Wills and Inheritance: Colombian Property

Few people like to plan the inheritance of property they own abroad. Colombian rules apply to property in Colombia, even when the owner is a foreigner who lives elsewhere. A will made at home may not work as 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 in Colombia. 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) applies the law of the place where the property sits to the form of the will and to the existence and proportion of the forced shares (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 ("the members of it") claim, on the Colombian assets of a foreigner, the inheritance, spousal portion (porción conyugal) or legal support (alimentos) they would have on the intestate estate of a Colombian. The Senate labels that article conditionally constitutional. We could not confirm the condition. Ask your lawyer how it applies.

What is forced heirship?

A will cannot ignore compulsory allocations (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 legal support, the spousal portion and forced shares. The quarter for improvements (cuarta de mejoras) is not on that list.

Under article 1242, when there are forced heirs (legitimarios), half of the estate (after the deductions and additions the Code lists) is divided among them as the strict forced share (legítima rigurosa), and the other half can be disposed of freely. Forced heirs are descendants and ascendants. Older material describing a half, a quarter and a quarter predates Ley 1934. We could not check for later court decisions. 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 legalization (legalización). An apostille does not make a foreign will valid automatically.

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. We did not confirm which notary applies when the deceased lived abroad. Ask your lawyer.

What tax applies to an inheritance?

Under the Estatuto Tributario, article 302, the gains subject to capital gains tax (ganancia ocasional) include those from inheritances, legacies, donations and the spousal portion, 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 (DIAN's annual tax value unit) of the value of the deceased's home (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 certified public accountant how this applies to a foreign heir. Ask a licensed tax professional in your home country what else may apply there. See US tax reporting for Colombian property. If heirs plan to sell, see selling Colombian property.

When does the property pass into the heirs' names?

Death opens the succession, but the title certificate keeps the deceased as the owner until the award to the heirs is registered (in Spanish, the certificado de tradición and the adjudicación). Under Ley 1579 de 2012, registration is the means of transferring real estate, and the registrable title is the notarial partition deed (escritura de partición) or the judicial decision approving the partition, registered at the property registry office (Oficina de Registro) where the property lies. Registering the will is not the transfer of the apartment. Read the title certificate 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 and read buying in your own name vs. an SAS (simplified stock company). The free one-page due-diligence checklist is a starting point. The Colombia Owner Kit includes question lists for your Colombian lawyer, certified public accountant and home-country tax professional, including one on how buying in your own name or through a company changes inheritance. The kit does not include a succession checklist.

Questions for your Colombian lawyer, certified public accountant and home-country tax professional

• Colombian lawyer: Which law governs my Colombian property if I die living abroad? Would an open will before a Colombian notary suit me, and how would my foreign will be recognized?
• Colombian lawyer: Who are my forced heirs, and what part can I leave freely? Which route applies to my heirs, notarial or judicial?
• Certified public accountant: How would capital gains tax and the exemptions apply to my heirs?
• Home-country lawyer or tax professional, 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. Legal support and the spousal portion are also forced shares. Under Ley 1934 de 2018, when there are forced heirs (descendants and ascendants), half of the estate, after the deductions and additions the Code lists, goes to them as the strict forced share 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. If someone opposes or not everyone agrees, the notarial route stops.

Is there tax on an inheritance in Colombia?

Inheritances are subject to capital gains tax under Estatuto Tributario article 302, with exemptions in article 307, such as the first 13,000 UVT of the deceased's home. Ask your certified public accountant how this applies to a foreign heir.

Not sure which topics to raise? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, instant download) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: Chapter 4, the due-diligence checklist.