Wills in Costa Rica – While the old European continent remains deeply attached to the concept of “succession reserve”
— that share of the estate that rightfully belongs to children, regardless of the parents’ will —
Costa Rica is counting on almost complete autonomy.
Here, the owner fully decides who inherits and how much. The only “filter” imposed by the Civil Code is that of basic solidarity: the obligation not to leave vulnerable people who directly depend on the bequeather without material support.
But this complete freedom comes with iron procedural rigor.
The formalities leave no room for error: a standard will at a notary requires the participation of three witnesses, while the version written entirely by hand by the testator in front of the notary can be completed with only two witnesses. In such a strict system, it is formalism that dictates the survival of the act: the absence of a single witness from the equation turns a person’s last will into a null document.
The key ideas to remember:
- Freedom to test is the rule. The exception is the obligation to support those who depend on the testator and need help (art. 595).
- Form decides everything. Notary, witnesses, date and signatures: a single procedural mistake can invalidate the entire deed.
- The will does not replace the succession. His role is to organize it, shorten it, and, as a rule, make it much cheaper.
- Spouses can test together. They can do it in a single act, and each remains free to modify their part later (art. 625).
- Assets acquired during marriage are considered first. The surviving spouse’s half is settled and separated before any division of the estate.
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Legal Anatomy - Wills in Costa Rica
What is a will and what can it contain?
Costa Rican courts define a will by five essential features: it is a unilateral, personal, revocable, solemn act with effects after death. These characteristics are not simple theoretical labels, but translate into very strict practical rules:
- Unilateral and personal: The will belongs exclusively to the testator. No one can sign in your place, and the use of a power of attorney is strictly prohibited (art. 577). Likewise, the fate of a testamentary disposition can never be left to the discretion or decision of someone else.
- Revocable: You can change your decision at any time, as long as you have discernment, and this right cannot be blocked by any contractual clause (art. 621).
An important technical aspect: a new will that does not mention the old one is null and void only the provisions with which it is in direct contradiction (art. 622). Therefore, to avoid confusion, in practice the new act expressly declares that it revokes absolutely everything that was previously ordered. - Solemn: The formalities are not an optional recommendation, but a mandatory condition for the validity of the act (detailed in sections 3 and 4).
What can be provided for in a will?
- Appointment of heirs: With clear mention of the shares or, in the absence of any specification, they will receive equal shares (art. 597).
- Legacies: Indication of specific assets left to specific individuals.
- Appointment of the executor: Designation of an administrator of the estate (appointed in Costa Rica executor) and a substitute for him.
- Suspensive conditions: Establishing clear conditions on which taking possession of the inheritance depends.
- Usufruct: The right of use over movable property or over a set of movable and immovable property can only be established by will (art. 335). If no exact duration is set, it is valid throughout the life of the testator (art. 600).
- Safety net: The legal solution for the case where the main beneficiary cannot or does not want to receive the inheritance.
What is FORBIDDEN to dispose of (Absolute legal limits)
- Secret instructions: Provisions that depend on hidden instructions given to someone else, on inauthentic documents or that target persons who cannot be identified are void (art. 578).
- Successive substitutions: The law prohibits the successive transmission of the same property from one heir to another (art. 582). However, the clause by which a third person is called as a reserve, if the first cannot or does not want to accept, remains perfectly valid.
- Pacts on future successions: Any agreement regarding the inheritance of a person who is still alive is devoid of any legal effect, even if that person gives his consent (arts. 520, 538 and 1377).
- Long-term sale lock: The alienation prohibitions imposed on goods transmitted free of charge are valid by law for a maximum of 10 years or, if the beneficiary is a minor, until the age of 25 (art. 292).
If you want to prevent the sale of a house, you have a time horizon strictly limited by the state. - Impossible or unlawful conditions: These are considered unwritten, and the disposition remains valid; however, if that illegal condition was the determining reason for leaving the property, the entire disposition becomes null and void (art. 615).
Legal footnote: A false reason does not invalidate the testamentary disposition, unless it was expressly formulated as a condition. On the other hand, a reason that contradicts the law will always invalidate it (arts. 580 and 581).
Succession actors
Who can test and who is prohibited from receiving?
Ability to test. The basic rule is simple: the testator must be of sound mind at the time of signing. The law establishes only one biological age barrier — minors under 15 are absolutely incapable of making a will (art. 591).
An essential technical detail: mental capacity is required both when drawing up the deed and when opening the succession (art. 590). The notary is obliged to ascertain and record this aspect. In the case of very elderly or seriously ill persons, practice recommends that the deed be accompanied by a medical certificate issued on the same day, in order to block any subsequent attempt to challenge it in court.
Blacklist: Who CANNOT receive by will (art. 592)
To prevent abuses of influence and manipulation of vulnerable testators, Costa Rican law categorically prohibits certain categories of people from benefiting from a will:
- The minor’s guardian: Unless he has officially relinquished guardianship and has been held accountable for his management, or if he is an ascendant or sibling of the minor.
- Teaching and care staff: The minor’s teachers and the person under whose supervision he or she is.
- Medical staff: The doctors who treated the illness that caused the testator’s death.
- Accomplices in adultery: If the adultery was officially proven in court, and the two did not subsequently marry.
- The official and the drafter of the act: The notary who draws up the public will or who authenticates the envelope of the closed will, as well as the person who physically drafts the document.
