Law of Successions Key Terms

General Provisions

Succession
The legal process by which the rights and obligations of a deceased person (the inheritance) are transferred to their heirs or legatees upon death (Art. 826).

Opening of Succession
The initiation of the succession process, occurring at the deceased’s principal residence at the time of death (Art. 826(1)).

Deceased
The individual whose death triggers the opening of a succession and whose rights and obligations form the inheritance (Art. 826).

Inheritance
The totality of the deceased’s transferable rights and obligations that pass to heirs and legatees, excluding those extinguished by death (Art. 826(2)).

Heirs
Individuals entitled by law (heirs-at-law) or will (legatees) to receive the deceased’s inheritance (Art. 826(2), Art. 829(3)).

Legatees
Persons designated in a will to inherit specific portions or items of the deceased’s property (Art. 826(2)).

Life Insurance (in Inheritance)
Proceeds from a life insurance contract that form part of the inheritance if no beneficiary is specified or if designated to the deceased’s heirs without further indication; otherwise, excluded (Art. 827).

Pensions and Indemnities
Payments made to the deceased’s relatives or spouse due to the deceased’s death, which are not included in the inheritance (Art. 828).

Intestate Succession
A succession where the deceased left no valid will, resulting in property devolving to heirs-at-law according to statutory rules (Art. 829(1)).

Testate Succession
A succession governed by a valid will, where the deceased has directed the distribution of property to legatees (Art. 829(1)).

Partially Intestate/Partially Testate Succession
A succession where some property is disposed of by will (testate) and the remainder devolves by law (intestate) (Art. 829(2)).

Heirs-at-Law
Individuals entitled to inherit under intestate succession rules when the deceased has not disposed of property by will (Art. 829(3)).

Capacity to Succeed
The legal eligibility to inherit, requiring that a person survives the deceased and is not deemed unworthy (Art. 830).

Survival of Heir
The requirement that an heir must be alive (or proven to exist) on the day of the deceased’s death to succeed, as governed by rules on “Physical Persons” (Art. 831(1)).

Representation in Successions
A mechanism allowing descendants to inherit in place of a predeceased heir, unaffected by survival proof rules (Art. 831(3)).

Simultaneous Death
A situation where it cannot be determined which of multiple deceased persons survived the others, resulting in each succession being treated independently without cross-inheritance (Art. 832).

Death of Heir After Succession Opens
When an heir dies after the succession has opened, their rights pass to their own heirs (Art. 833).

Child Merely Conceived
A fetus not yet born at the time of the deceased’s death, which may still inherit under conditions outlined in “Physical Persons” provisions (Art. 834).

Bodies Corporate
Legal entities capable of receiving legacies, subject to rules in “Bodies Corporate and Property with a Specific Destination” (Art. 835).

Legitimacy/Illegitimacy/Adoption
The status of a child (legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted) which does not affect their right to inherit or the portion they receive, with adopted children treated equivalently to biological children (Art. 836).

Sex, Age, Nationality of Heir
Characteristics of an heir that do not impact their succession rights (Art. 837).

Unworthiness
A disqualification from inheriting due to serious acts against the deceased or their family, such as intentional killing, attempted murder, or false accusations leading to severe punishment (Art. 838).

Crimes After Death
Acts committed by a potential heir after the deceased’s death, which do not trigger unworthiness (Art. 839).

Interference with Will
Actions like preventing the deceased from making or altering a will within three months of death, or destroying/altering a will, rendering a person unworthy to succeed (Art. 840).

Pardon by Deceased
An express statement in a will forgiving an heir’s unworthy acts, restoring their capacity to succeed or receive a legacy (Art. 841).