Yes, as a foreigner you can claim an inheritance in Brazil, and your nationality is irrelevant to that right. But the inheritance will only ever reach your hands through a Brazilian proceeding called the inventário (probate), and that is the part that quietly destroys foreign claims every single year.
Here is what usually happens. A relative dies owning an apartment in Rio, a bank account at Itaú or quotas in a Brazilian company. The family opens probate in London, Lisbon, Miami or Milan. The foreign court issues a perfectly valid order. Years later, someone discovers that the Brazilian apartment is still registered in a dead person’s name, the bank account is frozen, and the state tax authority has been adding penalties and interest the whole time.
Nobody in Brazil writes to tell you this. There is no notification, no deadline warning, no letter to your address abroad. That silence is precisely why so many people lose, or heavily devalue, an inheritance they legally own.
This guide explains how the Brazilian inventário actually works for heirs living abroad: the rare cases where you can skip it, the route that lets you sign everything from your home country, the 2026 tax rules, real costs in reais and dollars, and the step-by-step sequence that gets an asset out of a dead person’s name and into yours.
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When Can a Foreign Heir Skip Brazilian Probate Entirely?
Only in narrow cases. Under Lei 6.858/1980, amounts the deceased never received in life (unpaid salary, FGTS severance fund, PIS-PASEP balances and small bank balances) can be released directly to dependents or heirs without any inventário. Everything else, including any real estate, requires the full proceeding.
We start with the exception because it is the one thing foreign heirs are never told, and because thousands of estates in Brazil consist of nothing but a modest bank balance and an unpaid final salary. In those cases, hiring a lawyer to open a full probate can cost more than the estate itself.
The second shortcut is the alvará judicial, a single-purpose court authorisation. When the estate is one isolated asset (a car, a pending insurance payout, a refund from Receita Federal), a judge can authorise its release without opening a complete inventário. It is faster and much cheaper.
Practical example: A Portuguese widow discovered her late husband had R$ 22,000 at Banco do Brasil and R$ 6,000 in unpaid pension arrears in Brazil. A full inventário would have consumed roughly a third of that. Using the Lei 6.858/1980 route plus an alvará, she received the funds abroad in under five months.
Now the rule, and it is unforgiving: the moment there is a single piece of Brazilian real estate, or company quotas, or a substantial investment portfolio, no shortcut exists. You are in the inventário, and you need to understand it.
What Is the Inventário, and Why Must It Happen in Brazil?
The inventário is the formal procedure that lists the estate, settles the inheritance tax and transfers title to the heirs. Under Article 23, II of the Code of Civil Procedure (Lei 13.105/2015), Brazilian authorities have exclusive jurisdiction over assets located in Brazil, even if the deceased was a foreigner domiciled abroad.
Read that provision of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure carefully, because it answers the question most English-language articles never address. “Exclusive” means it cannot be waived, contracted around, or replaced by a foreign judgment, no matter how sophisticated your estate plan is.
This produces what Brazilian lawyers call the pluralidade dos juízos sucessórios (plurality of succession proceedings). One estate, two or more parallel proceedings: Brazil handles the Brazilian assets, the foreign country handles the rest. This is not a mistake or a duplication to be avoided. It is how the system is designed.
There is a second layer that surprises people. Which country’s rules decide who inherits is a different question from which country runs the procedure. Under Article 10 of the LINDB (Decreto-Lei 4.657/1942), succession follows the law of the country where the deceased was domiciled at death.
So a Canadian who died domiciled in Portugal owning a flat in Florianópolis may have Portuguese succession rules defining the heirs, while a Brazilian judge or notary applies those rules to transfer the flat. The same article adds a protective twist: when a Brazilian spouse or Brazilian children are involved, Brazilian law applies if it is more favourable to them.
Important: The Brazilian inventário lists only Brazilian assets. Do not try to include the house in Florida or the Swiss account. Courts will strike them out, and the attempt only delays the case. If you want to understand who ranks first among the heirs, see our detailed breakdown on inheritance in Brazil for foreigners and who inherits first.
Why Do So Many Foreign Heirs Lose This Right Without Knowing It?
Because the losses are silent and cumulative. Article 611 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires probate to be opened within 2 months of the death and concluded within 12 months. Missing the 2-month window does not void your rights, but it triggers state tax penalties, and in several states that means an extra 10% to 20% on the ITCMD bill.
Here is the mechanics of the slow loss, in the order it typically unfolds.
- The tax penalty clock. It starts at the date of death, not at the date you learned about the asset, and not at the date the foreign probate closed.
- The property keeps generating debt. IPTU (municipal property tax), condominium fees and utilities accrue against the estate. An apartment sitting unclaimed for six years can arrive with R$ 54,000 of accumulated charges.