The law still leaves room for two major exceptions: legacies that reward concrete services received by the testator and provisions made in favor of the spouse or relatives who would be legal heirs anyway are valid.
Beware of interjections: Bequests or disguised donations to an incapacitated person are void in law, even if disguised or passed through an intermediary. The law automatically considers the spouse, ascendants, descendants and siblings of the incapacitated person as intermediaries (art. 594). In contrast, corporations and legal entities can receive inheritances without restrictions of this type (art. 593).
Unworthiness: Loss of the right to inheritance
Even if an heir is validly named in the will, he can lose everything if a judge declares him intestate. shameful (art. 523 and 525). The reasons are serious and concern flagrant violations of family ethics:
- Attempt on the life of the testator or his close relatives;
- False denunciation against the deceased;
- Preventing or forcing testing through violence;
- Refusal to pay alimony owed to the deceased;
- Abandonment of the testator when he was sick, disabled, minor or elderly.
Disqualification does not apply automatically ex officio: it must be requested and declared in court at the request of an interested person, and the action is prescribed within four years. However, there is a way out: if the testator knew of the act of unworthiness and, nevertheless, chose not to revoke the appointment in the will, the heir is considered legally rehabilitated (art. 524).
Legal typology
How and where can you leave your last will and testament?
Costa Rican legislation provides several testing mechanisms, but each comes with a different level of legal certainty and procedural complexity.
The open will
It is the most widespread form in practice and, in almost all situations, the only advisable one. The Civil Code allows its implementation in two major variants (art. 583):
- In front of a notary public and three witnesses. If the testator chooses to personally write the document by hand, the mandatory presence is reduced to a notary and two witnesses.
- Without a notary public. The deed can only be signed in front of four witnesses (if handwritten by the testator) or six witnesses (if written by someone else).
An essential editorial warning: The second option, without a notary, is rarely a wise decision. In the absence of a notary to verify the identity, discernment of the testator, and compliance with the law, these wills become extremely vulnerable and are the most frequently challenged and annulled in court.
Strict formalities (art. 585): To be valid, the deed must precisely specify the place, day, hour, month and year of drafting. The document must be read aloud in front of witnesses by the testator, by a person indicated by him or by the notary (hearing-impaired people who can read are obliged to read it themselves).
The deed must bear the simultaneous signatures of the testator, the notary and the witnesses, all taking place in a single session, without any interruption. If the testator is physically unable to sign, the notary will expressly record this in the document.
Language barrier (art. 584): Foreign citizens who do not speak Spanish are legally required to use two interpreters, chosen by them, who will fully translate the testamentary provisions into Spanish for the notarial protocol.
The sealed will
In this case, the testator signs the document (without being required to write it by hand) and presents it to the notary in a sealed envelope. The notary immediately draws up a separate act recording the handover of the envelope, the exact number of pages and any deletions or additions, after which he seals the envelope to prevent its accidental opening.
This process requires the signatures of the testator, the notary and two witnesses (art. 587). Persons who do not know or cannot read and write are absolutely prohibited from using this form.
The major advantage is total confidentiality. But the hidden price is paid after death: the envelope cannot be used directly, but must be officially opened in court through a special court procedure (art. 588). This step adds months and additional costs to the entire succession process. The formula is only worth using if maintaining absolute secrecy is a vital priority.
Privileged wills
There are emergency formulas reserved exclusively for exceptional crisis situations (art. 586): soldiers in active campaign, people trapped in besieged cities or in captivity, and sailors at sea.
They can validly testate before a military officer or the captain of a ship, in the presence of two witnesses. The act remains valid only if the testator dies in that extreme situation or within a maximum of 30 days after its cessation.
Joint will
It represents the situation in which several people express their will within the same document. Although the Civil Code does not authorize it through a dedicated article, it implicitly recognizes it through art. 625, which establishes that each signatory can independently revoke their provisions.
A 2020 decision by an appeals court in San José reconfirmed the legal support for this formula, arguing that it does not violate the personal and revocable nature of each will. The technical details of this structure are discussed in detail in Section 8.
Donation after death
Any donation conditional on the time of the donor’s death (mortis donation) is legally assimilated to a will and must strictly follow the same rules of form and validity (art. 1393).
Open or closed: Direct comparative analysis
| Analysis criterion | Open will | Closed will |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Known to the notary and witnesses | Secret absolute |
| Legal form | Notary and 3 witnesses (2 if handwritten) | Sealed envelope, notary and 2 witnesses |
| Post-death procedure | Used directly in the succession process | Requires prior opening in court |
| When is it recommended? | In almost all practical situations | Exclusively when confidentiality has total priority |
Procedural rigors
Witnesses and the hidden price of a formal mistake
In Costa Rica, testamentary witnesses do not have a purely decorative role. They are subject to strict rules for instrumental witnesses (art. 589), clearly established by the local Notarial Code (arts. 41 and 42). For their signature to be valid, they must be of legal age, be able to read and write in Spanish, and not suffer from any legal impediment.
Legal impediments are divided by Costa Rican legislation into two categories:
- Absolute incompatibilities: Persons who lack the physical or mental capacity to assume legal obligations are completely excluded.
- Relative incompatibilities: Persons who have a direct or indirect interest in the deed are rejected, as well as the spouse, siblings, ascendants and descendants (up to the second degree of kinship or affinity) of the notary or of any of the testators.
