Brazilian assets are settled in Brazil, even when the deceased lived in the United States. For U.S.-based families, the first step is separating the estate by country and preparing the Brazilian paperwork.
The hook
Article 23, II of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure gives Brazilian courts exclusive jurisdiction over the inventory and distribution of assets located in Brazil — even when the deceased was a foreign national or lived abroad. In August 2024, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) applied the mirror image of that rule: assets located outside Brazil are not part of a Brazilian estate proceeding.
Context a U.S. reader needs first
Three features of Brazilian law tend to surprise families coming from the U.S. system.
Brazil is a civil law country with forced heirship. A married person with children cannot freely dispose of the whole estate by will: fifty percent of the assets is reserved by law to necessary heirs — descendants, ascendants and the surviving spouse, in the order the Civil Code sets. A will can dispose of the other half.
There is no probate court, no executor in the American sense, and no living trust. The Brazilian procedure is called inventário, and it can be handled either in court or, where the heirs agree, entirely at a notary's office (tabelionato de notas) by deed. Trusts are not a domestic Brazilian institution; a U.S. revocable trust does not transfer Brazilian real estate.
Inheritance tax is state-level, not federal. It is called ITCMD, it is charged by the Brazilian state where the asset is located, and rates currently run up to 8% depending on the state. There is no federal estate tax in Brazil and no lifetime exemption comparable to the U.S. one — but also no step-up mechanism to rely on.
What the law actually says
Jurisdiction. Article 23, II of the Code of Civil Procedure: Brazilian courts have exclusive jurisdiction to confirm private wills and to conduct the inventory and distribution of assets located in Brazil, regardless of the deceased's nationality or domicile.
The mirror rule. In a judgment of the STJ's Third Panel dated August 27, 2024 (reporting Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze; case under seal, reported as REsp 2.080.842; published in the Court's Informativo de Jurisprudência, Extraordinary Edition No. 23, of January 21, 2025), the Court held that Brazilian jurisdiction does not reach assets abroad — not even to offset shares between heirs. This is the principle of plurality of succession proceedings: each country settles what sits within its borders.
Governing law. Article 10 of the Introductory Law to Brazilian Law (LINDB): succession follows the law of the country where the deceased was domiciled. But Article 10, §1 of the LINDB and Article 5, XXXI of the Federal Constitution carve out an exception: the succession of a foreigner's assets located in Brazil is governed by Brazilian law where that is more favorable to a Brazilian spouse or Brazilian children.
What this means in practice
There will be two estates, not one. An apartment in São Paulo and a brokerage account in Florida mean one proceeding in Brazil and one in the United States. A U.S. probate order does not transfer Brazilian real estate, and a Brazilian court will not distribute the Florida account. The 2024 decision goes one step further: a Brazilian judge cannot even use the foreign assets as a yardstick to equalize shares among heirs.
Real estate tax follows the property, not the person. ITCMD on real property located in Brazil is always owed to the Brazilian state where the property sits — Article 155, §1, I of the Constitution — no matter where the deceased lived or where the estate was opened. For movable assets, securities and credits with a foreign element, the taxing rules long sat in a constitutional gap that the Supreme Court recognized (Theme 825) and that Complementary Law No. 227 of January 13, 2026 now addresses. State legislation is in transition, which makes timing a real variable.
Heirs abroad do not need to fly to Brazil. They participate through a public power of attorney with specific powers, executed either at a Brazilian consulate in the United States or before a U.S. notary and then apostilled under the Hague Apostille Convention — in force in Brazil since August 14, 2016 (Decree No. 8,660/2016) — followed by sworn translation in Brazil. In practice, what stalls these files is almost never the legal theory. It is a U.S. death certificate without an apostille, an heir without a valid Brazilian tax number (CPF), or a power of attorney drafted too generically for the notary to accept.
The notarial route is available more often than people think. Where the heirs agree, the estate can be settled by deed rather than in court. Since National Council of Justice Resolution No. 571 of August 26, 2024, which amended Resolution No. 35/2007, the notarial route is open even where there is a will or a minor or incapacitated heir, subject to review by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
A related point, frequently confused. A consensual divorce granted abroad can be recorded directly in the Brazilian civil registry with no court proceeding — Article 961, §5 of the Code of Civil Procedure and CNJ Resolution No. 53/2016. A contested foreign divorce must first be recognized by the STJ. The two paths are entirely different, and choosing the wrong one costs months.
