Organizing and protecting a family's estate is, at bottom, a series of legal decisions taken in time: which property regime suits the couple, how the home is protected, with which figure the business is separated from the household, how the succession is prepared. None of those decisions requires you to be a lawyer; they do require someone with legal judgment to look at them as a whole and in order. This guide is about that role: the estate lawyer.
Here you will find what exactly an estate lawyer does, how they differ from a tax adviser and from a corporate lawyer, what the signs are that you need one now, what usually goes wrong when you do without one, how to check the credentials of anyone offering you their services, how fees are agreed and what they can —and cannot— promise you with the law in hand. We have written it the way we would like it to be explained to you: without promises, with verifiable rules and with our feet in practice.
The essentials
If you could keep only a few ideas in mind before hiring, keep these:
- Family property and estate law puts in order the relationship between your assets and your ties: partner, children, business, inheritance and creditors. It is not the same as tax law or as corporate law, although they overlap.
- An estate lawyer does six things: assesses your situation, defines the couple's property regime with you, protects the home, structures the family business, prepares the succession and reviews everything periodically.
- There are moments that cannot wait: you are about to marry or to start living together, you start a business or sign sureties, you buy a home, you receive an inheritance or you see a lawsuit coming.
- Improvising is expensive: badly constituted figures do not protect, simulaciones produce no effect against third parties (art. 1766 of the Código Civil), and transferring assets with debts hanging over you can be rescinded (art. 2491 of the Código Civil).
- Always check your lawyer: the tarjeta profesional can be looked up online in the Registro Nacional de Abogados (SIRNA), and the disciplinary record before the Comisión Nacional de Disciplina Judicial.
- No one can guarantee you the outcome: promising it is a disciplinary offense on the lawyer's part (art. 34, lit. b, Ley 1123 de 2007). Anyone who guarantees it disqualifies themselves.
- Fees are agreed in writing, on an equitable basis and with a receipt for every payment (art. 28, num. 8, Ley 1123 de 2007).
- What you tell your lawyer is protected: "Professional secrecy is inviolable" (art. 74 of the Constitución).
- Demand a written plan with scenarios, documents and a review calendar; serious estate advice is not a stand-alone formality.
What family property and estate law is (and what it is not)
Family property and estate law is the body of rules —mainly civil and family rules— that govern assets by reference to personal ties. It comprises the property regimes of marriage and of the unión marital de hecho (sociedad conyugal, sociedad patrimonial, capitulaciones, separation of property), the statutory protections of the home (afectación a vivienda familiar and patrimonio de familia), the transfer of assets on death (the will, the allocations, the succession), lifetime gifts, the administration of the children's assets and the boundaries of the estate as against third parties, in particular as against creditors.
It is worth setting it apart from two neighboring disciplines with which it is often confused:
It is not tax law. The accountant and the tax adviser deal with filing, recording and optimizing the tax burden within the law. The estate lawyer deals with something else: the legal design of the structure —who owns what, under which figure, with what protections and under what rules of transfer—. Both are needed, because almost every estate figure has tax effects (a gift, a ganancia ocasional in the succession, the sale of a property), but neither replaces the other. If someone offers to "organize your estate" while talking only about taxes, they are showing you only one side of the problem.
It is not pure corporate law. The corporate lawyer serves the company: bylaws, meetings, contracts, directors' liability. The estate lawyer looks at the family as a unit: what happens to the shares in the event of divorce, death or attachment; how to keep the business from dragging the house down with it; how heirs and shareholders coexist. There is an obvious zone of overlap —the family business and its protocol— and that is precisely where a professional who commands both languages adds the most value.
And one more boundary, which we want to make clear from the outset: organizing an estate is not hiding it. Legitimate estate planning is done with legal figures, in good time and without harming third parties' rights. The other thing has names of its own in the Código Civil and serious consequences, as we will see further on.
What exactly an estate lawyer does
The label can sound abstract, so let us bring it down to concrete tasks. A serious estate lawyer works on six fronts:
1. Assessment. Before proposing anything, they draw the full map: an inventory of assets and debts, titles and folios de matrícula, the real civil status (earlier marriages, unformalized de facto unions, sociedades conyugales never liquidated), sureties signed, insurance, stakes in companies. In our practice, a good part of the serious problems we have seen did not arise from a bad figure, but from an assessment that was never made: "what was visible" was organized, and what was left out was the earlier unliquidated union or the forgotten surety.
2. The couple's property regime. Explains to you which property regime applies by default to your marriage or to your cohabitation, which assets will be common property and which will remain your own, and whether capitulaciones (marital property agreements) are advisable before marrying or before the time limits of the unión marital de hecho (a Colombian statutory institution; not common-law marriage) are met. Time matters here: the sociedad patrimonial (the union's statutory property regime) between compañeros permanentes has rules and time limits of its own, which we develop in the de facto marital union (unión marital de hecho, a Colombian statutory institution; not the same as common-law marriage); and the financial effects of a breakup, in divorce in Colombia.
3. Protecting the home. Decides with you, according to your case, between the afectación a vivienda familiar (the family-dwelling encumbrance) and the patrimonio de familia inembargable (the family homestead exempt from attachment, a Colombian statutory protection), checks that the figure is properly constituted and properly registered, and warns you of its real limits (neither protects against everything). The in-depth analysis of those two figures is in the unattachable patrimonio de familia.
4. Structuring the family business. Legally separates the company's cash from the household's: chooses the right corporate vehicle, reviews how the assets have been contributed, sizes up guarantees and sureties, and —in family businesses— coordinates bylaws, shareholders' agreements and the family protocol so that the succession does not bring operations to a halt.
5. Succession. Prepares the transfer: a properly drafted will, respect for the forced allocations the law imposes, partitions and lifetime gifts where they fit, insurance beneficiaries, and consistency between the will and the companies' bylaws. Why this prevents lawsuits among heirs is something we address in depth in the importance of a lawyer in succession proceedings.
6. Periodic review. An estate structure is not a photograph, it is a film: children are born, assets are sold, debts are taken on, laws change. A good lawyer agrees in advance on a review calendar and on warning criteria for updating whatever needs updating.
Note one thing: almost everything above rests on concrete instruments —capitulaciones, the afectación, the patrimonio de familia, the fiducia (a Colombian fiduciary trust, not an Anglo-American trust), the will, insurance, companies—. The full catalog of those tools, with their advantages and their limits, is in the strategies for protecting your assets; the lawyer's role is to choose the right ones for you, set them up properly and keep them alive.
Signs that you need estate advice now
You do not have to be a wealthy family to need an estate lawyer; you have to be at one of these moments. If you recognize yourself in any of them, the consultation should not be put off:
- You are about to marry or to start living together. If you do not define the financial rules, the law defines them for you, and you will find out what was common property and what was not when it is already too late to agree on it. Capitulaciones can only be made in time.
- You are about to start a business or sign sureties. A surety or a co-debt commits your personal estate, not only the business's. Before signing is the moment to separate structures and to measure the real reach of the guarantee.
- You are about to buy a home. The escritura (the notarial deed) settles decisions that are hard to undo: whose name the property is put in, with what protection, and whose signature will be needed to dispose of it later.
- You have received or are about to receive an inheritance or a gift. Accepting, dividing and registering without a plan produces endless co-ownerships and avoidable tax burdens.
- You see a lawsuit or a debt crisis coming. This is the most delicate moment: there may still be room for legitimate decisions, but every week narrows it, and last-minute ways out tend to make the problem worse.
- Your estate has grown or become complex. More than one property, stakes in companies, assets abroad, a blended family with children from different unions: the simple structure that served you at 30 no longer serves you.
Each of these moments in life is developed on its own —what should be reviewed when you marry, when you start a business, when you inherit— in when to organize your estate. The point of this guide is a different one: here what interests us is that you know with whom to go through those moments, and how to choose well.
What happens when an estate is organized without a lawyer
We say this without drama, because we see it often: most estate disasters do not come from having done nothing, but from having done something halfway. Four failure modes recur:
Mistakes at the notary's office and at the registry. In Colombia, rights over real property live in the registry, not in a paper kept in a drawer. An afectación a vivienda familiar is enforceable against third parties only from the moment it is recorded in the folio de matrícula inmobiliaria, the property's land registry folio (Ley 258 de 1996, art. 5); a deed granted and never registered offers little protection. The notario (a civil-law notary who gives public faith to deeds, unlike a U.S. notary public) also has precise duties in these transactions —inquiring about civil status and leaving the required records (art. 6)—, and the law itself punishes harshly any act that disregards the protection: "Legal acts that disregard the afectación a vivienda familiar shall be tainted with absolute nullity". That severity protects the family, but it also means that a formality done badly can bring down an entire transaction years later.
Badly constituted figures that do not protect. A patrimonio de familia or an afectación created over a property that is already mortgaged does not stop the earlier mortgagee from enforcing its security (Ley 258 de 1996, art. 7); a "paper SAS" (sociedad por acciones simplificada, Colombia's simplified stock corporation) to which the assets were never formally contributed separates nothing; capitulaciones signed out of time are worthless. The right figure, badly implemented, produces a false sense of security that is worse than having nothing, because it switches off caution.
Simulaciones (sham transactions) that collapse. The temptation to "put" an asset in the name of a trusted relative through a sale both know to be fictitious, with a private document stating the truth, is a common one. The Código Civil (Colombia's Civil Code) cuts the ground from under that practice as against third parties:
Defrauding creditors, sometimes without meaning to. Transferring assets to relatives when there are already unpaid debts or a lawsuit under way is not "planning": it is the textbook case for the acción rescisoria, the avoidance action (acción pauliana) that the law grants creditors. And we have seen it done in good faith, on the advice of an acquaintance, with painful consequences.
The conclusion is not alarmist, it is practical: the order of the maneuvers matters as much as the maneuvers. What is perfectly legal when done in time can be rescindable —or something worse— when done too late. Telling one scenario from the other is, precisely, the estate lawyer's craft.
How to choose an estate lawyer
Choosing an estate adviser is different from choosing a litigator for a one-off lawsuit: you are not hiring a battle, you are hiring long-term judgment and giving access to your most sensitive information. We propose four steps:
First: verify that they are authorized to practice law. It sounds obvious and is skipped with surprising frequency. Every practicing lawyer must be registered and hold a tarjeta profesional (the practicing card issued by the judiciary, not a bar admission); you can confirm the registration and that it is current online, with the cédula (national ID) number, in the Sistema de Información del Registro Nacional de Abogados (SIRNA), the national roll of lawyers kept by the Rama Judicial (the judicial branch). Complete this with a check of the disciplinary record before the Comisión Nacional de Disciplina Judicial, the national judicial disciplinary commission, which since 2021 exercises disciplinary authority over lawyers: the sanctions in force are recorded there. These are public searches, online, and they take a few minutes.
Second: look for real specialization, not labels. "Property and estate law" is not a single formal specialty: it is a crossroads of civil, family, succession, registry and corporate law, plus tax notions. Ask about concrete work: how many capitulaciones they have drafted, what family-business structures they have set up, what successions they have handled, how they manage coordination with accountants and notaries. A professional with genuine experience answers with cases and with nuance; one without it answers with generalities. And bear in mind that the disciplinary statute itself requires the lawyer to stay up to date and forbids them to accept matters they are not qualified for (Ley 1123 de 2007, Colombia's disciplinary code for lawyers, art. 28, num. 4, and art. 34, lit. i).
Third: watch the method in the first meeting. The signs of a good method are visible from the start: they ask you for documents before giving an opinion on the merits; they ask you about debts, sureties and earlier unions, and not only about assets; they talk to you about scenarios and costs, not about shortcuts; they also tell you what you do not want to hear. Candor is not professional courtesy: it is a legal duty —it is an offense "not to state one's frank and complete opinion on the matter consulted on or entrusted" (art. 34, lit. a)—.
Fourth: compare without rushing. Getting quotes from two or three professionals is not distrust; it is diligence. When comparing, be wary of both extremes: the cheapest one, who does not explain what is included, and the one who promises the most. A reasonable price for legal advice rests on verifiable hours of work and on a written scope. And if phrases such as "that gets sorted out by putting the assets in someone else's name" come up in the conversation, thank them and look for another door: they are offering you the problem, not the solution.
One nuance we are often asked about: a large firm or an independent lawyer? There is no single answer. Size matters less than three things: who exactly will handle your matter, with what support network (notarial, accounting, tax) and with what continuity, because estate advice is a relationship of years, not an engagement of weeks.
Fees: the arrangements and what to demand in writing
Talking about money clearly from the first meeting is not awkward: it is a right of yours and a duty of the lawyer. At Cafore Abogados we charge for our work and we say so plainly, because a healthy professional relationship starts there. These are the usual arrangements in estate matters:
| Fee arrangement | How it works | What to demand in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Flat fee per act or document | A closed price for capitulaciones, a will, an afectación, an estudio de títulos (title search) or the incorporation of a company. | The exact scope of the document, the number of revisions included and which external costs (notary, registry, taxes) are not included. |
| Hourly | Usual for assessments and complex structures; the time actually worked is billed. | The hourly rate, a total estimate, an authorized maximum cap and periodic reports of hours. |
| Monthly retainer or ongoing support | A monthly amount for availability and continuous review, common in families that own a business. | Which services the monthly fee covers, what is charged separately and how the agreement is terminated. |
| Contingency fee (cuota de éxito — litigation only) | A percentage of the outcome in lawsuits —a disputed succession, for example—. It does not apply to preventive advice. | The exact percentage, the calculation base, what happens if the proceeding ends in a settlement and who bears the costs. |
Whatever the arrangement, the minimum standard is the same: a written contract stating the subject matter, costs, method of payment and expenses; receipts for every payment; and progress reports. It is not a courtesy from the lawyer: it is the law.
The services contract you sign is not a formality: "Every contract lawfully entered into is a law for the contracting parties" (Código Civil, art. 1602). Read it in full, ask to have every clause explained to you and keep your copy together with the receipts.
On promises of a result, be inflexible. In estate matters there is no shortage of people selling absolute shields: "with this figure nobody will touch your house", "I guarantee the succession will be through in three months". The law says otherwise: the lawyer must inform you of the real possibilities "without creating false expectations, magnifying the difficulties or assuring a favorable outcome" (art. 28, num. 18, lit. a), and promising the outcome is, in itself, a disciplinary offense.
And as for what you tell your lawyer, speak without reservations. To assess your situation properly, the lawyer needs the full picture: the debts that embarrass you, the union you never formalized, the business you have not declared as you would have wished. All of that is protected by a guarantee of constitutional rank.
What to expect from good estate advice
Well-done estate advice is recognized by its deliverables. When you hire, you should be able to expect —and to ask for— these five things:
- A written assessment: an inventory of assets, debts and ties, titles verified at the registry, and a list of risks ordered by urgency. Without a written assessment there is no advice; there is conversation.
- Compared scenarios: what happens if you do nothing, and at least two alternatives with their costs (fees, notary, registry, taxes), their effects and their limits. The decision is yours; the lawyer owes you the elements to make it.
- Properly executed documents: deeds signed by those who must sign, registrations verified on the folio de matrícula —not "filed", verified—, minutes and bylaws consistent with one another.
- A review calendar: an annual date or concrete milestones (a birth, a sale, a new debt, a change in the rules) that trigger the updating of the structure.
- Reports without your having to chase them: the status of each matter, in writing, within the agreed deadlines.
The first three points are professional method; the last two are, in addition, enforceable obligations. And it is worth knowing that the disciplinary regime has teeth.
And the process itself —what is done first, which documents are gathered, in what order the figures are constituted—? We publish that operational step-by-step separately in organizing your estate step by step; this guide stays with what it falls to you to watch over: that your adviser works this way.
Notario, accountant, tax adviser and lawyer: who does what
Along the estate path you will come across several professionals, and it is worth being clear about the division of roles, because confusion here costs money:
The notario gives public faith and formalizes: authorizes deeds, verifies identities, leaves the records the law requires of them —in matters of the family home, for example, they must inquire about the owner's civil status and about any afectación over the property (Ley 258 de 1996, art. 6)—. They are an essential piece of the system, but they are not your strategic adviser: the notario does not design your structure, does not compare scenarios and is not answerable for whether the figure chosen is the one that suits you. "I will sign it with the one at the notary's office" is a frequent and expensive misunderstanding.
The accountant keeps the books, prepares financial statements and files returns. Their work is indispensable and continuous, but their role does not include drafting capitulaciones or structuring a succession.
The tax adviser —sometimes the same accountant, sometimes a tax lawyer— calculates the tax effect of each move: the ganancia ocasional (the tax on capital gains and windfall receipts) on an inheritance, the tax on a gift, the cost of transferring a property into a company. No serious estate decision is made without that figure on the table.
The estate lawyer designs the legal architecture, drafts the documents, verifies the registrations and —this is key— coordinates the others. In a well-run transaction, the lawyer defines the figure, the tax specialist quantifies it, the notario formalizes it and the accountant records it. When that order is reversed —people sign first and ask afterwards—, that is when the structures that do not protect and the taxes nobody foresaw appear.
Our practical advice: ask your estate lawyer to speak directly with your accountant and your tax adviser, with your authorization, instead of your acting as messenger between them. Half an hour of coordinated work saves months of corrections.
Situation, risk if you improvise, and what the lawyer contributes
This table sums up, without rhetoric, where the value of legal advice lies in each typical situation:
| Situation | Risk if you improvise | What the estate lawyer contributes |
|---|---|---|
| You marry or start living together | The default statutory regime decides for you what is common property; capitulaciones can no longer be agreed, and the arguments arrive with the breakup or the succession. | Explains the applicable regime, drafts capitulaciones in time if they are advisable and puts clearly on record which assets are separate property. |
| You buy a home | A protective figure badly chosen or left unregistered; missing signatures; the property is left exposed to creditors or, the other way round, blocked for a future loan. | Studies the chain of title, chooses between the afectación and the patrimonio de familia according to your case and verifies that the entry is actually recorded on the folio. |
| You start a business or sign sureties | The business's debts reach the house; sureties signed without measuring their reach commit the whole personal estate. | Separates the corporate vehicle from the family estate, sizes the guarantees and negotiates limits and durations for the surety. |
| You have a family business with no rules | The death or divorce of a shareholder brings operations to a halt; heirs and shareholders end up facing off in deadlocked meetings. | A family protocol, bylaws with entry and exit rules, and a will coordinated with the shareholding. |
| You receive an inheritance or a gift | Endless co-ownerships among siblings, taxes overpaid and assets that cannot be sold because the title is incomplete. | Plans the acceptance and the partition, coordinates the tax effect with the tax specialist and clears the title. |
| Blended family | Children from different unions with crossed expectations over the same assets; succession lawsuits all but certain. | Puts the regime of each union in order, documents what belongs to whom and leaves a will that respects the forced allocations. |
| You see a lawsuit or a debt crisis coming | Last-minute transfers that can be rescinded (art. 2491 of the Código Civil) and that also worsen your position before the judge. | Assesses what legitimate protection is still available, prepares the defense and, where applicable, channels an orderly insolvency (CGP, arts. 531 et seq.). |
| Nothing urgent, but a growing estate | A structure that was adequate ten years ago and today does not match your family or tax reality. | Periodic review on a calendar, targeted adjustments and updating when the rules change. |
What NOT to do when hiring
In the negative, so that it is remembered better:
- Do not hire in the line at the notary's office. Advice improvised fifteen minutes before signing is not advice.
- Do not sign documents you do not understand. Ask for an explanation of every clause; the lawyer's duty of candor exists precisely for that.
- Do not accept fees agreed by word of mouth. The subject matter, the costs and the method of payment go in writing, and every payment with its receipt (Ley 1123 de 2007, art. 28, num. 8).
- Do not pay the full amount in advance without a contract and do not hand over money "to speed up" steps that are not spelled out: demanding sums for unreal expenses is a disciplinary offense (art. 35, num. 3).
- Do not hire anyone who guarantees you the result. You already know why: besides being impossible, it is an offense (art. 34, lit. b).
- Do not hide information from your lawyer. A structure designed on an incomplete picture fails at the worst moment; professional secrecy exists precisely so that you can tell everything.
- Do not leave the registration "for later". Until the entry is recorded on the folio, much of that protection simply does not exist as against third parties.
- Do not disappear after signing. Schedule the periodic review from day one; an estate is managed, not filed away.
Common myths about the estate lawyer
“That is only for the wealthy.” Quite the opposite: the smaller the estate, the more serious it is to lose it. Protecting the family’s only home or separating the business venture from the household are middle-class needs, and the legal figures for doing so do not require great fortunes.
“The notario advises me just the same.” The notario formalizes and gives public faith; they do not design strategy or compare scenarios. These are different, complementary roles, as we saw above.
“I already have an accountant, I do not need a lawyer.” The accountant files returns and keeps records; they do not draft capitulaciones, do not constitute afectaciones, do not structure successions. Each profession has its own orbit.
“Capitulaciones are a sign of distrust.” They are the opposite: an honest conversation about money before there is any conflict, with clear rules for both. The harshest couple disputes we have seen had no capitulaciones; they had unspoken assumptions.
“I put the assets in a relative’s name and I am protected.” It is the most expensive myth. A simulación produces no effect against third parties (art. 1766 of the Código Civil), a transfer made to the detriment of creditors can be rescinded (art. 2491), and the asset is left exposed to the life of its apparent owner: their debts, their divorce, their succession.
“Once it is organized, it stays organized forever.” Laws change, the family changes, the estate changes. A structure without maintenance ages like any other building.
“The lawyer who promises the most is the best.” It is exactly the other way around, and not as our opinion but as a rule of law: anyone who assures you of the outcome is committing a disciplinary offense in the very first meeting. Imagine the rest.
Checklist for the first meeting
Documents worth bringing (whichever ones you have; do not wait until you have them all to ask for an appointment):
- Cédula and, where applicable, the civil marriage record or proof of cohabitation.
- Recent certificados de tradición y libertad (the land registry certificate of title) for your properties.
- Relevant escrituras and preliminary purchase agreements.
- Capitulaciones or earlier agreements, if any exist.
- Bylaws and certificates of existence for your companies.
- A list of the debts, sureties and co-debts you have signed (even if it is only a draft of your own).
- Earlier wills, your own or those of the person you expect to inherit from.
- Your latest income tax return, if you file one.
Questions worth asking:
- Have you handled matters like mine? Can you describe a similar case to me, without names?
- Who will handle my matter day to day, and how will we communicate?
- What deliverables will I receive, and within what deadlines?
- How much will it cost, under which fee arrangement, and what external costs should I plan for?
- What risks do you see in my current situation if I do nothing?
- Which accountant or tax adviser would you coordinate with, or would you work with mine?
What should come out of that meeting: a written proposal with scope, fees and a timetable; no pressure to sign that same day; and the sense —hard to fake— that the professional understood your family before prescribing legal figures. If you come out with grandiose promises and vague numbers, the meeting was useful too: it showed you whom not to hire.
In short: choose with the same care with which you built what is yours
Your estate is the result of years of work; the person who is going to put it in order deserves an equally serious choice. Verify the tarjeta profesional and the disciplinary record, require demonstrable experience in estate matters, put the fees in writing, speak with complete candor under the protection of professional secrecy, and be wary, always, of anyone who guarantees you results or offers you shortcuts that the law punishes. The rest —the figures, the steps, the moments— has guides of its own on this blog; what is decisive is to go through them with the right adviser.
If you would like a calm, honest reading of your estate situation, at Cafore Abogados we will guide you clearly and without promises of a result. You can write to us or call us at 313 8411825.
Laws and case law cited
- Constitución Política, art. 74 — “Professional secrecy is inviolable”. Source
- Ley 1123 de 2007 (Código Disciplinario del Abogado), arts. 28, 34 and 35-37 — the lawyer’s duties (equitable fees and receipts, professional secrecy, diligence, truthful information without assuring results); breaches of loyalty to the client (guaranteeing a result, lit. b; disclosing secrets, lit. f); offenses against honesty and against due professional diligence. Source
- Ley 1123 de 2007, arts. 40 to 44 — disciplinary sanctions: censure, a fine of 1 to 100 smmlv (monthly legal minimum wages), suspension of 2 months to 3 years and exclusión (cancellation of the tarjeta profesional). Source
- Ley 258 de 1996 — afectación a vivienda familiar: constituted by operation of law (art. 2), both signatures required to transfer or encumber (art. 3), enforceability against third parties from registration (art. 5), duties of the notario and absolute nullity of acts that disregard it (art. 6), exemption from attachment with exceptions (art. 7), extension to compañeros permanentes (art. 12). Source
- Ley 70 de 1931 (patrimonio de familia), as amended by Ley 495 de 1999 — the sister figure for protecting the home; its extension to compañeros permanentes and to same-sex couples was clarified by the Corte Constitucional. Source
- Código Civil, art. 1602 — “Every contract lawfully entered into is a law for the contracting parties”. Source
- Código Civil, art. 1766 — simulación: private counter-deeds “shall produce no effect against third parties”. Source
- Código Civil, art. 2491 — creditors’ acción de rescisión against acts of the debtor made to their detriment; it expires in one year. Source
- Código General del Proceso (Ley 1564 de 2012), arts. 531 et seq., 590 and 594 — insolvency of the natural person who is not a merchant; precautionary measures in declaratory proceedings; assets exempt from attachment. Source
- Corte Constitucional, Sentencia C-301 de 2012 (M.P. Jorge Ignacio Pretelt Chaljub) — conditionally upheld the constitutionality of the part of art. 34, lit. f, of Ley 1123 de 2007 on disclosure of the secret in order to prevent a crime, framing it within the ground for exoneration in art. 22, num. 4. Source
- Corte Constitucional, Sentencia C-029 de 2009 — the estate protection of Ley 70 de 1931 (art. 4) and of Ley 258 de 1996 (art. 12) extends, on equal terms, to same-sex couples covered by the regime of Ley 54 de 1990. Source
- Registro Nacional de Abogados — SIRNA (Rama Judicial) — public online search of the tarjeta profesional and whether it is current. Source
- Comisión Nacional de Disciplina Judicial — since 2021 it exercises disciplinary authority over lawyers; search of the sanctions in force. Source
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