legal property rights for a surviving spouse who is not a Dominican

M

missree

New member
Oct 12, 2005
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Hello,first time here.I have a legal question.My older sister who is 70 yrs old,and is a US citizen,married a Dominican 5 yrs ago in the US where they both lived.Her husband owned a home in Santo Domingo,and he wanted to move back there which they did.In my opinion she does not know the laws there,I don't either..He just passed away almost a week ago,and still lives in that home by herself.She don't intend on staying there permanently,but may leave in a yr or 2,so she says.Now that he has died,(he was 59 yrs old)does the house legally belong to her?.Can she legally sell the house? And can she give the money to whoever she wants to or keep the money? There is a lien on the house for a loan he got last yr,and she said there are 6 more months left to pay on it.She intends on paying it off..He does have children by former marriages,maybe 2 or 3..Can some of his children fight to get some of the money from the sale of the house?..she don't tell me if there are any papers with her name on it for anything except her marriage certificate...Please help me understand the Dominican Laws, Thank You
 
F

Fabio J. Guzman

DR1 Expert
Jan 1, 2002
2,359
252
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www.drlawyer.com
More details are needed to answer your question.

For example, if the deceased spouse owned the house before he married your sister, the house was never community property and therefore your sister would not get anything.

Assuming the opposite, that is, that the house WAS community property, then your sister, as the surviving spouse, would get 50% of the house while the other 50% would go to the deceased spouse's children.

A will would complicate matters further but the children would still inherit.

There is also the question of inheritance taxes.

Your sister should consult a lawyer.
 
M

missree

New member
Oct 12, 2005
11
0
0
Mr Guzman,yes,he did own the house before they got married and my sisters late husband took a loan against the house,now there are 6 more months to pay it off.she told me that after it's payed off the house becomes half hers,and the other half goes to his 2 children(one is 34 the other is 18yrs old).she is paying off the loan,when thats done,she said the house becomes half hers.the oldest daughter(who lives in the US) told my sister that she could live there if she wants for the rest of her life,but the 18 yr old daughter wants the house,the oldest daughter is suppose to talk to the younger one about it.my sister intends to stay in that house for 1 to 2 yrs.my sister thinks she can sell that house once the loan is payed and she gets half of the money,so the rest goes to his children.and there is no will,he wanted to make one up,but died before he had a chance..she doesn't think she needs a lawyer.
 
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