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What was left is valued today; what was given away, at the price back then

Last reviewed: September 11, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

To know what the legítima is worth you first have to know what it is measured on, and Article 1787 fixes that. Two rules. The first: from the caudal relicto — what was left — valued at the moment of the partition, the debts and the non-testamentary charges are deducted. The second: to that net value is added the value of the computable liberalities the decedent made in life, calculated at the moment they were made. Read those two dates again, because they are not the same. What was left is valued at the moment of the partition, that is, at today’s value. What was given away is valued at the moment it was given, at the value back then. The house the father kept enters at what it is worth today; the house he gave a child in 2009 enters at what it was worth in 2009. The article says it that way and mentions no inflation adjustment and no index, so neither does this guide. Note too a word in item (a): the debts and the non-testamentary charges are deducted. Only the non-testamentary ones. The article does not define which ones are testamentary, and nothing is invented here. Article 1788 removes three things from the computation, and it is a closed list: customary gifts; the expenses of food, education and assistance in illness of relatives within the fourth degree, even if the decedent had no obligation to provide them; and the liberalities made by the decedent if ten years or more have passed from when they were made to their death. That third item is the one most needed: a gift made eleven years before the death is not computed at all. And the half of Article 1623 — what a decedent with forced heirs may freely dispose of — is measured on this computed estate, not on whatever shows in the bank account the day of the burial.

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What is it?

They are Articles 1787 and 1788 of the Civil Code of 2020: how the estate on which the legítima is fixed is computed, at what date each piece is valued, and which liberalities stay out of the computation.

Who can do it?

Any forced heir, heir or testator who needs to know what figure the legítima is measured on.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Start with what was left

    Article 1787(a): the caudal relicto, valued at the moment of the partition.

  2. Step 2: Subtract the debts

    The same item: the debts and the non-testamentary charges are deducted. Only the non-testamentary ones; the article does not define which the others are.

  3. Step 3: Add the gifts that do count

    Article 1787(b): to the net value is added that of the computable liberalities the decedent made in life.

  4. Step 4: But at the date back then

    The same item: calculated at the moment they were made. Not at today’s value. It is the article’s second valuation date.

  5. Step 5: Remove the customary gifts

    Article 1788(a). The article does not say what amount or occasion makes them customary.

  6. Step 6: Remove what was spent on caring

    Article 1788(b): food, education and assistance in illness of relatives within the fourth degree, even if the decedent had no obligation to provide them.

  7. Step 7: Remove what is ten years old or more

    Article 1788(c): liberalities made if ten years or more passed from when they were made to the death.

  8. Step 8: The half is measured on that figure

    Article 1623: the decedent who has forced heirs may freely dispose of half their goods. That half is measured on the computed estate.

  9. Step 9: And the figure stops there

    How much each forced heir gets within the other half does not come from these articles: Article 1624 refers to the intestate succession’s concurrence rules.

Where to do it

This computation happens inside the partition, before no agency. Article 1787 does not say who values the goods, with what appraisal, or who pays for that appraisal, so you will not find it here. If what you need is the Treasury procedure to register or sell what you inherited, that is a different matter and has its own guide on this site.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

The commonest confusion is measuring the legítima on what shows in the bank account. Article 1787 does not do that: it starts from what was left, subtracts the debts and the non-testamentary charges, and adds the computable gifts the decedent made in life. If a sibling was given a house eight years ago, that house enters the computation, but it enters at what it was worth eight years ago, not at what it is worth today: item (b) orders it calculated at the moment it was made. If the gift is ten years old or more, Article 1788(c) removes it from the computation entirely. And if what there was were birthday presents or a university tuition, the same article removes them under items (a) and (b). Two things this guide cannot tell you, because the Code does not say them: what amount turns a present into a customary gift, and which charges are testamentary and therefore not deducted. Nor can it give you the fraction due to you: Article 1624 sends that arithmetic to the intestate succession’s rules, and borrowing those rules is not the same as saying the legítima equals the intestate share. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.

Common mistakes

  • Measuring the legítima only on what was left: Article 1787(b) orders the computable lifetime liberalities added.
  • Valuing the gifts at today’s price: item (b) calculates them at the moment they were made.
  • Valuing what was left at the price on the day of death: item (a) values it at the moment of the partition.
  • Deducting every charge: item (a) deducts only the non-testamentary ones.
  • Counting a gift made twelve years ago: Article 1788(c) removes it at ten years or more.
  • Counting a nephew’s tuition: Article 1788(b) removes those expenses within the fourth degree.
  • Believing the expense counts because the decedent was not obliged to make it: the same item excludes it even with no obligation.
  • Looking in these articles for the fraction due to each forced heir: it is not there.

Frequently asked questions

Do lifetime gifts count toward the legítima?

Article 1787(b) says the value of the computable liberalities the decedent made in life is added to the estate’s net value.

At what price does a house gifted years ago enter?

At the price at the moment the gift was made. Article 1787(b) says so, and the article mentions no inflation adjustment.

Does an old gift still count?

Article 1788(c) removes it from the computation if ten years or more passed from when it was made to the death.

Does money the decedent spent caring for a relative count?

Article 1788(b) does not compute it if it is food, education and assistance in illness of relatives within the fourth degree, even with no obligation to provide them.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 11, 2026

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