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@cindylido inventário is basically the probate. The process of sorting out if the deceased left a will , and who the heirs are before the estate  can be divided or sold. Good luck

@cindylido if the heirs beside yourselves are non Brazilian citizens, be prepared to provide all kinds of documents and apostiles. Nowadays , the process is handled in the cartório. For non Brazilians, I believe it has to go through the court where the estate is located.

Hi Cindy!

I know ‘inventario! can be confusing. Sounds like everything inside the property needs to be accounted for.!

I am Kitty, a real estate agent in Salvador, Bahia!

If the property is in you and your husbands name it should be easier than a regular inventário, where ownership would need to be transferred to who inherited the property before they can sell.

Good  luck! DM me if you like.

@cindylido please check this article for helpful information of probate law pertaining to foreigners with assets in Brazil

make sure you arm yourself with a trustworthy lawyer.

05/23/23 @cindylido.  I second everything that @kawakasbah has recommended above, particularly including having a trustworthy lawyer.  All the best to you.

@Kitty Faria yes, the property is in both our names. We never had children. Do the parents and siblings have rights to anything ?  Neither of us are Brasilian. Both U.S.

@kawakasbah thank you !

@kawakasbah Thank you !  Inventario makes sense now !

I recently lost my husband and now I am thinking of selling our house in Bahia. Fortunately,,I have good friends that deal with that but when I was talking to my attorney about it, he used a word that I am still not clear about what it means. I am having documents sent to our state capital to Apostile before going to Brasil and he said those were needed to enter into "inventario."
I'm not sure he is using the word "inventario" in the same way we use the word inventory. We'll be talking again soon but can anyone clarify that for me? Thanks
-@cindylido

INVENTARIO = PROBATE

Once again....

INVENTARIO = PROBATE

The Widow has, by default, 50% stakehold in the Estate, which might include Cash, Investments, Real Estate, Chatel.   

The remainder survivors, offsprings from your husband ( usually sons, daughters ), hold a combined 50%. This might vary from State to State.

The process is done through the State.   

Some of the process pre-requisites...

All personal documents, such as Birth Certificates, Wedding Licenses, need to be Notarized according to the Haia Apostile Standards ( Apostilado ), and then, if in any other language than Portuguese, translated through a certified translator.  That includes your spouse Death's Certificate.

Any child borne in Brazil, will need its up to date birth certificate.

Everyone in the will needs to have clearance as for liens, unpaid taxes, etc.

There are a number of other documents.  To get the complete list according to your State ( Bahia ), you need to enroll the Clerk ( Escrivao ) in a Registry of Deed ( Cartorio ) Bureau, anyone, for as long as it is registered within the State. 

Attorneys are pro forma, nonetheless mandatory.  Most of them won't do the leg work, unless having a decent support staff, and possibly charging extra for the leg work.   At a bare minimum, you will need them as a mandatory pro forma ( their signature ).  So it is mostly a matter for shopping for one who at least practices Civil Family Law. 

You will be paying excise taxes, attorney fee, and the Registry of Deed Fee.

The Registry of Deed has pre-fixed rates.

Your attorney retainer fee will be negotiated.

The Excise tax is pre determined by Estate.  Usually 3% of the appraised value of the Estate.

The longer you take to process the paperwork, the more you accrue in fines and fees atop of the owed percentage, so you need to get it going.

hope it helps.

Any local Registry of Deeds in Bahia, can provide you a customized list, according to your specific situation. 

For as long as one can explain your status. 

The odd thing is, if you visit 10 Cartorios, you will get 12 different opinons on what is mandatory.  So take all it comes to you with a grain of salt.   As the state what they say is a must, no matter how inacurate they are, they will always make you believe what the require is inmutable and you can't question their expertise. 

So make sure you get around to gather your prerequisite pro forma paperwork. 

And most important of all..

1.Gathering the documents, you need a list through  the Cartorio ( Registry of Deeds ). They are the ones who determine what supporting documentation needs to be in place. Not your attorney. The attorney might be familiarized with the documented set, but often they miss pieces.

2.Save the money you would pay an attorney for the leg work and get it done through a Despachante ( Gopher ).  Hand him/her the list to round up all the paperwork. Someone who speaks your language.  Get one through referral. Forget taking solicitations from this FORUM!!!

3.The attorney is mandatory as pro forma to ratify the probate. Cartorios cannot refer or designated your attorney of record. So this is left entirely up to you. If you do not have one, check Martindale.com.  GEt one with previous experience in your type of case.  Search for "Advogado/a de Família"

4.You can lock the one time State Excise Fee, in most cases, even before submitting the paperwork through the Cartorio. As long as most of it is done before hand, any missing pieces, or things that will drag time through the bureaucracy can be added before the final submission.  So make sure you pay the Taxed Amount, and collect the stamped receipt.   The longer it takes for the payment to get posted, the more it will cost you, in late fees and accrued interest.

