A will lets you decide who receives your house, within the part that the law leaves free. This is governed by the Código Civil (Civil Code; Gaceta Oficial No. 2.990 Extraordinario, July 26, 1982) and the laws cited, as of October 27, 2026. To draft yours, consult a lawyer.
What you can leave freely and what the legítima is
Whoever receives a specific property is a legatario (legatee); whoever receives a fraction of all your assets, a heredero (heir) (article 834).
The legítima (the heirs' protected share) is "una cuota de la herencia que se debe en plena propiedad a los descendientes, a los ascendientes y al cónyuge sobreviviente que no esté separado legalmente de bienes" (a share of the estate owed in full ownership to the descendants, the ascendants and the surviving spouse who is not legally separated as to property) (article 883). The testator cannot subject it "a ninguna carga ni condición" (to any burden or condition). Each person's legítima is half of what they would receive without a will, following the same order as that succession (article 884): if there are children, the parents are not entitled to a legítima.
Applied to the distributions in articles 824 and 825, it works out like this (our calculation):
| Who survives | Legítima | Free portion |
|---|---|---|
| Children, with or without a spouse (who counts as one child, if not legally separated as to property) | 1/2, in equal shares | 1/2 |
| No children: parents or other ascendants, and a spouse | 1/4 for the ascendants and 1/4 for the spouse | 1/2 |
| Only ascendants, or only the spouse with no siblings or nephews and nieces | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Spouse and siblings, with no children or ascendants | 1/4 for the spouse (siblings have no legítima) | 3/4 |
| None of the above | No legítima | Everything |
- It is calculated on the whole estate, not house by house: the value of the assets at death, minus debts, plus what was donated in the last ten years (article 889).
Open or closed will
An ordinary will "es abierto o cerrado" (is open or closed) (article 849). Anyone aged 16 can make a will (younger, only if they are or were married), as long as they are not under interdiction and are of sound mind (articles 837 and 838). Two people cannot make a will in the same document (article 835).
| Open | Closed | |
|---|---|---|
| Who knows the content | Those who authorize the act (article 850) | No one: it is delivered sealed |
| Before whom | Registrar or notary, or five witnesses | Registrar or notary, and three witnesses |
| When the testator dies | Depends on the form used (articles 852 to 855) | A judge opens it (articles 986 to 989) or a notary does (Ley de Registros y Notarías, the Registries and Notaries Law, art. 75) |
The three ways to make an open will
The Ley de Registros y Notarías (Gaceta Oficial No. 6.668 Extraordinario, December 16, 2021) allows both the open and the closed will to be made before a notary, and the closed one to be opened there (article 75, numerals 6 to 8).
Witnesses must be adults, know the testator and be able to read and write; in the open will, the heirs, the legatees and their close relatives cannot be witnesses (article 864). In the open will, anything left to the registrar or to the witnesses has no effect (article 846).
The closed will
The document is delivered closed and sealed to the registrar before three witnesses. The testator declares that it is their will and whether they wrote and signed it themselves; the registrar records this on the cover and everyone signs (article 857). Someone who does not know how to read, or cannot read, cannot use this form (article 859).
Registro Público (public registry) and notaría (notary office) fees
Fees are in petros (PTR), payable in bolívares at the value on the day of the application. The amounts set by SAREN (the national registries and notaries service) come from Providencias No. 001 (Registros Públicos) and No. 004 (Notarías), in Gaceta Oficial No. 42.301 (January 20, 2022).
| Procedure | Legal cap | Amount set by SAREN |
|---|---|---|
| Recording an open will at the Registro | Up to 4 PTR for the first page and 1 PTR for each following page (art. 83) | 1 PTR for the first page and 0.05 PTR for each following page (Prov. 001, art. 5, num. 17) |
| Closed will at the Registro | Up to 5 PTR for recording (art. 83) | 5 PTR for recording and for opening it (Prov. 001, art. 5, num. 17) |
| Opening a will at the notaría | Up to 5 PTR (art. 86, num. 3) | 2 PTR; nothing if it only acknowledges a child (Prov. 004, art. 5, num. 3) |
| Urgent processing (habilitación urgente) | Up to 6 additional PTR (art. 29) | 2 additional PTR at the Registro (Prov. 001, art. 4) and 1 PTR at the notaría (Prov. 004, art. 4) |
We did not find a published unit that replaces the petro: ask for the amount in bolívares at the office.
If you live abroad
A document from a foreign notary is a public document under the Convenio de La Haya sobre la Apostilla (Hague Apostille Convention) (article 1), and the apostille is placed by the authority of the country where it was executed (article 3). Venezuela has been a party since March 16, 1999 (HCCH status table). The convention does not apply to documents from diplomatic or consular agents (article 1), nor between countries that are not parties: in that case, ask at the Registro how to legalize it.
Changing or revoking it
A will is "un acto revocable" (a revocable act) (article 833): you can revoke it whenever you want, "de la misma manera y con las mismas formalidades que se requieren para testar" (in the same manner and with the same formalities required to make a will), and that right cannot be waived (article 990). Revocation can be partial, and a new will without an express revocation keeps the earlier compatible provisions alive (article 991). If you sell the house you left as a legacy, the legacy is revoked as to what was sold (article 955).
What a will does not avoid
With or without a will, heirs and legatees must file the declaración sucesoral (inheritance tax return) within the 180 days following the opening of the succession (article 27 of the Ley de Impuesto sobre Sucesiones, Donaciones y Demás Ramos Conexos, the Law on Inheritance, Donation and Related Taxes, Gaceta Oficial No. 5.391 Extraordinario, October 22, 1999), which opens upon death (article 993 of the Código Civil). Beneficiaries of inheritances and of legacies pay tax (article 2), at a progressive rate by kinship (article 7): from 1% to 25% for ascendants, descendants, spouse and adopted children; up to 40% for siblings, and for nephews and nieces by right of representation; up to 50% for other collateral relatives of the third and fourth degree; and up to 55% for relatives by marriage, other relatives and unrelated persons.
The home that was the decedent's permanent household is left out of the tax base only if it passes for that purpose to ascendants, descendants, spouse, or adoptive parents and children (article 10). If you leave it to a friend or a nephew, it does not get that exclusion.
For the return and the later sale, see how to sell an inherited property.