In everyday language of practice: Beneficiaries of the inheritance, close relatives of the testator or notary I cannot be a witness under any circumstances.. Also, someone who is already a co-author of a joint will cannot sign, at the same time, as a witness for their partner.
Judicial precedent: How harsh is the sanction?
A seemingly minor procedural error carries a huge price in Costa Rican courts. This is shown by a landmark ruling by the Second Civil Appeals Court of San José (Judgment No. 781 of 2020), which should serve as a warning to any foreign investor or resident.
In this case, a married couple drew up an open joint will before a notary, drafted on a computer (not by hand), but the process took place in the presence of only two witnesses. The spouses considered that, by jointly signing the document, the other partner was replacing the presence of the third witness required by law.
The court’s decision was radical: The magistrates decided that for such a typewritten act, three independent witnesses were required, and the co-authored husband could not be considered an instrumental witness. Since it was a solemn act, the lack of a single valid witness rendered the entire document absolutely null and void.
The result? The couple’s last will, although clearly drafted and signed, was completely ignored. The succession of their property was judged from scratch according to the rigid rules of legal inheritance (without a will). With this ruling, the court recalled the iron purpose of these strict formalities: they are not simple bureaucratic formalities, but vital mechanisms that protect the authenticity of the testator’s will and draw his attention to the importance and solemnity of the gesture he is making.
The Boundaries of Autonomy: Freedom to Test and Its Legal Limits
General rule: Owner sovereignty
Article 595 of the Civil Code starts from a fundamental principle: the testator has the right to freely and unrestrictedly dispose of his assets. This total openness has not always characterized the local legal system.
The old General Code of 1841 blocked assets in favor of the family, mandatorily reserving four-fifths of the wealth to descendants and two-thirds to ascendants, to which was added a fixed quota for the wife.
The paradigm shift came with the Succession Law of 1881 and the adoption of the Civil Code of 1886, historical moments that definitively abandoned the rigid European model in favor of complete freedom of testation.
Mandatory exception: Maintenance obligation
- Minor child: Until the age of 18, if they are studying, until the age of 25, and for life if they have a disability that prevents them from supporting themselves.
- Parents and husband: As long as they are in a real state of economic need.
How is this exception applied in court practice?
Specialized legal commentaries, which analyze landmark decisions of the First Civil Court (2013) and the Court of Appeal of Heredia (2020), clearly establish four cumulative conditions for a person to be able to request material support from the estate:
- The testator left no testamentary provision for his maintenance;
- The testator did not name the person as an heir;
- The person concerned has a real and demonstrable need for financial support;
- At the date of the testator’s death, the applicant does not possess sufficient assets or resources.
Sample task: The person claiming these rights has the legal obligation to prove their state of vulnerability before the judge.
Payment mechanism: The courts will not establish a classic monthly alimony, specific to family law. The judge analyzes the estate and, based on a technical expertise, establishes a lump sum fixed amount that will be extracted from the inheritance.
The language of law vs. Family law: In matters of succession, protection offered to the healthy child ceases abruptly upon reaching the age of 18. The extended rule in family law (art. 173 of the Family Code), which extends the obligation to pay alimony up to 25 years for young people in higher education, also applies to wills. A child who is of legal age and capable of working cannot challenge the parent’s will to demand maintenance.
Correct legal status: Creditors, not heirs. An important part of the Costa Rican doctrine emphasizes that the persons protected by art. 595 are not reserved heirs (as happens in Europe), but are considered maintenance creditors.
The practical consequence? They can receive this compensation without being heirs and, conversely, they can be named heirs without being entitled to this lump sum pension. This amount is paid only after creditors with real guarantees (such as mortgages) have been satisfied, and the courts have ruled that the money is calculated strictly from the income generated by the assets of the inheritance, not by the dismantling or forced sale of the assets themselves.
What is extinguished at death: Monthly alimony established during life by family law disappears upon the death of the person obligated to pay it (art. 521). The only financial obligation related to subsistence that survives death is the one specifically regulated by art. 595 of the Civil Code.
Other legal limits you need to keep in mind
- Marital turmoil: Assets acquired during the marriage cannot be left in their entirety to third parties by will, as a 50% share of their value already belongs by right to the surviving spouse (full details in section 6).
- Inheritance exhausted through legacies: If you choose to distribute your entire estate exclusively through legacies (specific assets left to specific individuals), the accumulated debts will be divided proportionally among all your legatees. In addition, the legal heir (established by law in the absence of a universal appointment) has a guaranteed right to 10% of the net value of the respective legacies (art. 612).
- Special disabilities: You cannot leave property to people included on the list of those who are legally prohibited (see section 2).
The patrimonial trap
How do community assets (gananciales) affect your will?
One of the biggest surprises for foreign investors and expats is how marriage radically changes property rights in Costa Rica. The Family Code (art. 41) regulates a special regime here: profit sharing system.
The basic rule is surgically clear: when a marriage ends — including through the death of one of the spouses — each partner has a guaranteed right to half of the net value of the other’s accumulated assets during marriage.
What assets are EXCLUDED from the calculation of community property?
The law protects personal assets acquired independently. They are not divided and remain the property of each spouse:
- Assets brought into the marriage or acquired during it free of charge (inheritances, donations) or by pure chance (e.g., lottery winnings);
- Goods purchased with own funds, if their destination was clearly specified through matrimonial agreements (capitulations);
- Assets whose legal title to acquisition preceded the official date of marriage;
- Goods that have replaced, through direct sale and purchase, other own goods;
- Assets acquired during the period when the spouses were already de facto separated.
