Writing a will

Fabio Guzman will be responding. He is the lawyer who answers questions in this section.

But I can pass on my own experience. It may or may not fit in your case. Wait for Fabio's reply.

I asked Fabio a similar question a few years ago. The way it ended up was that he reviewed the will we have on file in the US and said that it met the requirements of Dominican law and would be accepted by the courts here with respect to the property we own via the company we formed.

He will answer the question you posted, but if the present will needs to be reviewed, etc., that will be done privately by him with you as a client for that purpose. But he or someone he assigns in his office is who I would recommend that you work with this on.

There has been discussion on this in past. I will see if I can find it.

http://www.dr1.com/forums/legal/56894-do-i-need-dominican-will.html

This is a fairly recent one that seems to be of interest to you.

In my opinion, having your current will reviewed here and any subsequent changes reviewed here and then dealing with additional lawyers time etc upon the death of one of the parties will cost significantly more in legal fees then just getting a will done here! It is easier and much less costly in the long run. My understanding is that you can have it signed and notarized elsewhere. BUT, Fabio Guzman can please confirm that.

Corp. vs. individaul ownership? ? ?

The OP stated that the property in question is held by a corp. in both of our names.

* In my experience, this is not legally possible. A corp. is in effect an artificial person, which can own property, R E or other assets in its name.

* The individual then can own stock in the corp., not the assets in the corporate name. I surmise that this is what the OP meant.

* It may be easier or cheaper to dispose of stock in a DR corp. [not the actual DR R E] via a foreign will; or placing the corp.stock in the name of a trust? Or, in a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship with the next generation, ie whoever would inherit the stock under your will. All of these are legal under British & American law.

* Related questions: has anyone actually gone thru the DR probate process? I mean the successful passage of title to DR R E from one, now deceased, generation to the next surviving, generation? Under a foreign will? Under a DR will? Costs? Time involved? Translations? Legal fees? I think that many of us, no longer enjoying youth [?], are quite interested. Thank you.

You can choose either way: to have the stock in your Dominican company taken care of by will in the U.S., or to do a separate Dominican will for any assets you may have in the Dominican Republic.

If the property were in the name of an individual or a couple, not a corp., I'd recommend a Dominican will since transferring the property to the heirs, which involves a special proceeding at the Land Court, would be easier.