5.The Tax bill issuance is prepared by the Cartorio you chose to deal with. Make sure it is stamped as fully paid ( Credit Card Receipts ).

6.Some documents have an expiration date.  So, make sure you only get official copies issued at the deadline, and sort documents to be obtained according to their expiration time lapses.. 

7.Once again. The document set is standardized, but every Registry of Deed Clerk will have that one piece of paper you don't have.  Get your gopher moving around  for fact  double checking.   That person, the Despachante, does not to be an attorney.   

8.Once submitted, your Probate process will go through the courts, so expect a conclusion in about 12 months, if not more, to be processed.  Until then, you may rent the property out, or keep it locked, but you can't sell it. 

And above all, be careful with these "experts" who publish expert websites, blogs, and Youtube channels. 

The entire process comes from gathering the right pieces of legit paperwork.  \

"Unsolicited Expert Help" or Promoted Expert Help is often an excuse for "Experts" to prey upon people like you and gouge you on fees. 

The difference between you and any other Brazilian born and resident widow is about 2-3 pieces of paper. All you need to to is find who can tell you what it is, and what it will take to get it by legal and legitimate means. 

And no, i can't help you any further than these postings. 

Just don't be a sitting duck . 

05/25/23 @cindylido.  I'm not a lawyer or a real estate broker, and all I can add is this:  don't hesitate to ask your attorney any question, even the ones that you think are too obvious or that you know the answer to already.  One of those questions is to ask your attorney to review the Escritura, the document recording your title to the house, and to ask whether the house HAS to go through the Inventário process.

When we bought our apartment we were careful, on our attorney's advice, to register it in both of our names, on the understanding that on the death of one of us, it would pass directly to the other without any additional process.  If the house is only registered in your husband's name then there may be no way around the probate process, but if it's in both names, you should confirm what happens next with your attorney in light of that.

Thanks, yes it's in both names. Fortunately  3 of our very close, long time friends will be working with me on this. One works in real estate, one is an attorney that deals with this kind of thing and the other is an administradora who knows the in and outs of our local government. With me still being in Alaska ( 5 hours behind ) until Sept. it's not easy having a conversation with them now so just trying to find out what I can for now.Thank you everyone

Thanks, yes it's in both names. Fortunately 3 of our very close, long time friends will be working with me on this. One works in real estate, one is an attorney that deals with this kind of thing and the other is an administradora who knows the in and outs of our local government. With me still being in Alaska ( 5 hours behind ) until Sept. it's not easy having a conversation with them now so just trying to find out what I can for now.Thank you everyone
-@cindylido

if has been bought in both names, you stand as a "Meador"  ( that's the legal name for your legal standing in the Probate )  and as such, you might be exempt from Estate Taxes.  Heirs, such as children, they pay Estate Taxes.   

Since this is a State Law, and my Template is Sao Paulo, you will definetively check with your chosen attorney for how it works in Bahia.   

Make sure to negotiate with your attorney for all end runs, most of these attorneys  will only lend their signature to collect the fee they are entitled.   And that there is a contract with all clauses spelled out.  They tend to be sneaky out here to glean that extra dollar from clients.   As they do Stateside. 

If you can't get to an agreement, you will still need their rubber stamping, as well as the Registry Clerk, but you can always see rates for Despachantes. 

So we never had kids but would you have to prove there are no heirs (children)  ? And how would you prove that ? Same question applies up here in the U.S.  how do they know there are no children ? My attorney is already checking on how it works in Bahia as he is also in Sao Paulo.  He is also checking on something else I brought up............since I am entering Brasil in early Sept. I don't need a Visa since new law doesn't go into effect until Oct. 1. Will they still allow me 90 days with the ability to get another 90 days at the Policia Federal ? And if so, that gives me to about early March that I am legal. But if I stay over to get things done  ( and avoid winter in Alaska ) will my illegal status hurt me in any way for getting things finalized and for transferring  money to U.S ?

Thanks in advance !

05/29/23 @cindylido.  Yes, as long as you arrive in Brazil before October 1, there should not be a problem in getting an extension at the Federal Police office near the end of the initial 90 days.

If you overstay, that can cause you many complications, particularly with any legal processes.  It would be wise to front load your legal work as much as possible in the very beginning of your stay, and to make sure that your lawyer understands upfront what your time constraints are.  Get as much as you can started as early as you can while you're still here legally, and that should limit your difficulties even if any of that work is still open when your authorization expires.

As for children, it's impossible to prove a negative.  Chances are that the authorities will take your word for it, and if they need more allow you to sign a sworn statement that you and your husband never had children.

@abthree thanks