Legal status: A right in itself, not an inheritance
The Constitutional Court explained in its decisions that this mechanism is based on an absolute legal presumption: the assets were accumulated through the work, support and mutual cooperation of both spouses..
Therefore, the 50% share is a direct and exclusive right of the surviving spouse, and not an estate. This share is compulsorily liquidated. before from any division of the inheritance. Only the remaining 50% of the value actually enters the succession and can be influenced by the will in the will.
Practical example: The case of "Ana and Mihai"
Ana and Mihai are married and buy a house in Costa Rica during their marriage. For administrative reasons, the property is registered in the National Registry exclusively in Mihai’s name.
- Scenario A (Divergence): Michael dies and leaves a will leaving the entire house to a third party (a friend or an association). The will cannot be fully executed. Anna is legally entitled to half of her net worth (marital property), regardless of the text of the will. The third party will only be able to receive the other half of the house through inheritance.
- Scenario B (Harmony): Mihai dies and leaves everything to Ana in his will. In this case, the process is clean: Ana keeps her half of the property and inherits the half left by her husband, becoming the sole owner.
What happens if there is NO will?
If death occurs without a last will and testament, the supplementary rules of the Civil Code (art. 572) come into force. The law provides that the surviving spouse, who already has express rights to the joint property (marital property), will receive from the rest of the inheritance only that percentage difference necessary to reach a share equal to the one they would have received if they had not had these common assets at all.
The Constitutional Court confirmed in a landmark ruling in 2001 that this rule is perfectly constitutional: legal inheritance has only a supporting role, and its purpose is to guarantee that, in the end, the surviving spouse obtains at least a share equal to that of the other heirs in the first class (children or parents).
The official scenario
What happens if you die without a will?
If death occurs without the person having left written instructions, if they have only disposed of part of the assets, or if the will is annulled due to a formal error, the state activates the mechanism legal inheritance (art. 571). In this case, the Civil Code takes full control and divides the estate according to a strict hierarchy, divided into six inheritance classes (arts. 572 and 573).
The golden rule of this system is exclusivity: A class of heirs only enters the table if the class before it is completely absent.
The official hierarchy of heir classes:
- Class I (Order of Priority): Children, parents and spouse (or the surviving cohabitant). All of them share the estate equally, having the same individual right.
- Special extensions: Costa Rican law also includes in this category parents or children assimilated through parental ties (upbringing) — a form of tacit adoption, legally recognized in the absence of official documents, if the relationship is proven in court.
- cohabitation: The life partner has Class I inheritance rights only if the union was public, unique (singular) and stable for at least three years, the right applying strictly to assets acquired during this period.
- limitation: A legally separated spouse through no fault of his own or a de facto separated spouse has extremely limited rights.
- Class II: Grandparents and other ascendants of the deceased.
- Third class: Brothers.
- Fourth grade: Nephews (children of brothers).
- Fifth grade: Uncles and aunts (parents’ siblings).
- Class VI (State and public utility): Education Councils (Boards of Education) from the place where the goods are located and, according to the amendment that came into force in 2025, the Costa Rican Red Cross (Costa Rican Red Cross).
The mechanism of representation (art. 574-576)
If a legal heir is unable to take his share, the system allows his direct descendants and nephews to take his place. Representation also works if the original heir has been declared unworthy, has officially renounced the inheritance, or has rejected the ascendant whose succession is in question.
Culture shock for foreigners: Parents' rights
For many European citizens, the most surprising and risky detail in the Costa Rican Civil Code is the positioning of parents in first class succession, with her husband and children.
In most European countries, if you are married and have children, your parents are automatically excluded from inheritance in the absence of a will. In Costa Rica, the dynamics are completely different. If you have not drawn up a valid will, a significant portion of your wealth, from your homes or accounts in Costa Rica, will rightfully go to your parents, even if you are married and have minor children who would need those resources.
This structural vulnerability reconfirms that legal inheritance is only a fallback system. The only way to block automatic state intervention and protect the future of your partner or children is to write a clear and procedurally correct will.
Family pact
How does the joint will of spouses work?
Legal framework and court interpretation
Unlike many European countries that completely prohibit this formula, Costa Rica allows two or more people to express their last will within the same document. Article 625 of the Civil Code establishes the central pillar of this structure: when several people test in the same act, each remains free to independently revoke or modify their own provisions.
A landmark decision in 2020 reconfirmed the legality of this instrument, defining it as the act given by several people in a single notarized document. The doctrine cited by the courts divides this will into three distinct categories:
- Simultaneous will: The wills of several people are mechanically brought together in the same document, without there being a legal or conditioning link between them;
- Mutual testament: The formula by which the testators name each other as heirs (defined by the Legal Dictionary of the Judiciary as the act by which two people establish themselves as mutual heirs);
- The reciprocal conditional will: The complex structure in which the provisions of one testator are legally dependent on those left by the other.
Reality in practice: Hidden advantages and limitations
The use of a joint will comes with very clear operational rules that spouses must understand in advance:
- Full patrimonial autonomy: Each spouse has strict control over their own assets. You can change your side of the document at any time, unilaterally and without your partner’s consent — you can do so even after the death of the other spouse.