Who this affects
- Brazilians living in the United States with property, accounts, company shares or an inheritance in Brazil
- Families where the deceased lived in the U.S. and left assets in both countries
- Brazilian heirs abroad who cannot travel to sign documents
- U.S. and other foreign nationals married to Brazilians, or with Brazilian children, who own assets in Brazil
- Anyone holding Brazilian real estate under a foreign will that cannot be registered
What to do, and by when
- Split the estate by country before anything else. Two proceedings, two timelines, two cost structures — and they do not offset each other.
- Check the ITCMD filing deadline in the Brazilian state where the asset sits. Many states impose a penalty when the estate is not opened within 60 days of death, and that clock runs even when every heir lives abroad.
- Gather documents early. Apostilled and sworn-translated U.S. death certificate; a public power of attorney with specific powers covering inventory, distribution, sale and tax payment; a valid CPF for each non-resident heir.
- Consider the notarial route where the family agrees. It is materially faster, and since Resolution 571/2024 it is no longer blocked by the mere existence of a will or of a minor heir.
- Plan for the sale up front if the property will be sold. A non-resident heir selling inherited Brazilian property faces a distinct capital gains, withholding and outbound remittance regime — far easier to address when the distribution is designed than after it is recorded.
The cost of doing nothing
An estate left unopened becomes a tax penalty, a property that cannot be sold, rent that cannot be collected lawfully, and a dispute between heirs in two countries that grows more expensive with each year of delay.
Scope note: This content addresses Brazilian law only. Matters governed by foreign law are handled in partnership with lawyers licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Editorial record
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Pillar: 6 — Ties to Brazil
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Related service (performed in Brazil): Brazilian estate proceedings, judicial and notarial; ITCMD assessment and payment; apostilled power of attorney and representation of heirs abroad; deed of distribution and real estate registration
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Editorial tier: Gold
Sources: - Código de Processo Civil — art. 23, II (Lei nº 13.105/2015) · - LINDB — art. 10 (Decreto-Lei nº 4.657/1942) · - STJ — Informativo de Jurisprudência, Edição Extraordinária nº 23, de 21/01/2025 (Rel. Min. Marco Aurélio Bellizze, 3ª Turma, j. 27/08/2024) · - Bens no exterior não entram em inventário feito no Brasil, fixa STJ — Migalhas · - Resolução CNJ nº 571, de 26 de agosto de 2024 · - Inventário extrajudicial: avanços após a Resolução 571/2024 do CNJ — Consultor Jurídico, 31/10/2024 · - Lei Complementar nº 227, de 13 de janeiro de 2026
Notice
This content is strictly informational, produced under Provimento No. 205/2021 of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), with no commercial or client-solicitation purpose. The practical guidance is general and does not substitute for analysis of a specific matter. Artificial intelligence assisted in research and drafting, under the full professional review and responsibility of the signing attorney, in accordance with Recommendation No. 001/2024 of the Federal Council of the OAB.
Scope
This content addresses Brazilian law only. Matters governed by foreign law are handled in partnership with lawyers licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Verification record
Sources were checked as of September 21, 2026: Article 23, II of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure; Article 10 of the Introductory Law to Brazilian Law (LINDB); Article 5, XXXI of the Federal Constitution; STJ Informativo de Jurisprudência, Extraordinary Edition No. 23, concerning the Third Panel judgment of August 27, 2024; CNJ Resolution No. 571/2024; Decree No. 8,660/2016; Complementary Law No. 227/2026; and related sources listed above.
A note on the English edition. This piece is an adaptation, not a translation. Legal citations keep their Portuguese designations, because those are what a Brazilian notary, registry office or court will recognize.
About the firm
Andrade & Cintra Advogados is a boutique law firm dedicated to Civil, Corporate and Real Estate Law, with a focus on Family and Succession Law, concentrated on estate and succession planning, the structuring of family and asset-holding companies, corporate governance and the organization of wealth for succession purposes — always with business purpose, substance and legal compliance. International practice in cooperation with Sintra Legal & Partners.
About the author
Dr. J. Guilherme de Andrade Cintra — Founding Partner · OAB/SP nº 220.915. Editorial co-authorship assisted by artificial intelligence (Anthropic Claude) as editor, under the review and responsibility of the signing attorney.
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