Property Division...need some help

[sangria]

BACKGROUND

My father in law owns some property near Puerto Plata.

He is 85 and has 6 children of which 5 are from a previous marriage (most do not visit or have much of a relationship with him).

Some of these children are getting greedy & want the property separated now.

Currently a chunk of the property is used for the family business, main house & rental houses.

My father in law wants to be sure that this part of the property is transferred into my mother in law and/or husbands name to protect the business and my mother in law.

(note: father in law & mother in law are not legally married but have lived together for more than 30 years, father in law is legally divorced from his first wife)

He is happy to separate the rest of the land between the children legally now in life to avoid fighting after his death.

Questions

1) How do they go about separating the land now? Is this a simple process through a lawyer?

2) Would they be charged a land transfer tax for separating the land & if so what % would that be?

3) Will separating the land now cause any problems if it is done in life vs being done after his death?

Thank you for any advice or information.

Sangria

[Rocky]

Sounds to me that this is a big enough deal that you shouldn't just settle on asking for Sr. Guzman's advice. You should hire them for the job.
Too many things can go wrong and if someone has influence on the lawyer or pays him off properly, the deal could go real sour for the other beneficiaries.
If this piece of property has any substantial value, I strongly recommend you get the Guzmans to handle the deal.

[sangria]

thanks rocky!

they really want to avoid any problems/extra cost and it is disgusting that these people (children) who say they deserve the land now are the same people that dont take part in paying for his medical expenses or day to day care or at the bare minimun to stop by and say hello.

i can't imagine what it would feel like to have my future children pushing me into my grave to get a bit of land that they will probably turn around & sell for $$.

my husband has been to a lawyer to get some information but he was more confused when he came out then when he went in.

i am of no help to them on this topic except to ask about the options they have on this board from people who may have some experience in this matter.

thanks so much for your reply
sangria

[AnnaC]

Mr. Guzman has posted this many times so I'll give you this to start with.

http://www.dr1.com/forums/428730-post4.html

Here's a good thread to read Dominican Inheritance Law


You cannot disinherit children no matter what.

[sangria]

just to be clear...
as much as i would like them to disinherit the bad seeds that isn't anyone's intention.

the intent is to have the land split fairly now in life so that each child has an equal share of property and that my mother in law keeps the main house/family business.

they are worried if it doesn't happen now while he is still alive, it will turn into a big fight and are worried my mother in law would lose the house/colmado/bar/rental houses which is their livelyhood (everyone seems to want this part of the land because it is on a corner & most desirable).

my questions are about the options they have and what are the costs/taxes/process that would be involved in property division.

[J D Sauser]

I am no lawyer and thus the following is only an opinion and not legal advise:

1. The land belongs to whom the OP calls the father in law. There is also the mention of the mother in law, so, the land may effectively belong to both under common law marriage(?).
2. From what I understand, in this country children from previous marriages retain full inheritance rights, independently from them visiting much, or not. Yet, resolving the point "1" may affect their rights as the father in law may be survived by the mother in law (which may have previous children of her own, to further complicate the case?).
3. However, your father in law (the owner of the land in question) is alive, thus inheritance is not an issue just yet.
4. Some kids may want or wish to separate and receive what ever, as long the old man still has a heart beat, it would seem up to HIS discretion to do with his property as he (and maybe, his current wife) sees fit.
5. The process for giving away or selling part or parts of the property, may include what is called "deslinde / delindar", a land court process which will eventually generate new titles for each new defined part.

... J-D.

[PICHARDO]

Originally Posted by sangria

just to be clear...
as much as i would like them to disinherit the bad seeds that isn't anyone's intention.

the intent is to have the land split fairly now in life so that each child has an equal share of property and that my mother in law keeps the main house/family business.

they are worried if it doesn't happen now while he is still alive, it will turn into a big fight and are worried my mother in law would lose the house/colmado/bar/rental houses which is their livelyhood (everyone seems to want this part of the land because it is on a corner & most desirable).

my questions are about the options they have and what are the costs/taxes/process that would be involved in property division.

Let me be blunt on this (being a father with property and kids from two marriages) and the son of a family with a father that is under the same situation:

The father is still alive... He could decide to sell everything tomorrow if he liked and give sh*t to everyone involved in the tugging...

Now, having made that clear enough:

Your father can (himself like a dictator) make the partitioning of the property however he likes and legally have the property titled to each son(d) as such.

Now, he wants to do so with full happiness in the family for the outcome, impossible!

There's always going to be one that thinks the other was getting the nicer piece of the pie.

Forget pleasing everyone!

He should sit down and partition according to his will only. He can show the partition to the kids and let them deal with the outcome as they see fit.

For example he can make a rudimentary map of how the plots will be partitioned and place the names of the people within the resulting plots.

In the case of the one with the biz already present in one of the plots, the actual decision is simple: Leave it to that person in possession of the structures there now!

No lawyer or court in the DR will touch any challenge to a division of plots from a living owner, no matter what!!!!

Tell him to get any lawyer (one that can speak Spanish so he could understand all) so that he can do this sooner...

My siblings were one day arguing about who got what when my father sat in the middle of it and started to point to windows and doors, he started to provide each one with a window and door (knob included) to take as their given plot! Everybody calmed down soon after, as it was clear who the property belonged to!!! LOL!!!

My dad divided the properties as he wanted and nobody dared say peep during or after to him... Oh! We argued and complained to hell among us, but dad never heard a word!!!!


The costs and taxes are not easy to ascertain as each particular property differs from city, usage, placement, titled land, community land, etc...

A lawyer can provide actual facts on that regards!!!

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Sangria, what your father-in-law should do is called a "partición de ascendiente" (Articles 1075 to 1080 of the Civil Code), which would permit him to distribute his assets among his heirs while alive. A "partición de ascendiente" is subject to the same formalities as a will.

By the way, don't be surprised if when you mention the term to some lawyers that they won't even know what you are talking about. These are the same lawyers who in cases like yours will proceed to execute bogus --and illegal-- property sales which may be voided later.

[sangria]

Thank you Mr Guzman, Pichardo & JD

I will give my husband the information for his father.

The lawyer that my husband spoke with said that there would be a 15% tax (I am assuming land transfer tax) paid by the new owner of each piece of property.

Does this sound accurate?

Thanks
Sangria

[Fabio J. Guzman]

No, 15% is NOT correct. It should be around 3%.