hello.

Hello Mehmet,

Unfortunately it is very difficult for foreigners to find employment in Brazil unless they are graduated in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) areas.

Brazilian law requires employers to clearly demonstrate that they have exhausted all avenues of placing qualified Brazilians in vacancies before they can hire a foreigner.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

My late husband's divorced father, a Polish national, died in 1981 in Uba and was buried in Tocantins. He had property. Can you recommend the cheapest way of finding out etc.:
1. If there was a valid will, or did he bequeath all to someone before his death.
2. if he was married again/divorced and had issue.
I found recently, after decades of silence,a distant relative in Brazil who gave me some information. I have 3 daughters. My husband had willed (in Israel)all his property to me. Who are my father-in-law's legal heirs in Brazil?
Sorry for the wrong forum subject. Could not find a matching one!
Ada Brodetsky,

Hi besso79,

Well, I'm probably not going to be giving you very good news.

Even if you have supporting documents (i.e. birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, etc.) for everyone involved it's going to be a very tough row to hoe. You certainly wouldn't be able to even begin searching without the assistance of a reliable lawyer in Ubá, Minas Gerais (if that is where your deceased father-in-law resided). There are numerous Cartórios (Registries) in Brazil and a lawyer would have to track down the correct one in order to find any existing Will.

If there was property at the time of his death and you know where it is a lawyer can start checking with the local Land Registry (Cartório de Registro de Imóveis) to see if is still registered in his name or has already been otherwise disposed of.

If there were living issue in Brazil it is likely that the property and any other assets have already been disbursed. If there are no living issue in Brazil you would really need a Will, which at this late date may not even help. If there was no Will the estate of the deceased has probably long since passed to the State, been transferred to new ownership as a result of legal occupation/squatter's rights (Lei de Usucapião, which gives legal ownership to occupants after five years of uncontested peaceful occupation) or been purchased for outstanding taxes. All of the foregoing are very real possibilities.

Unless you're talking about a tract of land the size of a small town I'd say you are probably going to be pouring your money into a hole in the ground, unfortunately.

If you need any further information please feel free to contact me by private message. I will give you any information or advice that I possibly can.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi again Ada,

Almost forgot, if the property still exists, hasn't passed to other owners or to the state and their are no living heirs in Brazil then yes, you would be the legal owner in that the property would have passed to your husband and subsequently to you upon his death since all his assets were Willed to you.

In legal terms, all valid Wills (from anywhere in the world) are valid in Brazil, albeit interpreted by Brazilian laws; regardless of the fact that they are written in a foreign language.

There is a lot of bureaucracy involved and, of course, you'd need official translations (done in Brazil) of supporting documents which can be expensive, but in legal terms you should have no great difficulty establishing the line of succession and thus your legal rights to the property, should it exist unincumbered.

If the land is recoverable you will also be required to pay any outstanding land taxes (if any) and succession duties out of the proceeds of the estate. Whatever they are only a lawyer can tell you for certain.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team