Home/Civil Law/Inheritance & Probate in Chile

Civil & Property

Inheritance & Probate in Chile

Property in Chile stays legally in the deceased's name until the succession is processed. We open it, register it, and divide it — from wherever you are.

Book your consultation → All civil law services

Overview

What this involves

This is the single most common reason English-speaking clients contact us. Someone inherited a house, an apartment or land in Chile, and discovered that nothing can be sold, mortgaged or transferred because the property is still registered to a person who died — sometimes years or decades ago.

Chile does not transfer property automatically on death. The succession has to be opened, the heirs formally recognized, the inheritance tax settled and the transfer registered in the Conservador de Bienes Raíces. Only then does the asset legally belong to the heirs. Delay makes it worse: heirs die and add their own heirs to the chain, and an estate that could have been resolved administratively ends up needing a judicial partition.

What we handle

Opening the succession

Establishing whether the estate is testate or intestate, identifying every heir the law recognizes, and filing to obtain the possession order (posesión efectiva) that formally recognizes them.

Inheritance tax

Calculating the tax due, applying the exemptions and deductions available, and settling it — which is a precondition for registering anything.

Registration of assets

Registering the property, vehicles or shares in the heirs' names in the corresponding registries, so they can finally be sold or mortgaged.

Judicial partition

Where heirs cannot agree on how to divide the estate, the court-supervised partition procedure, including appointment of the partition judge and valuation of assets.

Sale after registration

Once the estate is registered, handling the sale on the heirs' behalf and the remittance of proceeds abroad.

From anywhere

How we run this for a client abroad

Assessment first

You send the documents you have. We tell you what applies, what it costs and how long it takes — before you commit to anything.

Power of attorney

Granted at a Chilean consulate or apostilled where you live. It lets us act for you in Chile without you travelling.

We file, you get updates

Our attorneys handle the filings and appearances in Chile. You get plain-English updates at every stage.

FAQ

Inheritance & Probate in Chile — common questions

What English-speaking clients ask us most about this specific service.

The property has been in my late parent's name for 20 years. Is it too late?

No. There is no deadline that extinguishes an heir's right to open a succession, and we regularly process estates that sat untouched for decades. What time does is make the work harder and more expensive: interest and penalties on the tax, heirs who have since died and brought their own heirs into the chain, and occasionally occupants who have been in the property long enough to raise a possession claim.

Do all the heirs have to agree?

To resolve it administratively, essentially yes — the possession order can be requested by any heir, but dividing and selling the estate requires agreement. When agreement is impossible, the law provides the judicial partition procedure, which reaches a binding division without unanimous consent. It is slower and more expensive, which is why we normally try to broker an agreement first.

Can I do this without travelling to Chile?

Yes, in the great majority of cases. A power of attorney granted at a Chilean consulate or apostilled where you live lets us act for every step: filing, paying the tax, registering the property and, if you decide to sell, executing the sale.

How much inheritance tax will we pay?

Chilean inheritance tax is progressive and depends on the value of the estate and each heir's relationship to the deceased, with exemptions that reduce or eliminate the liability on smaller estates. We calculate the exposure early, because it occasionally changes the strategy — particularly where the estate's only real asset is the property itself.

Talk to a Chilean lawyer about your inheritance in Chile

Get an initial assessment in English — confidential, with no obligation.

Book your consultation now →

WhatsApp+56 9 5217 5304

Emailhola@oklegal.cl

HoursMon–Sat 09:00–20:00