- Somebody occupies it. A relative, a tenant who stopped paying, a caretaker. Brazilian usucapião (adverse possession) can eventually convert continuous occupation into ownership.
- Documents rot. Foreign birth and marriage certificates need apostille and sworn translation. Witnesses to a handwritten will die. Bank records get archived.
- Currency and value drift. A frozen account earns little, while the estate’s expenses grow.
Add one more factor that is specific to foreigners: nobody has standing to act. Brazilian banks and registries will not speak to an heir who has no CPF (Brazilian taxpayer number) and no locally valid power of attorney. The family abroad assumes “the lawyer in Brazil is handling it”, when in fact no proceeding was ever filed.
Warning: Brazil’s civil law system has no concept of an executor who automatically controls the estate on death. Nothing happens by default. If no heir files, the estate simply sits, accumulating penalties, until in extreme cases the state initiates herança jacente proceedings to take vacant property.
Notary or Court: Which Route Applies to Your Case?
Article 610 of the Code of Civil Procedure allows probate at a notary’s office (inventário extrajudicial) when all heirs are adults, legally capable and in agreement. That route is measured in months. If there is a minor heir, an incapable heir or any dispute, the case goes to court, where 2 to 5 years is realistic.
Two clarifications that matter for foreign families. First, the cartório is not merely a notary as understood in common law countries: it is a state-delegated registry office with legal power to transfer title. Second, even the “out-of-court” route requires a lawyer to sign the deed. There is no do-it-yourself probate in Brazil.
When a will exists, practice varies by state. Some states still require a court step (arrolamento sumário under Articles 659 to 663) to confirm the will before the notary can act, although many state courts now accept a purely notarial route for previously confirmed wills. For small estates, arrolamento comum under Article 664 offers a simplified rite.
| Route | When it applies | Realistic timeline | Heirs abroad can sign remotely? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventário extrajudicial (notary) | All heirs adult, capable, in agreement | 3-8 months | Yes, via apostilled power of attorney |
| Arrolamento sumário (simplified court) | Agreement exists, but a court step is required (e.g. will confirmation) | 8-18 months | Yes |
| Inventário judicial (full court case) | Dispute, minor or incapable heir, missing heir | 2-5 years, longer if contested | Yes, but hearings may need a representative |
| Lei 6.858/1980 release / alvará | Unpaid amounts, FGTS, PIS, small balances, single isolated asset | 2-6 months | Yes |
Tip: Before choosing, confirm whether every heir will genuinely sign. One reluctant sibling converts a R$ 12,000 notarial procedure into a court case that can cost ten times more. Negotiating that signature is usually the highest-value legal work in the entire file.
What Is the Strongest Argument Against Running Probate in Brazil?
The best counter-argument is genuinely strong: Articles 960 to 965 of the Code of Civil Procedure allow foreign judgments to be recognised in Brazil through the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), and a foreign probate court has already identified the heirs, validated the will and divided the estate. Repeating all of that in Brazil looks like pure waste.
Stated at its strongest, the argument runs like this. Brazil recognises foreign divorces, foreign adoptions and foreign commercial judgments. A US probate order or an English Grant of Probate is issued by a competent court, after due process, with the heirs identified under the law of the deceased’s own domicile, exactly the law that Article 10 of the LINDB says should govern succession. Refusing to recognise it forces families to litigate twice, pay two sets of lawyers, and risk contradictory outcomes. It also seems to contradict Brazil’s own choice-of-law rule.
The answer is structural, not ideological. Recognition under those articles works only where Brazilian jurisdiction is concurrent. Article 23 creates exclusive jurisdiction over assets located in Brazil, and exclusive jurisdiction cannot be waived by the parties or displaced by comity. The STJ will refuse homologação of a foreign decision that purports to partition Brazilian property, and Brazilian property registries will refuse to record it.
There is also a substantive reason. Brazil imposes forced heirship: the legítima reserves half of the estate for necessary heirs (descendants, ascendants, spouse). A foreign order distributing an estate freely could strip a Brazilian-protected heir of a share that Brazilian public policy guarantees, and the Brazilian state would also lose its ITCMD assessment, which is collected inside the inventário itself.
Important: Your foreign documents are not useless. The foreign death certificate, the will, the heirship declaration and the family records all become evidence inside the Brazilian proceeding. What changes is their function: they support the Brazilian case instead of replacing it. The same logic governs foreign judgments in family matters generally, as explained in our guide on STJ recognition of foreign divorce decisions.
Which Documents Do You Need, and How Do They Become Valid in Brazil?
Every foreign document needs four links to be usable: apostille (or consular legalisation for non-Hague countries), sworn translation by a tradutor público, registration at a Brazilian Registry of Deeds and Documents when required, and a CPF number for each heir. Sworn translations run roughly R$ 80 to R$ 150 per page.
Core documents (every case)
- Death certificate (apostilled and sworn-translated if issued abroad)
- Proof of the deceased’s last domicile (this determines the applicable succession law)
- Marriage certificate or stable union proof, plus the property regime
- Birth certificates of all children and heirs
- CPF of the deceased and of every heir, including non-residents
- Will, if any, with apostille and translation
Asset documents
- Real estate: updated matrícula (title record) from the property registry, IPTU statement, municipal valuation
- Bank and investments: statements showing balances on the date of death
- Company quotas: articles of association, latest balance sheet, quota valuation
- Vehicles: CRLV registration document and market valuation
The CPF requirement blocks more foreign heirs than any other single item. You cannot receive title to Brazilian property, open an account to receive funds, or be listed in the deed without one. A non-resident can request it through a Brazilian consulate or through Receita Federal’s online services, and our guide on what you can and cannot do without a CPF in Brazil explains the practical limits.
The route most guides never mention is the power of attorney. A procuração pública signed at a Brazilian consulate abroad arrives ready to use, with no apostille and no translation needed, because the consulate acts as a Brazilian notary. Check the requirements on the Itamaraty consular portal before booking. A power of attorney signed before a local foreign notary works too, but then you pay for apostille, sworn translation and registration in Brazil.
Tip: Have the power of attorney drafted in Brazil first, then take that text to the consulate. Consular staff will notarise what you bring, but they will not tell you that your wording lacks the specific powers a notary needs to sign a partition deed, and a rejected power of attorney costs you another appointment, often two to three months away.
How Much Does the Inventário Cost a Foreign Heir in 2026?
Budget 10% to 18% of the estate’s value. The largest item is ITCMD, the state inheritance tax, which ranges from 2% to 8% depending on the state, plus notary and registry fees, lawyer fees and translation costs. In São Paulo the rate is a flat 4%; in Rio de Janeiro it is progressive up to 8%.
Here is a realistic simulation. Two heirs living in Europe inherit an apartment in São Paulo valued at R$ 1,500,000 (about USD 278,000 at roughly R$ 5.40 to the dollar in 2026), with all heirs in agreement, notarial route.
| Item | Amount in R$ | Approximate USD |
|---|---|---|
| ITCMD (São Paulo, 4%) | 60,000 | 11,100 |
| Notary deed fees (escritura de partilha) | 11,000 | 2,040 |
| Property registry transfer fee | 10,500 | 1,940 |
| Lawyer fees (notarial route, negotiable) | 45,000 | 8,330 |
| Sworn translations and certificates | 2,400 | 445 |
| Consular powers of attorney (2 heirs) | 1,300 | 240 |
| Total | 130,200 | 24,100 |
Now the federal tax almost nobody counts. When the estate transfers an asset at its market value rather than at the value declared by the deceased in their income tax returns, the difference is treated as a capital gain and taxed at 15%. Transferring at the old declared cost avoids tax now, but leaves a much larger gain when you eventually sell.
Practical example: The deceased declared the same apartment at R$ 500,000. Transferring at market value (R$ 1,500,000) generates roughly R$ 150,000 of federal capital gains tax immediately. Transferring at R$ 500,000 costs nothing now, but if the heirs sell for R$ 1,600,000 as non-residents, the gain is R$ 1,100,000 and non-resident rates start at 15% and reach 22.5%. The decision made in the inventário follows you for years.
Add the risk of being taxed twice, once in Brazil and once at home, since Brazil has no inheritance tax treaties. We cover that separately in our analysis of Brazilian inheritance tax and double taxation.
What Changed in 2026 for Cross-Border Estates?
The main change is the arrival of Complementary Law 227, published on 13 January 2026, which finally sets national rules on which Brazilian state may charge ITCMD, including in cases with a foreign element. Its articles 158 and 159 resolve a gap the Supreme Court had left open since its decision in RE 851.108.
Background matters here. In RE 851.108, the Supreme Federal Court held that states could not charge ITCMD on inheritances and gifts with a foreign connection while no complementary federal law existed. For years, that produced contradictory state assessments and refund litigation for foreign families.
The practical takeaways for 2026 are straightforward. For Brazilian real estate, the tax belongs to the state where the property sits, regardless of where the deceased or the heirs lived. For movable assets and money, the rule keys on the deceased’s domicile, with a defined solution for the case where the deceased was domiciled abroad. That removes a genuine ambiguity that used to let two states claim the same estate.
The Superior Court of Justice has also continued to consolidate the plurality principle in cases such as REsp 1.447.246 and REsp 2.080.842, confirming that Brazilian proceedings handle Brazilian assets and that foreign assets stay outside the Brazilian partition, although in some family disputes their existence may be considered for compensation purposes in the division.
Keep in mind: If a state assessed ITCMD on a foreign-element inheritance before 2026, there may still be grounds to challenge or recover it. Statutes of limitation apply, so this is worth checking now rather than later.
