Your Legacy in Costa Rica: A Guide to Wills, Trusts, & Usufructs
Estate planning in Costa Rica goes beyond taxes—it’s about avoiding lengthy probate, protecting assets, and ensuring your wishes are honored. Learn how trusts, wills, usufructs, and more can secure your legacy and give your family clarity and peace of mind.
Planning your legacy in Costa Rica is a crucial step for anyone with assets or family ties in the country. While Costa Rica’s no-inheritance-tax policy might sound straightforward, it hides a serious legal hurdle: a mandatory, often lengthy court process known as proceso sucesorio (probate).
Without proper succession planning, your assets can be frozen, your family may face costly legal battles, and your wishes could be delayed—or ignored. Fortunately, Costa Rica offers legal tools that allow you to bypass probate entirely. This guide explains the strategies—wills, trusts, usufructs, corporate structures, and more—that can help ensure your assets transfer swiftly, privately, and exactly as you intend.
The Big Hurdle: Costa Rica’s Probate Process (Proceso Sucesorio)
When someone passes away in Costa Rica, their assets are immediately frozen. They cannot be sold, transferred, or accessed until the succession process is completed.
Two forms of succession exist: