Personal Property Inventory Mexico (Inventario de Bienes Personales)

A Personal Property Inventory Mexico (Inventario de Bienes Personales) is a detailed written document cataloguing all assets — movable and immovable, tangible and intangible — that form an individual's patrimony (patrimonio personal) under Mexican civil law. Governed principally by Articles 1712 through 1724 of the Código Civil Federal (CCF), published in the DOF in multiple parts between 1928 and 1932 and substantially reformed through 2025, the inventory provides a systematic record of the owner's legal and economic position at a given point in time for estate planning, testamentary documentation, legal administration, or financial planning purposes.

The Código Civil Federal Article 1704 establishes that the patrimony of a natural person consists of all assets (bienes), rights (derechos), and obligations (obligaciones) with economic value. Article 750 CCF defines bienes inmuebles (immovable property) as real estate and all that is permanently attached to the land by nature or by the owner's act. Article 752 CCF defines bienes muebles (movable property) as all those not classified as immovable — including vehicles, furniture, machinery, artwork, jewellery, bank deposits, securities, intellectual property rights, and other assets that can be physically moved without damage to the thing itself or to the immovable to which they belong.

Articles 1712 through 1724 CCF govern the formal albacea (executor) inventory process in succession proceedings, requiring the albacea appointed by the testator or by the competent court to prepare a formal inventory of all hereditary assets within a juicio sucesorio (probate proceeding). However, the Personal Property Inventory Mexico document serves a broader purpose than the formal succession inventory: individuals use it proactively as part of their estate planning strategy to document their assets before death, thereby simplifying the albacea's task, facilitating the preparation of a testamento (will) under Articles 1295 through 1312 CCF, and enabling trusted family members or advisers to understand the full scope of the estate.

The Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) requires heirs and donees to report inherited and gifted assets through the annual Declaración del Impuesto sobre la Renta (ISR) or specific informative returns when the inherited assets include real estate, significant investments, or business interests. A properly documented Personal Property Inventory provides the data needed to accurately complete these SAT filings. The Registro Público de la Propiedad (RPP) — administered by state governments under Article 3003 CCF — records real estate titles and encumbrances; the inventory must reflect the RPP-registered status of each immovable property to be legally accurate.

For financial planning, Mexican banks and insurance companies (aseguradoras) regulated by the CNBV and CNSF require detailed asset inventories when processing life insurance (seguro de vida) claims, designating beneficiaries in AFORE retirement accounts under the CONSAR framework, or establishing trust arrangements (fideicomisos) with SOFOM E.R. or banca múltiple institutions under the Ley de Instituciones de Crédito. The Personal Property Inventory serves as the primary reference document for all these financial planning activities.

From a tax perspective, the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) may audit an individual's declared patrimony against third-party information received through CFDI transactions, financial institution reporting under the Ley de Instituciones de Crédito, and international automatic exchange of information under the OCDE Common Reporting Standard (CRS) implemented in Mexico through amendments to the Código Fiscal de la Federación. A current and accurate Personal Property Inventory enables timely and accurate responses to SAT verification requests (cartas invitación and revisiones de gabinete) and reduces the risk of unjustified tax assessments arising from discrepancies between declared assets and third-party financial data.

A Personal Property Inventory Mexico is needed in a wide range of personal, legal, and financial circumstances where a full record of an individual's assets is required under Mexican law or for practical planning purposes.

The inventory is essential when preparing a testamento (will) under Articles 1295–1312 of the Código Civil Federal. A well-drafted will references specific assets by their legal description, registration number, or identifying characteristics — without a current inventory, the testator may omit assets from the will, creating intestate succession complications or disputes among heirs before the Tribunal Superior de Justicia of the competent state. Notarios Públicos who draft testamentos in Mexico consistently advise clients to prepare or update a Personal Property Inventory before the will-drafting appointment.

The document is required when establishing a fideicomiso testamentario (testamentary trust) or a fideicomiso de administración (administration trust) under Articles 381 through 407 of the Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito (LGTOC) with a Mexican bank (fiduciaria) as trustee. Banks require complete asset identification for the trust corpus (patrimonio fideicomitido), including legal descriptions, registration numbers, approximate values, and encumbrances, before accepting the assets into trust management.

A Personal Property Inventory is needed when a married couple living under the régimen de sociedad conyugal (community property regime) under Articles 182 through 206 CCF decides to segregate community assets from separate property — the inventory documents the state of each spouse's individual patrimony before and after the dissolution of the community property, which the Notario Público requires when formalising the dissolución de la sociedad conyugal.

In divorce proceedings before Mexican family courts (juzgados familiares), the inventory serves as the foundational document for the liquidación de la sociedad conyugal (community property division) and for alimony (alimentos) assessment under Articles 288 through 342 CCF. Courts use asset inventories to ensure equitable distribution.

The document is also required when applying for a Mexican mortgage (crédito hipotecario) through INFONAVIT, FOVISSSTE, or private banks under the Ley de Instituciones de Crédito, as lenders require evidence of the borrower's total asset position to assess repayment capacity. Similarly, private wealth managers (gestores de patrimonio) and certified financial planners (Planificadores Financieros Certificados — PFC) licensed by the AMIB (Asociación Mexicana de Intermediarios Bursátiles) require full asset inventories before developing investment or estate planning strategies.

A thorough Personal Property Inventory Mexico that satisfies civil law documentation standards under the Código Civil Federal and serves practical estate planning, financial, and legal purposes must include the following elements.

Owner Identification: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes), CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población), official identification type and number, domicile, marital status, and matrimonial property regime (separación de bienes or sociedad conyugal) under Articles 178–206 CCF. If assets are jointly owned (copropiedad under Articles 938–979 CCF), all co-owners must be identified with their respective ownership percentages. The RFC is particularly important for SAT reporting of inherited or transferred assets.

Immovable Property (Bienes Inmuebles): For each real estate asset — urban or rural — the inventory must record: the full legal description (descripción jurídica) matching the Registro Público de la Propiedad inscription, including state, municipality, colony, street address, surface area (metros cuadrados de terreno y construcción), and lot and folio numbers; the escritura pública (notarial deed) number, date, and Notario Público who executed it; the folio real or folio mercantil registration number in the Registro Público de la Propiedad; the current estimated market value (valor de mercado) and the catastral value (valor catastral) assigned by the municipal catastro; any encumbrances (gravámenes) including mortgages (hipotecas), usufructs (usufructos), and easements (servidumbres) registered in the RPP; and whether the property is subject to the predial municipal tax (impuesto predial) and the current payment status.

Vehicles and Transportation Assets: For automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and trailers — the make, model, year, colour, licence plate (placas), Vehicle Identification Number (NIV/VIN), and Tenencia or ISAN tax payment status; for aircraft (aeronaves) registered with the DGAC (Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil), the registration folio; for watercraft (embarcaciones) registered with the SEMAR (Secretaría de Marina), the registration number.

Financial Assets: Bank account numbers (CLABE interbancaria) and balances at each institution; investment portfolio accounts (cuentas de inversión bursátil) at casas de bolsa (brokerage firms) with AMIB membership; AFORE retirement account balance and AFORE name (managed under CONSAR oversight); insurance policies (pólizas de seguro de vida, gastos médicos mayores, daños) with policy numbers, sums insured, and designated beneficiaries; government bond holdings (CETES, BONDES, UDIBONOS) in the CETES Directo platform; and shares in corporations (acciones de sociedades mercantiles) with the company name, RFC, number of shares held, and percentage of capital.

Business Interests: Participation in partnerships (partes sociales en sociedades de responsabilidad limitada under the Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles), nominal value per part and total capital contribution; shares in Sociedades Anónimas (SA or SA de CV); participation in civil associations (asociaciones civiles under Articles 2670–2687 CCF); and any interest in a fideicomiso as fideicomitente or fideicomisario.

Personal Property of Significant Value: Jewellery, watches, and precious metals with approximate appraised value; artwork, antiques, and collectibles with provenance documentation; firearms registered with the SEDENA (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional) under the Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos; and intellectual property rights including patents (patentes) registered with the IMPI (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial) under the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial.

Forms-legal.com provides this Personal Property Inventory Mexico as an organisational and planning tool. For inventories used in formal succession proceedings under the CCF, a Notario Público must formalise the document as a protocolización or as an acta notarial under Article 100 of the Ley del Notariado applicable in the relevant state.