Wills are not used in the DR as much as in the US because most Dominicans leave all their assets to their children. It's considered the natural thing to do.
The law not only assumes that the children will be the heirs but also prohibits a person from writing a will giving more than a certain percentage to others. For example, a person with three or more children can only dispose by will of 25% of his/her assets. The remaining 75% is RESERVED BY LAW for his/her three children. "Forced heirship" rules such as this one are the norm in all Latin countries: Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Latin America. From a Latin point of view, the common law system which allows, for example, a 90-year-old man to marry an ex-Playmate of the Year and after a year of marriage leave a will giving her all his assets, excluding his children in the process from any portion of the inheritance, is just bizarre.
The law on estate taxes also shows a cultural bias against unrelated beneficiaries: estate tax rates increase from 17% for children to 32% if the beneficiary is not related to the deceased.
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