Civil Code > TITLE V. SUCCESSIONS 4

Chapter 4. Conventions relating to an inheritance

Section 1. Pacts on future successions

Art. 1114.- Prohibition of pacts on future successions.

Any contract or unilateral undertaking relating to the succession of a person who is still alive shall be of no effect unless it is expressly authorized by law.

Art. 1115.- Acceptance or renunciation of a future succession.

(1) It is not lawful to accept or renounce a succession in advance, or to assign in advance one’s eventual rights to a succession.

(2) The stipulations referred to in sub-art (1) shall be of no effect notwithstanding that the person whose succession is concerned has agreed thereto.

Art. 1116.- Institution by contract.

No person may bind himself by contract to leave his succession or to bequeath a legacy to a person contracting with him or to a third person.

Section 2. Partitions made by donations

Art. 117. Principle.

The father and the mother and the other ascendants may make a distribution and partition of their property among their children and descendants.

Art. 1118. Forms.

A partition made by donation shall be made according to the forms prescribed by the law for donations inter vivos.

Art. 1119. Subject-matter.

It may have for its subject-matter only the property which belongs to the ascendant at the moment when it takes place.

Art. 1120. Omitted property.

Where part only of the property which the ascendant leaves on the day of his death has been included in the partition made by donation, the property which has not been included shall be divided in conformity with the law.

Art. 1121.- Omitted children. -1. Nullity of the donation.

Where any one of the children of the donor has been omitted in the partition made by donation or where a child is born to the donor after the day of such donation, the nullity of the partition made by donation may, at the time of the death of the donor, be applied for by the child who has been omitted or by his representatives.

Art. 1122. 2. Exception.

(1) Nullity may not be applied for where the deceased has left a valid will be a disposition of which the omitted child is validly disinherited.

(2) In such case, any eventual claim of the disinherited child or his representatives against the succession shall not be affected.

(3) Nullity may not be applied for in the case mentioned in Art. 121 where the deceased has left sufficient property to be allotted to the omitted child besides the property which has formed the subject matter of the partition made by donation.

Art. 1123. Lesion.

(1) Unless otherwise provided in the act of the partition made by donation, the rescission of such partition made by donation may be applied for where one of the descendants has suffered lesion of more than one-fourth part.

(2) For the purpose of establishing whether there is a lesion the property shall be valued according to its value on the day of the partition made by donation.

(3) An action of rescission shall be barred if not brought within two years from the death of the ascendant who has made the donation and ten years at most from the date of the partition made by donation.

Section 3. Assignment of rights of a succession

Art. 1124. Rights of heir.

(1) After the opening of the succession, an heir may assign his rights to such succession in whole or in part.

(2) He may not assign his rights on a determinate thing pertaining to the succession before such thing has been allotted to him as his own.

Art. 1125. Pre-emption in case of transfer of rights to a succession.

(1) The co-heirs have a right of legal pre-emption against the person to whom rights to a succession have been assigned, excepting the case where the assignment has been made in favour of one of the co-heirs.

(2) The provisions of the Title of this Code relating to “Joint ownership, usufruct and other rights in rem” shall apply in regard to such preemption (Art. 1386-1409)

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