Heirless estates

An heirless estate arises when a deceased person leaves no heirs or when the heirs renounce the inheritance. In such cases, the estate may be assigned to the State. However, this can become complex if there are hidden heirs who have a legitimate claim to the inheritance but whose rights are not immediately known.

At Geritance, we specialize in tracing potential heirs to ensure that those entitled to inherit actually receive what is rightfully theirs. 

Vacant Estates

A vacant estate occurs when there are heirs, but they are unknown, unreachable, or legally incapable of accepting the inheritance. 

This can place the estate in a legal vacuum, where the deceased's assets have no clear rightful owner. This situation may complicate the settlement of the estate and often requires legal procedures to identify the rightful heirs and ensure the estate is distributed efficiently.

Heir Verification

The verification of heirs is a crucial process to confirm who the rightful heirs to an estate are. It involves accurately tracing and documenting family ties, creating family trees, and providing supporting documentation to identify the legal heirs.

This process ensures that existing family relationships are properly verified and legally validated, so the estate can be distributed in accordance with the law or the deceased's last will.

Legal assistance

Our legal assistance focuses on settling estates efficiently and in compliance with the law. We provide guidance on the necessary steps, assist with drafting essential documents, and ensure that all legal requirements are met. Whether it's a standard estate or a more complex situation—such as an heirless or vacant estate—we offer the legal support required.

We provide essential legal assistance to notaries, lawyers, and court-appointed administrators to ensure the careful and lawful handling of the inheritance. 

Inheritance devolution 

Inheritance devolution is the legal process by which a deceased person's estate is transferred to the heirs, according to the law or a will. It defines who inherits and how the estate is distributed.

Geritance provides full support throughout the inheritance devolution process, in collaboration with notaries and other involved parties. We also ensure that heirs are well informed about the devolution and that their rights are fully protected. We guide them through the process and provide clarity on the distribution of the estate.

Heir tracing

Heir tracing involves identifying and locating the rightful heirs of a deceased person, particularly when they are difficult to find. This may be the case when heirs reside abroad, for example.

We use our international networks to trace these heirs and inform them of their inheritance rights.