Author: Brian Holm

Boa tarde! Does anyone have experience with getting a will drafted here in Portugal which states your U.S. will should be followed? I’ve reached out to some lawyers in the area, the price has been very high and I have been asked to provide what we would like the PT will to state! Words of wisdom and personal lawyer recommendations would be appreciated. Obrigada! ... See MoreSee Less

I don't know if anyone has posted this recently, but the online automatic renewal of residency permits is up and functioning on the SEF/AIMA website.

Just login as usual and it will offer the option now if your renewal date was anytime in the 4th quarter of 2023, or within the next 30 days ... See MoreSee Less

Has anyone here dealt with the death of their spouse in Portugal? My husband passed away December 5th. I thought we were being smart and had covered our bases by having a Portuguese will made back in June. Our Portuguese will defers to our California will, in which the surviving spouse inherits 100% of the assets. As you may know, Portuguese inheritance law is very different: spouse gets something like 51% and the rest is divided amongst the children.

Anyway, it seems like it is still a difficult process. When I notified the bank of his death, with PT will in hand, they still froze half my account. They have to be satisfied that it is legal in the state of California to leave 100% of assets to the surviving spouse. To prove this, and to make a document called Habilitação de Herdeiros, I need to get a document called "Declaration of Law" or something from a California attorney or notary, and this document needs to be apostiled. The firm who did my California will declines to help (my original attorney has retired), saying it's beyond the scope of their business.

I googled "Declaration of Law" State of California and got no results - so maybe I'm not even asking for the right thing. My PT solicitor has given me a list of CA attorneys to ask, but I thought maybe someone here has personal experience.

Does anyone have a clue what this is and is it possible to find my way out of this mess?

Thanks for your attention. ... See MoreSee Less