Inheritance and probate in Colombia: what happens to a foreign owner's property.

Which law decides who inherits property in Colombia?

Succession follows the law of the deceased's last domicile, but property located in Colombia is subject to Colombian law even when its owners are foreigners living abroad (Civil Code articles 1012 and 20).

And in a foreigner's succession without a will, Colombian relatives keep their Colombian-law rights over the assets in Colombia (article 1054, as interpreted by the Constitutional Court). A written will made abroad is valid if it follows the formalities of the place where it was made and its authenticity is proved (article 1084). Foreign public documents need an apostille, and anything not in Spanish an official translation (General Code of Procedure article 251).

Who must inherit under Colombian law?

Half the estate is the forced share (legitima) for descendants, or ascendants if there are none; the other half can be left freely. Since Law 1934 of 2018 there is no separate quarter for favoured heirs.

The surviving spouse's portion (porcion conyugal) is itself a forced allocation (article 1226), but it is owed only to a spouse who lacks enough to live on (article 1230), and everything the spouse receives counts against it, including their half of the marital property (article 1234). Without a will the spouse also inherits in the second and third orders (articles 1046 and 1047). Maintenance owed to dependants also comes first.

How much tax does an heir pay in Colombia?

An inheritance is an occasional gain, taxed at 15%, for residents and non-residents and for the estates of non-resident deceased.

Exempt: the first 13,000 UVT (COP 680.9 million in 2026) of one residential property of the deceased, 6,500 UVT of other real estate, 3,250 UVT (COP 170.2 million) per heir or spouse, and 20% (up to 1,625 UVT) of what goes to other heirs. One UVT is COP 52,374 in 2026. The value taxed is the highest of the purchase price, the tax cost, the self-assessed value and the cadastral value at 31 December of the year before the estate is settled; a lower value agreed in the succession does not count. Yearly taxes as owner: Colombia property tax for foreigners.

How is a Colombian succession settled?

In court, or through the notarial procedure provided by law when the heirs agree. Foreigners have the same civil rights as Colombians, so no restriction applies to a foreign heir.

The judge orders the tax office (DIAN) informed when the succession opens (article 490), and for estates over 700 UVT the official handling it reports the estate to DIAN before the partition, which DIAN has 20 days to join (Estatuto Tributario article 844). No official source gives a typical length. The title record the heirs end up holding: the certificado de tradicion explained.

Header photo: Alejandro Turola, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.