How Do You Actually Claim Your Brazilian Inheritance, Step by Step?
From abroad, the sequence is nine steps and typically takes 4 to 10 months in the notarial route. The critical path is documents, not procedure: most delays come from apostille, translation and CPF issuance, not from the notary or the court. Aim to file within the 2-month window set by Article 611 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
- Map the Brazilian assets. Request the matrícula at the property registry, ask banks for balances on the date of death, and check company records at the state Board of Trade (Junta Comercial).
- Establish the deceased’s last domicile. This decides which country’s succession law defines the heirs, so gather residence certificates, tax residence proof and utility records.
- Obtain CPF numbers for the deceased (if missing) and for every heir, through a Brazilian consulate or Receita Federal.
- Get documents legalised. Apostille each foreign certificate in the issuing country, then commission sworn translations in Brazil.
- Sign the power of attorney at the nearest Brazilian consulate, using wording pre-approved by your Brazilian lawyer.
- Choose the route. Confirm in writing that every heir agrees, which determines notary versus court.
- Calculate and pay ITCMD on the state tax authority’s portal, and decide on the transfer value (declared cost or market value) with the capital gains consequence in mind.
- Execute the partition deed at the cartório, or obtain the judicial formal de partilha if the case went to court.
- Register the transfer at the property registry and instruct banks to release funds. Only at this point does the asset legally become yours.
Warning: If you intend to send the money abroad, plan the foreign exchange path before you sign anything. Remittances of inheritance proceeds must be documented for the Central Bank of Brazil exchange rules, and an heir with no Brazilian bank account and no proof of the legal origin of the funds can end up with money legally theirs but stuck inside Brazil.
Frequently Asked Questions About Probate in Brazil for Foreigners
Do I need to travel to Brazil to claim my inheritance?
In most cases, no. A procuração pública (public power of attorney) signed at a Brazilian consulate in your country allows a Brazilian lawyer to act in the inventário, pay the ITCMD, sign the partition deed and register the transfer. Travel becomes advisable only in contested court cases, when there are hearings, or when a bank insists on in-person identity verification to open an account for the release of funds.
Is my foreign will valid for my Brazilian property?
It can be used as evidence, but it does not control the outcome by itself. Brazilian forced heirship reserves the legítima, half of the estate, for necessary heirs (descendants, ascendants and spouse). A foreign will that leaves everything to one person cannot override that share for Brazilian-situated assets. In practice, a foreign will is presented inside the Brazilian proceeding and applied only to the extent it does not conflict with mandatory Brazilian rules.
How long does an inventário take when heirs live abroad?
Realistically 4 to 10 months in the notarial route if all heirs agree, and 2 to 5 years in a contested court case. The Code of Civil Procedure sets 12 months for conclusion, but judges may extend it and frequently do. For foreign heirs, add 1 to 3 months at the start for apostille, sworn translation, CPF issuance and the consular power of attorney appointment, which is usually the real bottleneck.
What happens if nobody opened probate years ago?
You can still open it. The right to inherit does not expire because of the missed 2-month deadline under Article 611, but the cost rises: state tax penalties and interest, accumulated IPTU and condominium debt, and the risk that an occupier claims usucapião (adverse possession). Estates left dormant for decades can also be declared herança jacente and pass to the state. The sooner you file, the less of the inheritance the delay consumes.
Can I sell the inherited property before probate finishes?
Not freely. Until the transfer is registered, the property still stands in the deceased’s name, and the registry will not record a sale. In a court case, the judge can authorise a sale (alvará de venda) when there is good reason. Alternatively, heirs can sell immediately after the partition deed is registered. Some families choose to sell during probate through an assignment of inheritance rights, which requires careful drafting and buyer acceptance.
Do all heirs need a Brazilian lawyer, or can we share one?
When all heirs agree, one lawyer registered with the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) can represent everyone, which is cheaper and faster. If interests conflict, each side needs separate counsel, because a lawyer cannot represent opposing parties. A single shared lawyer is standard in the notarial route, and it is one of the main practical reasons to resolve family disagreements before filing rather than during the proceeding. Further reading: our overview of inheritance for foreigners in Brazil in 2026.
Start Your Brazilian Inventário With a Bilingual Inheritance Lawyer
Claiming an inheritance across two legal systems is not a paperwork problem, it is a sequencing problem: the wrong order costs money, and doing nothing costs the most of all. Our bilingual team handles Brazilian probate for heirs who have never set foot in the country, from the first title search to the final registration and the remittance abroad.
Your concrete next step is simple: send us the death certificate and any document identifying the Brazilian asset (a matrícula number, a bank name, a company CNPJ). With those two items we can tell you which route applies, what the ITCMD will cost, and how long it will take.
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