- Ideal for the “partner’s everything” rule: The formula is perfectly calibrated for couples who want a simple transition, like “what I own shall remain with the surviving spouse”. However, this act does not bind the survivor in any way regarding the final destination of the assets. After the first spouse dies, the surviving spouse has the legal right to draw up a completely new will and leave the entire estate to someone else.
Lack of long-term warranty: If your goal is to ensure a definite final destination for your assets even after your death both spouses (for example, to ensure that the assets necessarily go to the children, without the risk of the surviving spouse leaving them to a third party), the joint will does not offer you this security. In this situation, it is mandatory to discuss other more protective legal instruments with the notary.
Simultaneous Death Trap (Comorians)
What happens if spouses lose their lives at the same time, for example in a road or plane accident? Article 35 of the Civil Code establishes a clear legal presumption: if several people die in the same event and the order of deaths cannot be medically determined, the law considers them to have died at the exact same moment.
The legal consequence in the case of a mutual will is paralyzing: if Ana leaves everything to Mihai, and Mihai leaves everything to Ana, both dispositions are instantly left without a living beneficiary. To prevent the entire estate from falling into the net of legal inheritance (activating the unwanted rights of other relatives), it is vital to use the mechanism provided by art. 582.
A professional joint will will always include a reserve clause, naming a third person (or more) to take over the assets in the event that the primary beneficiary is unable or unwilling to receive the inheritance.
Form conditions
To survive a possible dispute, this act is subject to the same strict rigors detailed in section 4. If it is typed before a notary, it requires the mandatory presence of three independent witnesses (The co-author spouse cannot be a witness for the other). If it is entirely handwritten by the testators, the number of witnesses required is doi. A single mistake related to the identity or number of witnesses completely nullifies the last will of both partners.
Practical guide
How to make a will in Costa Rica, step by step
Writing a will should not be left to the last minute, nor should it be done haphazardly. To ensure that your document is fully legal and easy to enforce after your death, follow this strategy structured in 11 essential steps.
Succession planning in 11 steps
- Complete inventory of the heritage: Write down all properties real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, financial investments, shares or stocks in companies, high-value movable assets (art objects, jewelry) and, very importantly, active debts.
- Clarification of the matrimonial regime: Determine exactly what assets were actually earned during the marriage (marital property) marital property) and which represents exclusively a private asset (according to the criteria analyzed in section 6).
- Checking maintenance obligations: Identify the people who are directly legally and financially dependent on you: minor children, children with disabilities, parents or a spouse in need (see details in section 5).
- Choosing heirs and setting up legacies: It clearly establishes who the universal heirs are, in what percentage proportions they will divide the assets, and what specific (bequeathed) assets go to certain individuals.
- Provision of substitutes (Safety net): It expressly specifies what happens to that share of the estate if one of your beneficiaries dies before you, loses his or her life simultaneously with you, or officially refuses the inheritance.
- Designation of the executor of the will (executor): Appoint a highly trusted person to act as the legal administrator of the estate, as well as a substitute for him, in case the holder is unable to exercise his role (details in section 10).
- Establishing rules for indivisible assets: If you own assets that are difficult to physically divide (a house, a farm, a family business), leave clear management or division instructions. In the absence of express rules, the standard solution applied by the courts is a forced sale at auction and division of the money.
- Choice of form and notary public: In the vast majority of practical cases, opt for the safe formula of an open will made before a notary public (cartulary).
- Official signing of the act: The process is carried out in a single session, without interruptions, in front of the notary, using suitable independent witnesses and, if necessary (if you do not speak Spanish), the mandatory presence of two authorized interpreters.
- Keeping safe and informed: A perfect will is useless if no one knows about it. Make sure at least one person you trust knows that you signed it and knows exactly where the legal copy is kept.
- Periodic review of the document: A will is not set in stone. It should be updated immediately after major life events: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the sale of a major asset included in the text, or a permanent change of residence.
Checklist for the notary office: What do you need to have with you?
Before you show up for your meeting with the notary public in Costa Rica, make sure you have prepared a complete file that includes the following elements:
- Identity document: Original valid passport or residence permit (DIMEX).
- Exact list of immovable and movable assets: Extract or identification data from the National Registry (registration number) estate for properties, registration and chassis numbers for vehicles).
- Corporate documents: Complete registration details of the commercial companies (SA or SRL) in which you are an associate, administrator or shareholder.
- Beneficiaries’ identification data: The full names, identification numbers (passport/identity card) and exact degree of kinship of each heir or legatee.
- Distribution plan: Clearly established percentage proportions and legacies assigned to each person.
- Executor’s details: The name and full details of the person chosen as executor the holder and his/her alternate.
- Sharing instructions: Clear rules imposed for managing assets that are difficult to divide.
- Protection of minors: If you have minor children, the full name of the person you nominate to take on the role of legal guardian.
Post-mortem phase
How does the succession process work?
A common myth among investors is that having a will eliminates the need for post-death bureaucracy. The legal reality is different: the will does not bypass the succession. He sets the rules of the game and says who gets the wealth, but the succession process (succession) remains the only legal mechanism capable of inventorying assets, paying debts left by the deceased, and issuing the final deed with which the National Registry will change the owner of the properties.
