First Steps After a Death in Puerto Rico

When someone you love dies, no one expects you to have everything sorted out right away. Most estate matters can wait a few weeks. What does help is doing a few things in order and avoiding others that are hard to undo later. This guide walks with you step by step.

First, two terms you will see throughout the site. The causante is the person who died. The caudal relicto (the decedent's estate) is the whole of the property, rights and debts they leave behind; further on you will see how to look after it.

The first days

1. Get the death certificate

It is the document you will be asked for almost everywhere: banks, insurers, Social Security, the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury), the notario (in Puerto Rico a notary is an attorney) and the court. It is issued by the Registro Demográfico (Vital Records Office) of the Departamento de Salud (Department of Health).

You can request it at one of its offices, by mail or online. According to the Department of Health, the only approved platforms for requesting it online are Gobierno Digital and VitalChek. Be wary of other websites that offer to get it for you.

Practical tip: request several certified copies from the start. Some institutions keep the copy, and requesting it again delays everything.

2. Arrange the funeral

The funeral home usually handles several official reports, including notifying Social Security. Keep all the funeral receipts. The Civil Code considers funeral expenses a carga hereditaria (an estate charge), that is, an expense paid with the estate's property (Art. 1589).

If you plan to use money from the deceased's account for the funeral, be aware that current law has no special rule for that expense. The general limit we explain below applies.

3. Notify Social Security

The funeral home normally reports the death, but it is wise for the family to contact Social Security too, at 1-800-772-1213 or at a local office, to claim any benefits that apply.

There are two important points:

• Returning payments. Social Security says that benefits received for the month of death and any later month must be returned. If they arrived by direct deposit, the bank is asked to return them. If a check arrived, do not cash it.
• Lump-sum death payment. This is a payment of $255 to the spouse or, if there is no spouse, to eligible children. It must be requested within 2 years of the death.

The spouse, the children and sometimes dependent parents may be entitled to survivor benefits. We explain this in Social Security and pensions after a death.

The first weeks

4. Notify banks, credit unions and insurers

Report the death to each bank, credit union (cooperativa), brokerage firm and insurer where the causante had accounts or policies. Ask in writing for the balance as of the date of death; you will need it for Hacienda's return.

Without Hacienda's relevo, the money is not released in full. The relevo is Hacienda's lien release, formally the Certificación de Cancelación de Gravamen. Section 2054.05 of the Código de Rentas Internas (Internal Revenue Code) allows the bank to release to the heirs up to $15,000 or 25% of the funds, whichever is greater, even if the account is joint. Insurers can pay up to $5,000 or 40% of the policy, whichever is greater. The details are in bank accounts of the deceased.

5. Contact the employer or the Retirement Administration

If the causante was working, call the employer's Human Resources department. Ask about any final pay owed, accrued vacation, group life insurance and retirement plans, and request the claim forms. Each employer and each plan has its own rules.

If they were a Government, Judiciary or teacher pensioner, the Retirement Administration (Retiro) has an online death notification on its portal, which is in Spanish.

6. Search for the will

Before deciding who inherits, you need to know whether there was a will. In Puerto Rico, notaries must report every will to the Registro de Testamentos (Wills Registry), which is kept by ODIN (Office of Notarial Inspection).

To find out, you request a certificación de testamento (will certificate) with form OAT-1572. It must be accompanied by a $5 internal revenue stamp (code 5120), a copy of the death certificate and a photo ID. Since August 2024 it can be sent by email to certificacionestestamentos@poderjudicial.pr, delivered in person or sent by mail. The form is in Spanish. See how to request the will certificate from ODIN.

• If there is a testamento abierto (will executed before a notary), the certificate will tell you before which notary and on what date it was signed.
• If there is no will, you will need a declaratoria de herederos (declaration of heirs).
• If a handwritten will turns up (testamento ológrafo), whoever has it must present it to the court or to a notary within 30 days of learning of the death. If it is not presented within 5 years, it expires (Arts. 1653 and 1654).

7. Do not sell, give away or divide property yet

This is the step that prevents the most problems. Until the partición (division of the estate) takes place, the estate belongs to all the heirs together. Each one can sell their abstract share, but specific assets can only be sold with everyone's consent (Art. 1604).

In addition, without Hacienda's relevo, no notary can authorize a sale or division of estate property. Anyone who disposes of property without that relevo can be personally liable for the taxes owed (Section 2021.02(b)).

What you can do is look after the property: pay the electricity and water for the house, insure it, maintain it. Acts of preservation and management, and paying the estate's taxes, do not mean you have accepted the inheritance (Art. 1581). On the other hand, selling or giving away your inheritance rights, or hiding property, does count as acceptance (Art. 1580).

Documents to gather

Keep them in a folder, physical or digital. A more complete list is in the documents checklist.

• Certified copies of the death certificate.
• The causante's ID and Social Security number.
• Marriage certificate, or divorce decree, or death certificate of a spouse who died earlier.
• Birth certificates of the children.
• Property deeds and the cadastral number of each property.
• Statements from banks, credit unions, investments and retirement accounts.
• Life insurance policies.
• Vehicle titles or registrations.
• The most recent income tax returns.
• Bills and statements for debts: mortgage, loans, credit cards.

Calendar of deadlines

These are the main deadlines, counted from the death unless otherwise noted:

For the CRIM, the law speaks of 30 days from acquisition. To be safe, count them from the date of death.

You can calculate your own dates here:

The return and Hacienda's relevo are explained in Estate Information Return and Hacienda's lien release.

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.