Portugal · Inheritance · Fixed-fee law firm
Registering inherited property into the heirs' names
When someone dies, their Portuguese property stays in their name at the land registry until it is formally transferred to the people who inherit. We handle that registration for you — the documents, the tax filing and the Conservatória — for a fixed fee, without you leaving home.
You don’t have to become an expert in the Portuguese land registry overnight — that’s our job. Registering an inherited property into the heirs’ names is the step that finally puts the home in the family’s name, so it can be kept, transferred or sold.
If you need the whole estate dealt with — proving the heirs, the tax, the bank accounts as well as the property — that is our succession administration service, and the registration is included in that fixed fee.
What we do
We register the inherited property into the heirs’ names at the Portuguese land registry (Conservatória do Registo Predial), with all the supporting documentation and official procedures handled for you, and the title confirmed clean once the transfer is complete.
- We check the existing registry and tax records for the property, and put right any gaps that would hold the transfer up.
- We make the property stamp-duty filing the registry requires (the Imposto do Selo: no tax for the spouse, an unmarried partner of more than two years, children, grandchildren and parents; other heirs pay 10%), and obtain the tax clearance.
- We submit the registration to the Conservatória and see it through to a clean, confirmed title in the heirs’ names.
We act for you under a power of attorney, so you never need to travel to Portugal, and everything is handled in plain English.
When it's included, and when it's a service on its own
When we settle the whole Portuguese estate for you, registering the property into the heirs’ names is part of that fixed fee — there is no separate charge.
This page is for the times you need the registration on its own: a Portuguese property your home-country lawyer is administering as part of an estate abroad, an additional Portuguese property, or a title that was simply never transferred into the heirs’ names after an earlier death.
A typical situation
David’s father had died some years ago, and the family had dealt with the English estate at the time — but the small apartment in the Algarve was never put into the children’s names, and now they wanted to sell it. There was nothing else left to do in Portugal; they just needed the title moved across. We obtained the missing documents, made the stamp-duty filing, and registered the apartment into the three children’s names — ready to sell — without any of them travelling.
Our fee
A fixed fee, agreed in writing before we start, with third-party costs (the registry and tax fees) shown separately — never folded into our fee.
- Included when we are settling the estate for you — registering the property into the heirs’ names is part of that fixed fee, with no separate charge.
- €1,200 + VAT as a standalone instruction — where the estate is being handled elsewhere, there is an additional property, or a title was never transferred after an earlier death.
VAT is charged at the Portuguese rate (currently 23%) and always shown separately, so our fee is clear.
How long it takes
Once we have the documents in order, the registry itself typically completes the transfer within 2 to 4 weeks of submission. We coordinate directly with the Conservatória and keep you updated at each stage.
Common questions
How much does it cost to register inherited property in Portugal?
When we settle the whole estate for you, registering the property into the heirs' names is part of that fixed fee — no separate charge. As a standalone instruction it is €1,200 + VAT, with the registry and tax fees shown separately.
Do I need to travel to Portugal to register the property?
No. We act under a power of attorney and handle the land registry (Conservatória) and the tax filing remotely, in plain English.
How long does registering inherited property in Portugal take?
Once the documents are in order, the registry typically completes the transfer within 2 to 4 weeks of submission. We coordinate directly with the Conservatória and keep you updated.