How to make a will in Puerto Rico

The Code defines it as the solemn, strictly personal, unilateral and essentially revocable juridical act by which a person disposes, totally or partially, of the destiny of their assets for after their death and orders their own succession, within the limits and formalities the law sets. Every word matters: strictly personal means you do it yourself and nobody does it for you — two or more people cannot make a will in the same document — and essentially revocable means you may change it as many times as you wish while alive. It also serves for dispositions that are not about assets: non-patrimonial ones are valid even if the will is limited to them.

Any natural person may make a will who, at the time of executing it, has turned 14 and possesses sufficient discernment to understand the act’s purpose, content and significance. For a holographic will the age rises: only from 18. On witnesses, the Code expressly excludes incapacitated persons, those who cannot read or sign, those favored by any disposition of the will, relatives of the instituted heir or legatee within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity, and persons convicted of a crime involving perjury or fraud. And there is a special rule: when a person declared incapable for lack of discernment appears to make a will, a psychologist or psychiatrist acts as instrumental witness, examining them and declaring in the deed whether they are in a lucid interval with sufficient discernment.

• Being 14 with sufficient discernment to understand the act’s purpose, content and significance; for a holographic will, 18.Verified against the official source
• Respecting the forced share: if you have forced heirs, you may freely dispose of half your assets. With none, of all of them.Verified against the official source
• Making a will alone: two or more persons cannot make a joint will or use the same document, unless the law of the State where it is executed allows it — and even then that will has no effect over real property located in Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source

• For an open will: whatever the notary asks to identify you and describe your assets and beneficiaries. The Code refers to notarial legislation for drafting, language, formalities and authorization.
• For a holographic will: nothing but the document itself, written entirely in your own hand, dated and signed by you.

1. 1

   Step 1: Work out how much is yours to give

   This comes first, because it governs everything else. If you have forced heirs, the law reserves half the estate for them and you freely dispose of the other half. The forced heirs are, in order: descendants; the surviving spouse; and failing those, ascendants. If you have none, you dispose of everything. How the reserved half is divided among several forced heirs follows the intestate rules of concurrence and exclusion, so if your family is complex — children from different relationships, a spouse, living parents — that specific calculation is a conversation for a notary.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose the kind of will

   The open will is executed before a notary and is the ordinary route: it requires no instrumental witnesses unless the testator or notary asks for them, the deed states the hour of execution, and the notary attests that in their judgment you have the capacity to make a will. The holographic one you write entirely yourself, by hand, dated and signed — you may write it in any language, and persons domiciled in Puerto Rico may execute one outside the island even if the law of that place prohibits it. If you strike out, amend or write between lines, you must validate those corrections with your signature or they are treated as unwritten; anything added below the signature does not count unless you date and sign it again.

3. 3

   Step 3: If the moment is an emergency: the special wills

   The Code contemplates two. In imminent danger of death, a will may be executed before three adult witnesses. In an epidemic declared by health authorities, before three witnesses who have turned 16. In both cases the witnesses must satisfy themselves that, in their judgment, the testator has the capacity to make a will. These are emergency exits, not substitutes for the ordinary will.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you hold a holographic will: the clock is running

   Whoever holds a holographic will must present it to the court or a notary for adveración within 30 days of learning of the testator’s death; anyone with a legitimate interest may also present it. Once adveración concludes, the will must be recorded in the notarial protocol to be effective. And there is a fatal date: a holographic will lapses if not presented for adveración within 5 years of the death.

5. 5

   Step 5: Change it when your life changes

   A will is essentially revocable: you may execute a new one whenever you wish. Marriages, divorces, births, the death of a beneficiary or the sale of a major asset are the typical reasons to revise it. And bear in mind the Code voids certain institutions outright: one made by an incapacitated person in favor of their guardian, or one made by a sick person in favor of whoever provides them medical or spiritual assistance during their last illness, in the cases the Code details.

An open will is executed before any notary in Puerto Rico. A holographic one you write yourself, but after death it must be taken for adveración before the court or a notary, and recorded in the protocol. Special wills are executed before the witnesses the law requires.

• Planning with the old thirds rule: the 2020 Code provides that a person with forced heirs freely disposes of half.
• Making a "joint" will with your partner: two or more persons cannot make a will in the same document, and those executed elsewhere under other law do not affect real property in Puerto Rico.
• Typing the holographic will: it must be autograph — in your own hand — dated and signed.
• Striking out or amending the holographic will without validating the corrections with your signature: they are treated as unwritten.
• Keeping the holographic will where nobody will find it: there are 30 days to present it for adveración once the death is known, and it lapses after 5 years.
• Using as a witness someone who inherits, or a close relative of the instituted heir: the Code expressly excludes them.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov