Inheritance Estate Inventory Chile (Inventario de Bienes Hereditarios)

An Inheritance Estate Inventory Chile (Inventario de Bienes Hereditarios) is a formal legal document governed by Código Civil Articles 1253–1255 and Código de Procedimiento Civil (CPC) Article 858 that records all assets and liabilities forming part of a deceased person's estate (herencia) in Chile. The inventory is a foundational document in the Chilean succession process, serving as the official registry of everything the deceased owned and owed at the time of death, enabling heirs, creditors, and the courts to determine the true economic value of the estate before distribution.

Under Chilean succession law, the inventory fulfills multiple critical functions. First, it is the essential supporting document for the posesión efectiva procedure regulated by Ley 19.903/2003, which grants heirs legal recognition of their inheritance rights before the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (SRCeI) for intestate successions, or before the civil court for testamentary successions. Second, the inventory is the mandatory precondition for an heir seeking to accept the inheritance with beneficio de inventario (benefit of inventory) under Código Civil Articles 1247–1255 — a legal mechanism that limits the heir's liability for estate debts to the value of the inherited assets. Third, the inventory documents the estate's contents for tax purposes under Ley 16.271 (Ley de Impuesto a las Herencias, Asignaciones y Donaciones), administered by the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), which levies inheritance tax on the net value of assets transferred to each heir.

Código Civil Article 1253 establishes that a solemn inventory (inventario solemne) is required when the law demands it — particularly when an heir accepts with beneficio de inventario, when a guardian or curator administers the estate for incapacitated heirs, or when the court orders it. A solemn inventory under CPC Article 858 must be authorized by a Notario Público or the competent civil court (Juzgado Civil), conducted in the presence of the interested parties who have been duly notified, and recorded in a public instrument. An ordinary or simple inventory (inventario simple) suffices for many estate administration purposes, including the SRCeI posesión efectiva filing, but does not carry the evidentiary weight of the solemn form.

Código Civil Article 1255 imposes personal liability on any heir who, knowingly and in bad faith, omits assets from the inventory or includes fictitious debts — the heir loses the benefit of inventory protection and becomes personally liable for all estate debts without limit. Article 1256 further establishes that if an heir discovers, after the inventory is completed, additional assets not originally included, they must update the inventory by means of a complementary addendum (inventario complementario).

The inventory must enumerate all categories of estate property: real property (bienes raíces) identified by their Rol de Avalúo from the Servicio de Impuestos Internos and inscription number in the Conservador de Bienes Raíces (CBR); vehicles (bienes muebles registrables) identified by their patent and Registro de Vehículos Motorizados inscription; financial assets including bank accounts, AFP pension balances, and investment portfolios; business interests (derechos societarios) in SpA, SRL, or SA entities registered in the Conservador de Comercio; intellectual property rights; and all liabilities including mortgages (hipotecas), liens (gravámenes), unpaid debts, and pending tax obligations to the SII.

An Inheritance Estate Inventory Chile is needed in every succession process where heirs must formally document the assets and liabilities of the deceased's estate before claiming their inheritance rights or distributing assets among beneficiaries.

The inventory is required when filing for posesión efectiva under Ley 19.903/2003. For intestate successions, the SRCeI requires heirs to submit an inventory of the estate's assets as part of the application package — without an inventory, the SRCeI will not process the posesión efectiva or issue the Resolución de Posesión Efectiva needed to transfer registered assets to the heirs' names.

The document is essential when any heir wishes to accept the inheritance with beneficio de inventario under Código Civil Articles 1247–1248. Any heir — regardless of the estate's apparent value — may exercise this right, which protects personal assets from estate creditor claims. The beneficio de inventario is particularly advisable when the estate's debt situation is uncertain, when the deceased had business obligations, or when the heir is unaware of all existing liabilities.

An inventory is needed when the estate includes real property (bienes raíces) requiring transfer at the CBR, because the Conservador de Bienes Raíces requires a valid posesión efectiva — which in turn requires the inventory — before processing property title transfers (inscripciones) in the heirs' names.

