Inheritance law in Venezuela, what is it and how is it applied?

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We understand succession law to be the set of legal norms that regulate the transfer of property, assets, and obligations of deceased persons to their heirs. It is a way of acquiring the patrimonial asset, the ownership of the property. Our Venezuelan Civil Code expresses it in the articles that go from 807 to 1132, as well as in the Tax Law on inheritance, donations, and other related branches.

How does it apply?

First of all, we must ask ourselves if the deceased left a will and the possible heirs by right. The first thing that has to be processed is the death certificate, in order to start the transmission of the inherited assets.

The relatives of the deceased will have 180 days to go to SENIAT, counted from the day after the death of the original owner of the property. For this procedure, all the documents required by law that allow verifying the relationship and the right to inherit must be carried. It is important to keep in mind that to proceed with the declaration of succession, all heirs must be registered with SENIAT, that is, have their RIF updated.

There are different types of sequences, namely:

1. Succession by universal title: when the totality of the assets, actions, obligations, titles, rights, debts to the heirs. It is considered a supplementary regime in case the holder does not leave a will or has not distributed his assets in life, the same.

2. Succession in a private capacity: are those legal acts where the total ownership of the patrimonial assets is transferred to a natural or legal person by the express will of the deceased. When the person who inherits has no family relationship with the deceased, a will is used, the process being understood as a legacy.

***Both types of succession can occur in certain cases***

Important to keep in mind when making a declaration of succession before SENIAT

1. The Declaration of Succession must be managed by a lawyer, who must draw it up on a legal basis. The lawyer is the one who can tell you what documents you must submit, to comply with the corresponding procedural forms.

2. It is important to bear in mind that in the event of the grandparents dying, and leaving an inheritance, and one of the children dies without claiming it, the children of the latter may claim it, of course, if the grandchildren want to claim it, they must make the inheritance declaration of the grandparents, if they do not have it in their possession, and then that of their parents, that is, there must be a succession declaration for each deceased.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact me.

Lawyer Maria Alejandra Tuozzo M