Without completing this procedure, heirs only have a set of written instructions, but they cannot sell real estate, transfer vehicles, and have no right to withdraw money from the deceased’s bank accounts. However, the presence of a will offers enormous advantages: the process starts directly with a designated administrator, the distribution is established in advance, and the phase of searching for heirs or exhausting negotiations over shares of the estate is completely eliminated.
Rules for accepting and renouncing inheritance
Taking possession of an inheritance is governed by a series of rigid deadlines and formal conditions:
- Indivisibility of the option: Acceptance or renunciation are free and voluntary acts, but they can never be partial, subject to a deadline, or conditioned in any way (art. 527).
- Express acceptance: The heir must officially request this status through a written request addressed to the judge or notary (art. 528). The legal deadline is 15 working days from the moment the edict opening the succession is officially published in the Judicial Bulletin (Judicial Bulletin) (art. 529).
- Official waiver: The rejection of an inheritance must also be made expressly, before a magistrate (art. 537). Any act of renunciation signed regarding the succession of a person who is still alive is considered completely devoid of legal effects (art. 538).
The shield against debt: Costa Rican law protects the personal patrimony of heirs. They are liable for the debts left by the deceased strictly up to the gross value of the inherited assets (inventory benefit), without the debts being able to extend to their own assets (art. 535).
The executor (Albacea): The iron administrator
In Costa Rica, the executor of a will is called executor and acts as legal administrator and official representative of the entire estate (art. 548).
- Order of appointment: The testator has the right to appoint a executor titleholder and a substitute. If several persons are designated simultaneously, a single executor will act, strictly respecting the order in which they were entered in the document (art. 542). If the will does not mention anyone, the judge will appoint an executor from among the interested persons, giving priority, under equal conditions, to the spouse, children, mother or father of the deceased.
- Territorial restriction (Crucial for foreigners): A person deprived of the capacity to bind himself, an individual convicted or removed due to fraud (go) in the management of the property of others and — most importantly — anyone who has permanent residence outside the Republic of Costa Rica (art. 545). For expats, this detail is vital: the person you name as executor must physically reside in Costa Rica.
- Activation deadline: The executor appointed by the will has the legal obligation to open the succession process within a maximum period of 30 days from the moment he became aware of his appointment. Violation of this term attracts severe sanctions: the loss of any legacy left in his favor and the confiscation of one tenth of the due fees (art. 547).
- Power limits: Executor requires special judicial or notarial authorization for acts of major importance, such as waiving rights, concluding transactions, extrajudicial sale of high-value assets or continuing the commercial operations of the deceased’s company (art. 549). He can be dismissed by a majority vote of the heirs or in case of breach of obligations (art. 556). The testator has no legal right to extend his powers beyond the limits of the Civil Code, nor can he exempt him from liability (art. 559).
Relationship with creditors and final distribution
The payment of debts is made as creditors present themselves in the process. However, the law imposes a safety measure: creditors who collect their claims within the first six months after the opening of the succession are obliged to guarantee that they will return the amounts if another creditor with a preferential or equal right subsequently appears (art. 564)..
An executor who distributes money without keeping a sufficient reserve for known creditors will be materially liable out of his own pocket (art. 566). Once the distribution is legally completed, the heirs acquire exclusive and absolute ownership of the allocated assets (art. 561).
Notarial Path versus Judicial Path: Duration and Conditions
The succession procedure can be carried out through two completely different channels:
- Notarial route (Fast): It can only be used if all heirs are adults, have full capacity and there is total agreement between them regarding the division of assets. In practice, a process carried out at the notary takes, on average, between 6 and 12 months.
- Judicial route (In court): It becomes mandatory when the heirs include minors, people with disabilities, or if misunderstandings and conflicts arise between beneficiaries. Due to the bureaucracy of the Costa Rican judicial system, a court case usually takes between 1 and 3 years.
Financial impact
How much does succession planning actually cost?
Early inheritance planning is not only a legal security measure, but also an extremely rational economic decision. The costs are divided into two completely different phases: during life (drafting) and after death (execution).
- Will at the notary (During life): The standard cost is around 121,000 colones plus 13% VAT. This amount includes official notary fees and basic stamps. A major advantage is that the fee remains fixed, being calculated independently of the total value of the assets you own.
- The succession process (After death): This is where the real major cost comes in. Unlike a will, the fees for opening and administering the estate are calculated as a percentage, applied directly to the gross value of the estate, respecting the official tariff imposed by Executive Decree No. 41457-JP. The official scale is progressive:
- 10% for assets with a value of up to 15 million colones;
- 7,5% for the value segment between 15 and 75 million colones;
- 5% for everything that exceeds the threshold of 75 million colones.
- Additional tax and administrative costs: In addition to fees, successors must cover the property transfer fees and registration stamps required for the official transfer of assets (houses, land, cars) to the new owners’ names in the National Registry.
Editorial conclusion: The financial gap between the cost of drafting a will and that of a legal dispute without a will is huge. In the case of medium-sized or small inheritances, a prolonged court dispute between relatives can consume an extremely significant portion of the total value of the assets that were to be divided.
Expat regime
Foreigners and the management of assets in several countries
For foreign residents and international investors who own assets in Costa Rica, the intersection of national laws brings territorial rules of absolute rigor.
- The principle of strict territoriality (Art. 24): All real estate located in Costa Rica is subject exclusively to Costa Rican law. This principle applies without exception, even if the owners are foreign citizens and even if the assets are part of an international succession. If a party to the dispute invokes the application of a law of the country of origin, that person has the legal obligation to prove before the court the existence and exact content of the foreign rule in question (art. 30).
