When a mandate ends, and what still counts once it has

They are Articles 1413 to 1415 of the Civil Code of 2020: the four causes of extinction of the mandate, the validity of acts done before learning of it, and the duties of each side when the principal or the mandatary dies or becomes incapacitated.

Principals and mandataries under the Puerto Rico Civil Code, and the heirs, representatives or assistants of either.

• That one of Article 1413’s four causes occur: total execution, expiry of the period, death or incapacity, or revocation.Verified against the official source
• For death or incapacity not to extinguish the mandate: that it be a durable-power mandate, under Article 1402.Verified against the official source
• For later acts to be valid: that the mandatary performed them before learning of the extinction.Verified against the official source
• For the duty of conservation after the principal’s death or incapacity: that there be danger in delay and no express instructions to the contrary from their heirs or representatives.Verified against the official source

• The record of the revocation and of the date the mandatary learned of it: the validity of what was done depends on it.
• If the mandate had a period, the document recording it, because its expiry extinguishes the mandate.

1. 1

   Step 1: The four causes

   Article 1413: its total execution; the expiry of the period given for its execution; the death or incapacity of the principal or of the mandatary; and revocation. Four, and the article writes no more.

2. 2

   Step 2: The durable-power exception

   Subsection (c) expressly excepts durable-power mandates, under the provisions of Article 1402. That figure — how it is granted, what limits it has over the primary residence — is covered in the power-of-attorney guide, and we do not repeat it here.

3. 3

   Step 3: It also ends when it is carried out

   The first cause is often overlooked: its total execution. Once the errand is done, the mandate ends without any need to revoke it.

4. 4

   Step 4: What was done before finding out counts

   Article 1414: the acts performed by the mandatary before learning of the extinction are valid. That is why the chapter requires the principal to notify the revocation immediately: until the mandatary knows, what they do remains valid.

5. 5

   Step 5: A typo in the source, quoted as it stands

   The consolidated text prints "el mandatorio" in that article instead of "el mandatario", the word the rest of the chapter always uses. We flag it and quote it as published, rather than correcting the Code ourselves.

6. 6

   Step 6: If the mandatary dies or is incapacitated

   Article 1415, first paragraph: their heirs, representatives or assistants who know of the mandate must promptly notify the principal and take, in the principal’s interest, the measures the circumstances require. The duty falls on those who know of the mandate.

7. 7

   Step 7: If the principal dies or is incapacitated

   Second paragraph: save express instructions to the contrary from their heirs or representatives, the mandatary must perform the acts of conservation if there is danger in delay. Conserving, not carrying on with the whole errand.

8. 8

   Step 8: What the chapter does not clarify

   It does not say in what form revocation is made or proved, does not define "promptly" or "danger in delay", and says nothing of third parties who dealt with the mandatary after the extinction: Article 1414 refers to the mandatary’s acts. This guide widens none of those gaps.

Revocation and notices run between the parties; the Code names no agency. If the power was granted by public deed, its revocation goes through a notary under notarial legislation, which we did not read here. Disputes are decided by the Court of First Instance.

• Believing the mandate ends only by revocation: total execution and expiry of the period also extinguish it.
• Treating an ordinary power as alive after the principal’s incapacity: only the durable power of Article 1402 survives.
• Revoking and not notifying: what the mandatary does before learning of the extinction remains valid.
• As the mandatary, carrying on after learning of the extinction.
• As heir or representative of a deceased mandatary, not promptly notifying the principal while knowing of the mandate.
• As the mandatary, doing nothing on the principal’s death where there is danger in delay: the acts of conservation must be performed.
• As the mandatary, carrying on with the whole errand after the principal’s death: the article speaks of acts of conservation.
• Ignoring express instructions to the contrary from the principal’s heirs or representatives.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov