Brazil reserves half of an estate for forced heirs no matter what your will says, and an estate left loose is settled through probate that can run for years. A properly built holding does the planning while you are alive — lawfully, on the record, in your name.
The fact that catches most foreigners with Brazilian property or investments is succession, not tax. Brazilian law imposes forced heirship (legítima): regardless of what your home-country will says, half of the estate is reserved by law for necessary heirs — descendants, ascendants, and the spouse — and only the other half is freely disposable. You cannot disinherit your way around it, and a foreign trust does not override it for assets that sit in Brazil. The right response is not secrecy or relocation of paper; it is organizing the assets, lawfully and on the record, while you are alive to do it.
The standard vehicle is the holding patrimonial — a sociedade limitada (LTDA) that owns the family's real estate and investments instead of holding them in personal name. Properties are contributed to the company at the cartório de registro de imóveis, the family members become quotaholders, and the company's articles (contrato social) carry the clauses that do the real work: usufruct retained by the parents so they keep income and control (doação com reserva de usufruto), and inalienability, incommunicability, and impenhorability clauses (Código Civil art. 1.911) that shield quotas from an heir's divorce and, within limits, from an heir's creditors. A succession map then moves quotas to the next generation by lifetime gift now rather than through probate later. Done correctly, the legítima is still respected — but the partition that would otherwise paralyze a family for years is settled in advance, in a document everyone signed.
This is legitimate structuring, not evasion, and the distinction is the whole point. Foreign capital that bought the assets has to have come in through the documented exchange channel and be registered with the Central Bank (SCE-IED) so it can leave again; the holding's income is declared, and the gift of quotas triggers state ITCMD. The structure interlocks with your home-country estate plan rather than hiding from it. We are also clear about cost: the government charges — ITBI on property transfers, ITCMD on gifts, cartório and notary fees, any capital-gains tax — are paid to the State and the registries at cost, separate from our fee; we map them before anything moves so there are no surprises. We build it this way deliberately, because a holding that looks like concealment is worse than no holding at all — and because we coordinate the work with the inheritance and tax sides of the practice rather than treating it as a standalone trick.
Every price is itemized like an honest receipt — our flat fee, plus each government, registry and translation charge, estimated high so the number only ever moves down. Add a package to your cart and pay online, or request a quote for anything bespoke. Only value-based taxes are billed at cost; the final fee is confirmed in your engagement letter.
We map your Brazilian assets and heirs and tell you whether a holding beats a will for you — with the forced-heirship limits spelled out.
A Brazilian will drafted to work alongside your home-country one and to respect the reserved legítima. Notary and registry fees billed separately at cost.
LTDA formed with succession clauses, CNPJ, SCE-IED registration of foreign capital, and titled property contributed at the registry. ITBI, ITCMD, cartório and notary charges paid to the government at cost.
Full succession planning, layered holdings, mixed home-country and Brazilian estates, or contested family arrangements. Scope and fee set in writing after review.
All-in estimates for English-speaking service to foreigners, with every fee we can foresee rounded up. Two cases with the same label can differ in scope — your engagement letter sets the final, written fee, and lines marked “at cost” (value-based taxes like ITBI and ITCMD) are passed through with receipts. Contested or litigated matters are quoted individually, never sold off a price list.
We map what you own in Brazil, who the necessary heirs are, and whether a holding actually beats a will in your situation — with the trade-offs spelled out.
Ownership, usufruct, succession clauses, the gifting schedule, and the ITBI/ITCMD/capital-gains cost of moving assets in — decided before anything is filed.
LTDA registered, CNPJ issued, foreign capital registered, and titled property contributed at the registry. Government and registry charges paid at cost.
Quotas gifted into the next generation with the reserved share preserved, ITCMD paid to the State, and the structure documented end to end.
Add a package above to start online, or describe your situation and a lawyer replies within one business day — no obligation, no hourly meter.