Inheritance Process

The Inheritance Process is a legal process through which the assets of a deceased person are transferred to their heirs.

 

The Civil Code of the Republic of Panama, specifically in Article 628, defines succession as the transmission of the active and passive rights of a deceased person to the surviving individual, who is designated by law or by the testator to receive them.

 

An heir is a natural or legal person entitled to a part or all of the rights and obligations of the inheritance, while a legatee is a person who benefits from one or more assets through a bequest, which is the explicit wish of the testator in their will.

 

Inheritance can be testamentary or intestate; it is testamentary when there is a document in which the deceased's last wishes are recorded, specifying the distribution of their assets and rights after their death.

 

It is intestate when the distribution of the deceased person's assets is determined by the authority of the law.

 

It is important to highlight that the right to inherit the estate of the deceased, whether national or foreign, applies to assets located in the Republic of Panama. However, a ruling issued in a foreign country will also have legal force in Panama, as long as it does not conflict with Panamanian laws.