- The trap of the international will: A last will and testament drawn up in Romania, Europe or the USA does not run automatically in Costa Rica. Although it may ultimately be recognized, it triggers an exhausting bureaucratic process: it requires complex apostille/authentication procedures, official translations by certified translators, and a judicial admission process (exequatur). All of this means high costs and months or years of delay.
- The strategy of the two parallel wills: To avoid blockages, the most effective practice used by foreign owners is to draft a strict Costa Rican will for locally owned assets, while maintaining a parallel one in the home country for the rest of the global assets.
- A vital precaution: Any new will should be drafted with the help of an experienced lawyer. A subsequent deed may inadvertently invalidate the previous one if the text of the new document does not include a specific clause stating expressly limits the effects only to assets located in Costa Rica.
- Where does the succession open? (Art. 66 and 572): The main criterion established by law is the domicile. The official place of succession is the last stable domicile of the deceased. If this cannot be determined with certainty, the process will be opened in the locality in the country where the majority of his assets are located.
- Residence of the executor (Art. 545): The law leaves no room for interpretation — the person designated as executor (executor) must physically reside in Costa Rica. An expat cannot appoint a relative or friend from their home country in this role unless that person is willing to establish legal residency here to handle the process.
Management of assets held through commercial companies (SA or SRL)
An extremely common practice in Costa Rica is the purchase of real estate or land through legal structures, such as joint-stock companies (Public Limited Company) or limited liability companies (Limited Liability Company). In this scenario, the rules of the game change radically.
By will you do not bequeath the physical property, but you bequeath the shares or corporate shares of the company that owns that property.
If you have not provided a clear rule of transmission in your will or if the company’s articles of association do not have specific succession clauses, a total blockage occurs at the time of the sole administrator’s death.
No one will have the legal right to sign on behalf of the company to pay taxes, sell or manage the property. Therefore, early verification of the company’s share certificates, shareholder books and legal records is a mandatory step that must be completed before signing the will.
Beyond the will
A will is not the only legal weapon available to secure your estate. Depending on the complexity of your assets and the level of control you wish to retain during your lifetime, Costa Rican law provides several major alternatives:
- Donation with reservation of usufruct (Donation with reservation of usufruct): Through this mechanism, you transfer bare ownership (title) to the beneficiary now, but you retain the exclusive right to use and exploit the asset throughout your entire life.
- Clear rigors: In the case of real estate, the donation must be made by a notarized public deed, otherwise it is subject to absolute nullity (art. 1397). Also, the donation cannot be left for an indefinite period (art. 1398).
- Irrevocability: Once officially accepted by the beneficiary, the donation can only be revoked in extreme cases. ingratitude, within a maximum period of one year from the commission of the act (art. 1405 and 1407).
- The counterpart on the ground: You lose the right of pure ownership during your lifetime, which means you can no longer sell or mortgage the property without the consent of the new owner.
- Usufruct established by will: If you want the transfer of use to be activated only after death, a will becomes mandatory. Moreover, in the case of movable property (cars, equipment), a will is the only legal way to establish a right of usufruct (art. 335). An important limitation: The usufruct cannot be granted successively to several persons (art. 336); once the first beneficiary dies, the usufruct ceases.
- Trustee (Trust) and corporate structures: They are advanced instruments, ideal for complex assets, large investment portfolios or family businesses. Each structure comes with its own rules and specific tax consequences on control, taxes and protection against commercial risks.
Editorial conclusion: No option is superior in the abstract. Choosing the right instrument depends solely on a single calculation: how much control you are willing to give up over your wealth while you are still alive.
Top 10 critical mistakes
Due to the major differences between legal systems, expats and foreign investors often fall into the same procedural traps. Here are the ten most common errors identified in the field that can completely nullify your last will or block your family’s estate:
- The Internet Justice: Using a will template downloaded from Google, signed “at the table” without the mandatory presence of a notary public and without a rigorous verification of the legal form.
- The illusion of exclusive ownership: Probate of property acquired during marriage as if it belonged 100% to the testator, ignoring the 50% native right (marital property) of the surviving spouse.
- Wrong choice of witnesses: Using witnesses who have a direct interest in the deed (beneficiaries), close relatives of the testator or the notary, or simply operating with a smaller number of witnesses than required by law (see the 2020 nullity case).
- The Phantom Executioner: The total absence of an executor in the text or the appointment of one executor that does not meet strict legal conditions — such as appointing a relative who has permanent residence outside the Republic of Costa Rica.
- Lack of backup plan: Failure to provide for a substitution clause for the situation in which the main beneficiary dies before the testator or for the case of an accident resulting in the simultaneous death of the spouses (co-parents).
- Indivisibility left to chance: Leaving complex and difficult-to-divide assets (a house, a farm) to multiple heirs, without clear management rules, a situation that almost always pushes the assets towards forced sale in court.
- Ignoring corporate architecture: Testing the physical property instead of testing the shares or shares of the commercial company (SA or SRL) that owns the property in question.
- Accidental revocation of global assets: Drafting a new will in Costa Rica that, through a general miswording, automatically revokes the previously valid one made in the country of origin for the assets there.
