When a person dies without a will, the law decides who inherits and in what proportion. This is called intestate succession (sucesión intestada). This calculator shows you, with numbers, how the estate would be divided under the Código Civil de Puerto Rico de 2020 (the 2020 Civil Code).
It is a guidance tool. Who the heirs are is officially established by the declaratoria de herederos (declaration of heirs), issued either by a notario (in Puerto Rico, a notary is an attorney) or by a court.
How this calculator works
The calculator follows these steps, in this order.
1. Starting value. You enter the value of the property left by the person who died (the causante, the deceased person whose estate it is) after paying the debts.
2. Setting aside community property. If the deceased was married under the sociedad legal de gananciales (community property regime), you indicate what part of the property is community property, meaning it was acquired during the marriage. The partnership is liquidated and what remains is split in half between the spouses (Art. 539). That is why the surviving spouse keeps half of the community property in their own right. The other half, plus the deceased's separate property (bienes privativos, which belonged only to them), makes up the estate that is divided. Read more in community property and inheritance.
3. First order: descendants and spouse (Arts. 1720–1721).
- If there are descendants, each living child counts as one share, and the surviving spouse, if there is one, counts as one more share: the spouse inherits the same as each child (Art. 1721).
- If a child died before the deceased, or refused the inheritance, and left descendants, those descendants inherit in that child's place by representation (Arts. 1611–1612). That branch counts as a single share, divided equally among its descendants. This is called division by branch (por estirpes) (Art. 1614).
- A child who died earlier without leaving descendants does not count. That share passes to the others (acrecimiento) (Art. 1617).
4. Spouse with no descendants. If there are no descendants but there is a surviving spouse, the spouse inherits everything. The deceased's parents do not inherit, because the second order only comes in "in the absence of descendants and of the surviving spouse" (Art. 1722).
5. Second order: parents (Arts. 1722–1723). If there are no descendants and no spouse, the calculator asks how many parents are living. With two, the estate is split in half. With only one, that father or mother receives everything.
6. Third order: siblings, nieces and nephews (Art. 1725). If no parents are living, the calculator asks about siblings. Each living sibling receives an equal share. Each sibling who died earlier and left children counts as one share, which is divided among those nieces and nephews by representation (Arts. 1613 and 1725). The calculator does not distinguish between full siblings and half siblings, because the text of the 2020 Code says they inherit "in equal shares." The 1930 Code did make that distinction (Art. 906). We have not found a court decision confirming this point: it is what the text of the Code says.
7. Other relatives or the People of Puerto Rico (Arts. 1726–1727). If there are no siblings, nieces or nephews, the calculator tells you that the closest other collateral relatives, up to the sixth degree (aunts and uncles, cousins and others) inherit. If there are none, the Pueblo de Puerto Rico (the People of Puerto Rico) inherits, which requires a declaration by a court.
8. Date of death. The calculator applies only to deaths that occurred on or after November 28, 2020. For earlier deaths, the 1930 Code governs (Art. 1816), with different rules. See 2020 Civil Code vs. the 1930 Code.
Don Ernesto died in 2024 without a will. He was married under the community property regime to Doña Carmen. After paying the debts, the property is worth $300,000: $240,000 is community property (the house and an account) and $60,000 is his separate property (a plot of land he inherited from his parents). He had three children: Ana and Luis, who are living, and José, who died before him and left two children, Sofía and Diego.
- Doña Carmen keeps half of the community property: $240,000 ÷ 2 = $120,000, in her own right.
- Don Ernesto's estate is $300,000 − $120,000 = $180,000.
- It is divided into four equal shares: Doña Carmen, Ana, Luis and José's branch. Each share: $180,000 ÷ 4 = $45,000.
- Sofía and Diego split their father's share: $22,500 each.
In total, Doña Carmen ends up with $120,000 + $45,000 = $165,000. Ana and Luis receive $45,000 each.
What the calculator does not take into account
- Grandparents and other ascendants. If no parent is living but a grandparent is, the estate goes to the closest ascendants (Art. 1723) before it goes to siblings. The calculator only asks about parents. If your relative has living grandparents, do not use the siblings result.
- A will. If there is a will, the will applies, subject to the legítima (forced share). Confirm whether one exists with an ODIN certificate (ODIN is the Office of Notarial Inspection, which keeps the wills registry).
- Distant relatives. For aunts and uncles, cousins and other collateral relatives, the calculator does not compute amounts.
- Disputed situations, such as a spouse who was separated in fact but not divorced, unworthiness to inherit or children who were never legally acknowledged.
- Lifetime gifts, the actual value of each asset at the time of the partición (division of the estate), and the spouse's rights over the family home (Art. 1625).
- Unknown debts. If debts turn up later, the net value changes. Heirs are liable only up to the value of what they receive (Art. 1587).
Related guides
- Who inherits without a will
- Rights of the surviving spouse
- Children, grandchildren and representation
- Parents, siblings and other relatives
- Declaration of heirs
Frequently asked questions
Does the calculator's result replace the declaration of heirs?
No. The declaratoria de herederos is the document that the Registro de la Propiedad (Property Registry), Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury) and banks recognize. The calculator only applies the Code's rules to the information you enter.
Why don't the parents inherit if the deceased left a wife but no children?
Because the 2020 Code places the surviving spouse in the first order, together with the descendants, and the parents inherit only if there are no descendants and no spouse (Art. 1722). This is an important change from the 1930 Code.
Does the partner the deceased lived with, without marrying, appear in the calculator?
No. Unmarried partners do not inherit by law when there is no will. They can receive property only if the deceased left it to them in a will, out of the free portion (parte libre). See unmarried partners and inheritance.
What happens if one of the children does not want the inheritance?
If that child refuses it, their descendants can inherit in their place by representation (Arts. 1612 and 1615). If the child has no descendants, the share passes to the others. In the calculator, count that person as a child who "refused" and enter how many descendants they have.
Sources
- Código Civil de Puerto Rico de 2020 (Ley 55-2020), Arts. 539, 1611–1617, 1719–1727 y 1816, compilación OGP. bvirtualogp.pr.gov
- Código Civil de Puerto Rico de 1930, Art. 906 (comparación sobre medio hermanos). bvirtualogp.pr.gov
- Ley 282-1999 (asuntos no contenciosos ante notario). bvirtualogp.pr.gov
- Castrodad García, "Nuevo código, nuevos retos", 91 Rev. Jur. UPR 1083 (2022). derecho.uprrp.edu
CaudalRelicto.com is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the courts or any government agency. This page is general information, not legal advice from an attorney who knows your case. Names and figures in examples are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.
