The legal framework
The Código Civil y Comercial (Civil and Commercial Code) of 2015, articles 2277 to 2531, sets the reserved shares (legítimas): two thirds of the estate for descendants, half for ascendants, half for the spouse; the freely disposable share (porción disponible) is therefore one third when there are descendants, and the testator may in addition favour an heir with a disability by up to one third (mejora). Without a will, the descendants inherit, and the spouse shares with them by taking a child's share of the deceased's own property (bienes propios) — and nothing as heir from the common property (gananciales), of which he or she already receives half as a partner in the community —; then come the ascendants together with the spouse, the spouse alone, collateral relatives to the fourth degree and finally the State. An unmarried partner in a unión convivencial (cohabiting union) does not inherit: he or she has only a free right to live in the home for two years. A will is made by public deed before an escribano (notary) or by hand (testamento ológrafo: handwritten, dated and signed). Every succession is judicial — a declaratoria de herederos (declaration of heirs) or the court's approval of the will — and requires a lawyer. There is no national inheritance tax, only the tax on the free transfer of property (impuesto a la transmisión gratuita de bienes) of the province of Buenos Aires. When an estate has a foreign element, article 2644 of the Code applies the law of the deceased's last domicile, but Argentine law to immovable property situated in Argentina.
Many British, Irish and Anglo-Argentine families have an inheritance tie to Argentina: an estancia handed down since the nineteenth century, a flat in Buenos Aires, a parent who settled there or stayed behind when the rest of the family left. The two legal systems start from opposite ends. English law lets you leave your estate as you wish; Argentine law reserves two thirds to the children — it was four fifths until 2015 — and gives the surviving spouse a fixed place among the heirs, on top of half the common property. In return, Argentina has no national inheritance tax, only a provincial tax in the province of Buenos Aires, but the procedure is always judicial: even a simple estate with a will and a single heir goes before a judge, with a lawyer.
There is no UK-Argentina treaty on successions or on inheritance tax, and no EU regulation applies. Argentine law looks at the last domicile: the estate of a British national domiciled in Argentina falls under Argentine law, legítima included, and land in Argentina always does, even when the owner died in the UK — it then goes through an Argentine succession before an Argentine judge, while the rest of the estate goes through UK probate. A clause choosing English law, which works in Spain under the EU regulation, has no such effect in Argentina. Tax follows its own rules: the UK charges inheritance tax at 40 % above the nil-rate band on the worldwide estate of a long-term UK resident — the test that replaced domicile in April 2025 — and on the UK assets of anyone else, generally with a credit for foreign tax on the same assets; in Ireland, capital acquisitions tax may apply when the deceased or the heir is resident there.
Key points
| Legítima (reserved shares) | Two thirds for descendants; half for ascendants; half for the spouse; an extra advantage of up to one third possible for an heir with a disability |
|---|---|
| Without a will | Descendants + spouse (a child's share of the deceased's own property), ascendants + spouse, spouse alone, collaterals to the fourth degree, the State |
| Common property | Half goes to the spouse as a partner in the community; the other half is divided among the heirs |
| Unmarried partner | Does not inherit; free right of habitation in the home for two years |
| Will | By public deed before an escribano, or holographic (handwritten, dated and signed); registries of wills kept by the colegios de escribanos |
| Procedure | Judicial succession before the judge of the last domicile (or of the place of the Argentine land for someone domiciled abroad): declaration of heirs or approval of the will, inventory, partition; six months to two years |
| Tax | No national tax; tax on the free transfer of property in the province of Buenos Aires (up to 22 %, above an exempt minimum); court fee (tasa de justicia) of 1.5 % in the City of Buenos Aires |
| Costs | Court fee, lawyers' fees (set at 3 to 6 % depending on the jurisdiction), escribano for the registrations |
| British and Irish nationals | Argentine law for the estate of anyone last domiciled in Argentina, and always for land in Argentina; no UK-Argentina treaty; UK inheritance tax for long-term UK residents, generally with credit for foreign tax |
In practice
- Make a will by public deed before an escribano if you want to use the freely disposable third — a legacy to an unmarried partner, an advantage for one child, better protection for the spouse — or to exclude an heir for unworthiness (indignidad); a testator who does not speak Spanish signs with an interpreter. A British resident with assets in both countries is well advised to keep an Argentine will for property in Argentina and a UK will for UK assets, each drafted so as not to revoke the other.
- On a death, open the succession with a lawyer before the civil court of the last domicile — or of the place where the Argentine land lies if the deceased was domiciled abroad: certificates, publication of notices (edictos), declaration of heirs within a few months.
- Register the declaratoria with the property and vehicle registries and present it to the banks; the partition can be agreed among the heirs. In the province of Buenos Aires, settle the tax on the free transfer of property with ARBA (the provincial tax agency).
- Heirs living in the UK or Ireland produce their birth and marriage certificates with an apostille — from the FCDO Legalisation Office for UK documents — and a translation by an Argentine traductor público (sworn public translator), and can give a power of attorney, signed before a notary and apostilled, to an Argentine lawyer so as not to travel; in Argentina, the British Embassy in Buenos Aires offers notarial services.
- An unmarried partner must be protected by a will, within the free third, or by other means — life insurance, a gift with a reserved usufruct —, and, for assets in the UK, by a UK will.
Cost and coverage
Court fee (tasa de justicia) of 1.5 % in the City of Buenos Aires, or similar elsewhere; lawyers' fees of 3 to 6 % of the value of the estate according to each jurisdiction's scale; an escribano for the registrations. No national tax; the provincial tax only in the province of Buenos Aires. On the UK side, the FCDO charges a fee for each apostille, sworn translations are charged by the page, and UK inheritance tax, where due, is 40 % above the nil-rate band.
Recent changes
The 2015 Code reduced the descendants' reserved share from four fifths to two thirds and created the extra advantage for an heir with a disability; the two-year right of habitation remains the unmarried partner's only protection. Several provinces have moved successions online since 2020. In the UK, liability to inheritance tax on worldwide assets has depended on long-term residence rather than domicile since April 2025.
Where to go
- Civil courts (juzgados civiles) of the deceased's last domicile or of the place where the land lies.
- Colegios de escribanos (notaries' associations): wills and registries of wills; colegios de abogados (bar associations): representation, free advice for small estates.
- ARBA (province of Buenos Aires): tax on the free transfer of property.
- British Embassy in Buenos Aires: consular assistance after the death of a British national, notarial services; HMRC for UK inheritance tax; Irish citizens: Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires.
Worth knowing
Argentina requires a judicial succession with a lawyer even with a will and a single heir: budget for the fees (3 to 6 %) and the court fee. An unmarried partner, even after thirty years, inherits nothing without a will — only two years in the home. And English testamentary freedom does not cross the border: land in Argentina, and the whole estate of anyone last domiciled there, follow the Argentine legítima, two thirds for the children, whatever an English will says.
Frequently asked questions
Can I leave everything to my wife, as I could in England?
Not if you have children or surviving parents and Argentine law governs your estate — which it does for land in Argentina, and for everything if your last domicile is there. With children, two thirds are reserved to them: you can leave your wife the freely disposable third on top of what the law already gives her, namely half of the common property as a partner in the community and a child's share of your own property. With no descendants and no parents, the spouse is your only reserved heir and nothing stops you leaving her everything. Do it in an Argentine will before an escribano and, for assets in the UK, in a UK will.
My father died in England and left a flat in Buenos Aires: what do we do?
In practice there are two successions: UK probate for the estate in the UK, and an Argentine succession for the flat, before the judge of the place where it is and with an Argentine lawyer, under Argentine law (two thirds reserved to the children). The UK death and birth certificates, apostilled by the FCDO Legalisation Office and translated by a traductor público, are enough to open it, and a power of attorney spares you the journey. There is no inheritance tax in the City of Buenos Aires, only the court fee; UK inheritance tax may be due if your father was a long-term UK resident.
Is my English will valid in Argentina?
As to form, yes: an English will is accepted in Argentina. But it cannot get round the Argentine legítima for land in Argentina, nor for the rest of the estate if your last domicile is in Argentina, and it still has to go through the Argentine court for approval, with the necessary apostilles and a sworn translation. For a life split between the two countries, the usual answer is an Argentine will before an escribano for Argentine property alongside your English will, drafted so that neither revokes the other.
Official sources and links
- Civil and Commercial Code — Book V, transmission of rights on death (articles 2277-2531) — official text
- Colegio de Escribanos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires — wills — information
- ARBA — tax on the free transfer of property — province of Buenos Aires
- British Embassy Buenos Aires — consular assistance and notarial services
- argentina.gob.ar — official portal of the Argentine state: procedures, civil registry, migration, health, justice
- Normativa nacional (InfoLeg) — official texts of Argentine laws and decrees
- British Embassy Buenos Aires — gov.uk — consular help, notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Argentina