- The “ghost” will: Keeping the document in such absolute secrecy that, after death, no one in the circle of trust knows that the deed exists or where it can be found to be activated within the legal 15 days.
- Legal anachronism: Leaving the will unchanged for ten or twenty years, ignoring major events that reset the family dynamics: subsequent marriages, divorces, the birth of children, or the sale of assets mentioned in the text.
Comparative law
The differences between the legal system in Costa Rica and that of most European or Latin American countries are fundamental. Anyone coming from a model based on automatic family protection must understand that in Costa Rica the will has much greater force, but offers far fewer implicit safety nets for relatives.
| Analysis criterion | Costa Rican regime | Many countries in Europe and Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| Succession reserve (Legítima) | There is none. The only limit is to ensure maintenance strictly for those who are dependent and in need. | Yes. A fixed share of the estate must go to the children, and sometimes to the parents and spouse. |
| Joint will | Perfectly recognized by law (art. 625) and validated by the courts. | Often prohibited or considered null and void, the stakes being only on individual acts. |
| Parents (In intestate succession) | They are included in Class I, dividing the estate equally with the children and surviving spouse. | They are often excluded from legal inheritance if the deceased has living children. |
| Siblings (Implicit Rights) | They are not specifically protected by any legal reserve. | They are generally not protected in European systems either. |
| Matrimonial property regime | Participation system: own right to half of the net value upon liquidation (gananciales). | Various regimes: community of property, absolute separation of property or participation. |
Pocket dictionary
To be able to communicate effectively with a local lawyer or notary (cartulary), it is vital to master the key terms used in Costa Rican legislation and official documents:
- Executor: Executor of the will. This is the person appointed to administer, manage, and legally represent the entire estate during the process.
- Food: Maintenance pension. A broad concept that covers basic needs: food, housing, clothing, medical care, education and logistical support.
- Cartulary: Authorized notary public. The person before whom authentic public documents are drawn up and signed.
- Community property: Community property acquired during the marriage. Represents assets to whose net value each spouse has a natural right to half at the time of liquidation.
- Heir: Universal heir. The person who receives a percentage share of the entire remaining estate.
- Legacy / Legatee: Bequest / Legatee. A specific and determined asset (a house, a car, a fixed amount of money) left by will to a specifically designated person.
- Unworthy / Unworthiness: Unworthy / Unworthy. The legal status by which an heir loses his rights due to serious acts committed against the testator.
- Legitimate: Succession reserve. The part of the estate mandatorily reserved by law for the heirs in the direct line (Attention: does not exist in Costa Rica).
- Succession: The official succession process (carried out through notarial or judicial means).
- joint will: Joint will. The act by which two or more people make a will under the same legal instrument.
- Open/Closed Will: Open will (content known to the notary and witnesses) / Closed will (secret content, kept in a sealed envelope).
Notes and sources
Legislation: Civil Code (art. 24, 25, 28, 30, 35, 66, 292, 335-336, 520-576, 577-626, 1393-1407), Family Code (art. 41, 164, 173), Notarial Code (art. 41-42).
Jurisprudence and doctrine: Second Civil Appeals Court of San José, decision 781 of 2020; Constitutional Hall, decision 7518 of 2001; legal comments on art. 595, which cites decisions from 2013 and 2020; Professor Wilbert Arroyo Álvarez’s study on art. 595.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for consulting a lawyer or notary. Legislation, fees, and interpretations are subject to change.
Quick survival guide
For a quick reference, here is a summary of the most important answers you need to understand how the inheritance system works in Costa Rica.
At the notary’s office, the standard fee varies around 120,000 – 130,000 colones, regardless of the complexity or total value of the wealth you own.
Mostly, yes. Your autonomy is protected, with one mandatory condition: you must ensure the material support of minor children or children in education up to the age of 25, those with disabilities, parents and spouse, if they are in a real state of need.
You need three witnesses for a standard will at the notary or two witnesses if the document is written entirely by hand (holograph).
Remember: Witnesses must be independent; they cannot be close relatives, beneficiaries of the inheritance, or co-authors.
And. Costa Rican law allows this. The advantage is that each partner remains completely free to amend or revoke their own part of the provisions independently, whenever they wish.
And. The will does not bypass the succession. Its role is not to cancel the post-mortem bureaucracy, but to order it, make it much faster and significantly cheaper for the heirs.
whenever, provided you have full discernment. In local legal practice, the safest method is to draft a new act that clearly specifies that it fully revokes the previous ones.
Not. The selected heirs are liable to creditors strictly within the gross value of the inherited assets. Their personal assets are fully protected.
It is not executed automatically. This type of international document triggers long and expensive processes of judicial recognition, apostille and translations.
The recommendation is to have a separate local will, dedicated exclusively to assets in Costa Rica.
Through a will you do not transfer the property, but you inherit the shares or shares of the respective commercial company. To avoid blocking the company after death, you need clear clauses in the will and perfectly set up corporate records.
The law will decide for you. The state will divide the estate according to the rigid rules of legal inheritance, placing the children, the spouse and your parents in the same first class of succession, with equal rights.
The court will declare it completely null and void. At that point, your entire will is nullified, and your assets will be forcibly distributed by the state according to the rules of legal inheritance.
Behind OpenZone are two people: a Costa Rican native with deep roots in the local history, and an expat who has been settled here for over two decades. Together, we combine native knowledge of the system with firsthand experience of the very process you’re going through right now.
