Wills and Inheritance: Colombian Property

Inheritance is the part of owning abroad that few people like to plan. For property in Colombia, Colombian rules matter even when the owner is a foreigner living elsewhere, and a will made at home may not do what you expect. This guide explains the main rules in plain language. It cannot tell you what applies to your family, because that depends on facts we cannot see.

Which country's law governs a Colombian property inheritance?

The Código Civil, article 20, says property located in Colombia is subject to the Code even when its owners are foreigners who live outside Colombia. Article 1012 says a succession opens at death in the person's last domicile and is governed by the law of that domicile, save legal exceptions. Article 20 is one of those exceptions for assets located in Colombia, but these sources do not resolve every conflict between the law of the last domicile and the law of the place where the property sits.

Ley 33 de 1992 (articles 44 and 45) gives the law of the place where the property sits to the form of the will and to the existence and proportion of the legítimas, but only between contracting states. Which states are bound today is a question for your lawyer.

Do foreign heirs inherit on the same terms?

According to the Código Civil, foreigners are called to intestate successions opened in Colombia in the same way, and under the same rules, as Colombians (article 1053). Article 1054 lets the persons the text calls los miembros de él claim, on the Colombian assets of a foreigner, the inheritance, porción conyugal or alimentos they would have on the intestate estate of a Colombian. The Senate labels that article conditionally constitutional and we could not confirm the condition, so ask your lawyer how it applies.

What is forced heirship?

A will cannot ignore asignaciones forzosas. Article 1226, as amended by Ley 1934 de 2018, defines them as the gifts the testator must make, supplied even against the will. They are alimentos legales, porción conyugal and legítimas. The cuarta de mejoras is not on that list.

Under article 1242, when there are legitimarios, half of the estate (after the deductions and additions the Code lists) is divided among them as the legítima rigurosa, and the other half can be disposed of freely. Legitimarios are descendientes and ascendientes. Older material describing a half, a quarter and a quarter predates Ley 1934. We could not check for later court decisions, so ask your lawyer to confirm the current text.

How do you make a will, and is a foreign will valid?

The Colombian open will (testamento abierto) must be granted before the notary or a substitute and three witnesses (article 1070). It states the testator's identity, nationality, domicile and family, the notary reads it aloud with the testator present, and the testator, witnesses and notary sign it (articles 1073 to 1075, same Código Civil).

Under article 1084, a written will granted abroad is valid in Colombia if its solemnities conform to the law of the place where it was granted and its authenticity is proven in the ordinary form. Article 1085 offers a separate route before a Colombian diplomatic agent or consul, not a vice-consul, for a Colombian or a foreigner domiciled in Colombia. Cancillería explains that a document from a Hague Convention country is valid in Colombia only if apostilled by the competent entity of the country of origin, and that the apostille certifies the official's signature and capacity, not the substance of the document. Other countries use legalización. A foreign will is not automatically valid merely because it was apostilled.

Notarial or judicial succession?

The Código General del Proceso, article 487, provides a judicial procedure without prejudice to the notarial route. The notarial route in Decreto 902 de 1988, as amended by Decreto 1729 de 1989, requires heirs, legatees and the surviving spouse (or their assignees) to be fully capable, agree, and apply in writing through a qualified and registered lawyer (abogado titulado e inscrito) before the notary of the deceased's last domicile in Colombia. A sole heir may also use it. If someone opposes or not everyone agrees, the notarial route stops. We did not confirm the rules on minors, or which notary applies when the deceased lived abroad, so ask your lawyer.

What tax applies to an inheritance?

Under the Estatuto Tributario, article 302, ganancias ocasionales include those from inheritances, legacies, donations and porción conyugal, and article 303 values the assets, in general, at their value on 31 December of the year before the succession is liquidated. Article 307, as replaced by Ley 2277 de 2022, exempts the first 13,000 UVT of the value of the deceased's vivienda de habitación. It also exempts 6,500 UVT for other immovables of the deceased and 3,250 UVT for each spouse, heir or legatee on what they receive. Older articles and opinions may quote a different figure. Ask your contador how this applies to a foreign heir, and your home-country adviser what else may apply there; see US tax reporting for Colombian property, and selling Colombian property if heirs plan to sell.

When does the property pass into the heirs' names?

Death opens the succession, but the certificado de tradición keeps the deceased as the owner until the adjudicación is registered. Under Ley 1579 de 2012, registration is the means of transferring real estate, and the registrable title is the notarial escritura de partición or the judicial decision approving the partición, registered at the Oficina de Registro where the property lies. Registering the will is not the transfer of the apartment. Read the certificado de tradición to see how the owner appears.

If a company is the registered owner, what passes on death may be the shares rather than the apartment; ask your lawyer; read buying in your own name vs. an SAS. The free one-page due-diligence checklist is a starting point. The Colombia Owner Kit includes question lists for your Colombian lawyer, contador and home-country preparer, including one on how buying in your own name or through a company changes inheritance, and a sucesión checklist is scheduled for March 2027 (it is not in the kit today).

Questions to take to your advisers

• Colombian lawyer: Which law governs my Colombian property if I die living abroad? Would a testamento abierto before a Colombian notary suit me, and how would my foreign will be recognized?
• Colombian lawyer: Who are my legitimarios, and what part can I leave freely? Which route applies to my heirs, notarial or judicial?
• Contador: How would ganancia ocasional and the exemptions apply to my heirs?
• Home-country adviser and your bank: What reporting or tax applies to my heirs at home, and how would they receive and move funds?

Frequently asked questions

Which law governs the inheritance of a foreigner's Colombian property?

Código Civil article 20 subjects property located in Colombia to the Code even when owners are foreigners living abroad, and article 1012 points to the last domicile. These sources do not settle every conflict, so get Colombian advice early.

Can I leave my Colombian property to anyone I choose?

Not entirely. Alimentos legales and porción conyugal are also forced shares. Under Ley 1934 de 2018, when there are legitimarios (descendientes and ascendientes), half of the estate, after the deductions and additions the Code lists, goes to them as the legítima rigurosa and the other half can be left freely. Ask your lawyer to confirm the current text.

Is a will made abroad valid in Colombia?

Article 1084 of the Código Civil accepts it if its solemnities conform to the law of the place where it was granted and its authenticity is proven. An apostille certifies the official's signature, not the substance of the will.

When can heirs use a notary instead of a court?

When heirs, legatees and the surviving spouse are fully capable, agree, and apply in writing through a qualified and registered lawyer (abogado titulado e inscrito). If someone opposes or not everyone agrees, the notarial route stops.

Is there tax on an inheritance in Colombia?

Inheritances are ganancia ocasional under Estatuto Tributario article 302, with exemptions in article 307, such as the first 13,000 UVT of the deceased's vivienda de habitación. Ask your contador how this applies to a foreign heir.

Not sure where you stand? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, pre-order) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: K19, the one-page due-diligence checklist.