The inventory is required for inheritance tax purposes under Ley 16.271. The SII uses the inventory to calculate the taxable base for each heir's share, applying progressive rates from 1% to 25% depending on the heir's relationship to the deceased and the value of the inherited share. The inventory must be submitted to the SII within two years from the date of death; failure to file results in penalties and interest.

The document is also needed when multiple heirs disagree about the composition of the estate and require a neutral, officially authorized record of all assets and liabilities before proceeding to partition (partición de herencia) before a Partidor appointed by the Juzgado Civil under Código Civil Articles 1317–1353.

A valid Inheritance Estate Inventory Chile under Código Civil Articles 1253–1255 and CPC Article 858 must contain specific elements to be legally effective for posesión efectiva filings, beneficio de inventario protection, and SII inheritance tax compliance.

Decedent Identification: Full legal name, RUT (Rol Único Tributario) issued by the SII, date of birth, date of death, last domicile, marital status, and whether the deceased died testate (with a will registered in the Conservador de Bienes Raíces or before a Notario Público) or intestate. The death certificate (certificado de defunción) issued by the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación is the foundational document establishing the succession event.

Heir Identification: Full legal name, RUT, domicile, and relationship to the deceased for each heir or legatee. The inventory must reflect the legal order of succession under Código Civil Articles 983–994 — spouse (cónyuge sobreviviente) and children of the first degree (primer orden), then ascendants and surviving spouse of the second degree (segundo orden), then siblings of the third degree (tercer orden), and then other collateral relatives up to the sixth degree.

Real Property (Bienes Raíces): Each property must be identified by its Rol de Avalúo assigned by the SII, its inscription number and date in the Registro de Propiedad of the competent Conservador de Bienes Raíces, its municipality (comuna), and its fiscal appraised value (avalúo fiscal) per the SII. Any mortgage (hipoteca), easement (servidumbre), or other encumbrance (gravamen) registered against the property must also be listed, with the inscription details from the Registro de Hipotecas y Gravámenes of the CBR.

Movable Registered Assets (Bienes Muebles Registrables): Vehicles identified by patent number and inscription in the Registro de Vehículos Motorizados, including commercial value; vessels registered in the Directemar; and aircraft registered in the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC).

Financial Assets: Bank accounts (Banco Estado, Banco Santander Chile, BCI, Banco de Chile, Scotiabank Chile, Itaú Chile, and others) identified by account number and balance; AFP pension savings (Cuenta de Capitalización Individual) from AFP Habitat, AFP Provida, AFP Capital, AFP Cuprum, AFP Planvital, or AFP Uno; mutual fund units (cuotas de fondos mutuos); stock holdings (acciones en bolsa) registered in the Depósito Central de Valores (DCV); and life insurance policies (pólizas de seguro de vida) that form part of the estate.

Business Interests: Shares (acciones) in Sociedades Anónimas (SA) registered in the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) or CBR; quotas (cuotas) in Sociedades de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL); shares (acciones) in Sociedades por Acciones (SpA); and stakes in Empresas Individuales de Responsabilidad Limitada (EIRL). Each business interest must be valued based on the entity's libro mayor or last audited financial statements.

Liabilities and Debts: All debts and obligations of the deceased at the time of death, including outstanding mortgage balances, unsecured loans (créditos de consumo), credit card debt, tax liabilities owed to the SII, pending obligations to the AFP or FONASA/ISAPRE, and any court judgments (sentencias) creating monetary obligations.

Notarial or Judicial Authorization: For a solemn inventory under CPC Article 858, the document must be authorized by a Notario Público or conducted under judicial supervision (diligencias judiciales) of the Juzgado Civil. All interested parties must be cited (notificados) before the inventory is taken, and any objections must be recorded. Forms-legal.com provides this Inventario de Bienes Hereditarios Chile template as a reference document; every solemn inventory should be conducted by a licensed Abogado and authorized by a Notario Público to comply with Código Civil Article 1253 requirements. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.