The Balcão das Heranças is Portugal's public one-stop desk for estates: heirs' deed, division and registrations in a single appointment. An excellent entry point — with limits every heir abroad should know before booking a slot.
What you can do there
- The habilitação de herdeiros — the deed establishing who inherits;
- The division of the estate, when all heirs agree;
- Immediate registration of properties in the heirs' names;
- All at regulated prices (a simple heirs' deed runs a few hundred euros; deed + division + registrations, a set higher bracket).
Its limits
- It requires everyone's agreement — it resolves neither conflicts nor missing heirs;
- Physical presence or a power of attorney with adequate powers;
- No strategic advice (sell or keep? at what value? taxed how at home?);
- It does not handle the sale itself — only ownership;
- Foreign documents still need apostilles and translations.
Balcão or notary?
For simple, consensual files, the Balcão is efficient and economical. Complex wills, heirs across several countries, minors or large estates justify the notary + lawyer route, which allows more flexibility in structuring the division.
How HERDA fits in
HERDA replaces neither the Balcão nor the notary: we prepare everything upstream (checklists, NIFs, bilingual powers of attorney, translations, valuation, the heirs' agreement itself) and coordinate independent partner lawyers — so that your appointment at the desk is a formality, not an odyssey from across the ocean.