In the field of law, the judicial process that takes place when a person dies without leaving a will, or if there is one, is null and void, is known as an intestate. The inheritance is then adjudicated, by mandate of the law, to his closest relatives. This legal term is derived from the Latin "ab intestato" which is the same as saying "without a will."
After the death of a person, the relatives considered as heirs of all their assets, must sign a declaration of heirs, it should be clarified that this procedure would not be carried out if a will had existed. This process must be carried out before a notary or in a court, this will depend on who the heirs are.
The first thing to keep in mind is the order of hereditary succession. For example, if the deceased had children, that is, children or grandchildren, these will be the beneficiaries. Now, in the case of no offspring, the parents or grandparents would be the beneficiaries and if they did not exist either, the heir would be the spouse.
The order of hereditary succession would continue, if none of the previous groups had existed, in this case the inheritance would pass into the hands of the brothers or nephews. However, this procedure would be a bit complex, since all the procedures would be done through the courts.
As already explained, when the deceased leaves heirs (children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, spouse) the process is easier, since the procedures are carried out by a notary. Said notary must be located in the same locality where the deceased lived, and not elsewhere. To make the declaration of heirs, it is enough that only one of the interested parties (person with legal right to inherit) appears, it is not necessary that the other possible heirs attend.
The person who appears must be accompanied by two witnesses, in the same way they must carry the death certificate and identification of the deceased, as well as the birth certificates of the heirs.
In the case of there being no direct heirs, the situation is a little more complex and it would be the brothers or nephews, those in charge of carrying out the procedures before a court. These types of procedures are generally a bit expensive and the collaboration of a lawyer is necessary to expedite everything. The interested parties must consign a series of documents, among which are: the death certificate, the certificate of records of Last Will Acts and certifications of the civil registry. In addition to this, they must be accompanied by two witnesses who certify that they are actually relatives of the deceased.
