties and possessions to the "Trust" upon his death.

The provisions of the trust state that as each beneficiary dies, the distribution to that beneficiary reverts to the residuary assets of the trust.
This includes the wife, whose share would revert to the adopted children, equally. However, as the children die, their share is rendered to the remaining children, thus bypassing their children. When no adopted children survive, nor other beneficiaries survive, the residuary assets revert to the US Government.

At what point does Dominican Law take precedence? Is/Are the desires of the deceased and the provisions of the "Trust" (as stipulated in the pour-over will and the provisions of the trust) honored , or is everything disregarded?

In other words, can the will and the trust be voided in preference to the stipulations of Dominican law, thus disregarding the laws of the country/state in which the funds are produced, or do the provisions of the trust prevail?

Texas Bill

Now we are talking. This is the type of problem many expatriates living in the DR are unaware of.

If at the time of formation of the trust, you were married and living as a resident in the DR, there is a good chance, not that the trust will be voided in the US (since I doubt a US court will do that) but that a Dominican court will declare the trust void in the DR as conflicting with local ?forced heirship? rules and then distribute assets of the estate in the DR as if the assets of the trust were part of the inheritance under those rules.

Another factor to consider would be that at formation, the trust will be considered a gift under Law #2569 of 1951, and as such, subject to a 25% tax.

How, then, does the "Grantor" in the Trust

dictate that the "funding assets" (Which are US based and effectively "owned by the "trustee", such having been "conveyed to the "trustee") be distributed in accordance with his wishes. The co-trustees are all US Citizens and the funding assets reside in a US bank. How, and by what authority, does the Dominican law supercede the provisions of a US based trust?
The "pour-over" will transfers all owned personal assets (including the personal property not committed to communal distribution) to the trust. The "grantor" is the primary trustee and upon his demise, trusteeship reverts to the co-trustees ( one a US Citizen, the other a US Bank, ie.,a representative designated to act for the Bank [althouth a Dominican citizen employed by the Bank in the DR]).

I realize all this is rather convoluted, but it is important from the view of guarding against any intrusion of the Dominican Government to gain the control of the asset which will be the sole support of the surviving family.

It is also significant that the residuary assets will be handed over to the US Government after the immediate inheritors die off.

Texas Bill

" a Dominican court will declare the trust void in the DR as conflicting with local ?forced heirship? rules and then distribute assets of the estate in the DR as if the assets of the trust were part of the inheritance under those rules."

A court will not get involved with assets in the trust in the US. It will just divide whatever assets are in the DR as if the assets in the trust were part of the inheritance.

I'm sure there are as many permutations

as there are relationships here in the D.R. re: inheritance. What is the best way for two permanent residents, non Dominican, married, with no minor children, and valid U.S. wills each leaving the total estate to the other, to ensure that the same result will obtain here? If either of us dies, we want the entire estate to go automatically to the other--preferably via joint and survivorship. But if that does not exist here in the D.R., then what is the best way to ensure that none of the estate of the decedent is withheld from the surviving spouse? (One of the spouses does have an adult child from a prior marriage, who lives in the U.S. and does not take under the will.)

Fabio J. Guzman said:

" a Dominican court will declare the trust void in the DR as conflicting with local ?forced heirship? rules and then distribute assets of the estate in the DR as if the assets of the trust were part of the inheritance under those rules."

A court will not get involved with assets in the trust in the US. It will just divide whatever assets are in the DR as if the assets in the trust were part of the inheritance.

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