In short
An estate executor does not only administer: they must leave a record of what they do. Article 1764 sums it up: they are obliged to make the inventory of the goods, to render the accounts, and to fulfil the other obligations imposed by the testator or by the court. Article 1765 sets two consecutive clocks that should not be added up wrong. They must begin to form the inventory within the thirty days of the acceptance of their office, and must conclude it within the next sixty days from having begun the inventory. The sixty run from when the inventory starts, not from acceptance. Article 1766 allows stretching the second term by two different routes: the heirs may extend it unanimously, and failing unanimous agreement the court may extend it if there is just cause. And it adds a cap, but note whom it binds: “in that last case, the extension must not exceed six months”. Under the text, that six-month ceiling falls on the judicial extension; the heirs’ unanimous extension carries no express cap here, and this guide does not put one on it that the Code did not write. Article 1767 is the one that most protects the heirs. It obliges the executor to render quarterly accounts, in writing and in detail, to the heirs, and to render a final account once three months have passed from the conclusion of the charge. And its second paragraph closes the door on any attempt to skip it: any testamentary disposition exempting the executor from the obligation to render the accounts is held as not written. Compare it with the bond: the testator may exempt the executor from posting one (Article 1757), but may not exempt them from accounting. What these articles do not say is what the inventory must contain — Article 1782, already in the partition Title, defines that — what just cause is, who approves the final account or how, and what happens if the executor misses the terms.
What is it?
They are Articles 1764 to 1767 of the Civil Code of 2020: the executor’s inventory and accounting duties, their terms, the extensions and the ban on exempting them from accounting.
Who can do it?
Whoever acts as albacea, administrator or contador partidor, and the heirs to whom they must account.
Requirements
- The executor must make the inventory of the goods, render the accounts and fulfil the other obligations imposed by the testator or the court.Verified against the official source
- They must begin the inventory within thirty days of accepting the office and conclude it within the next sixty days from having begun it.Verified against the official source
- They must render quarterly accounts, in writing and in detail, to the heirs, and a final account three months after the charge concludes.Verified against the official source
- Any testamentary disposition exempting the executor from the obligation to render the accounts is held as not written.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The three obligations
Article 1764: make the inventory, render the accounts and fulfil the other obligations the testator or the court impose.
Step 2: Thirty days to begin
Article 1765: they must begin to form the inventory within the thirty days of the acceptance of their office.
Step 3: Sixty days to finish
The same article: they must conclude it within the next sixty days from having begun the inventory.
Step 4: The sixty do not run from acceptance
They run from when the inventory starts. Two consecutive clocks, not a single ninety-day one.
Step 5: The heirs’ unanimous extension
Article 1766: the heirs may unanimously extend the sixty-day term.
Step 6: Or the court’s extension with just cause
Failing unanimous agreement, the court may extend it if there is just cause. The Code does not define just cause here.
Step 7: The six-month cap
The article ties it to the judicial route: “in that last case, the extension must not exceed six months”. The heirs’ unanimous extension carries no express cap here, and this guide does not put one on it.
Step 8: Accounts every quarter
Article 1767: quarterly accounts, in writing and in detail, to the heirs. All three conditions — quarterly, written, detailed — are in the text.
Step 9: And a final account
The same paragraph: a final account once three months have passed from the conclusion of the charge.
Step 10: Nobody may exempt them from accounting
Second paragraph: any testamentary disposition exempting the executor from the obligation to render the accounts is held as not written.
Step 11: Compare it with the bond
Article 1757 does let the testator exempt from the bond. From accounting, it does not. That is the useful difference between the two sections.
Step 12: What these articles do not say
They do not say what the inventory must contain — that is Article 1782, already in the partition Title — do not define just cause, do not say who approves the final account, and do not say what happens if the terms are missed.
Where to do it
The only moment these articles lead to court is the extension of Article 1766, when there is no unanimous agreement among the heirs. The Code does not say before which court it is requested, in what form or at what fee. The accounts are rendered to the heirs, not to an agency.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you are an heir and the executor does not inform you, Article 1767 is on your side: they must render you quarterly accounts, in writing and in detail, and a final account three months after the charge concludes. And if you are told the will exempted them from accounting, that same article holds any such clause as not written; note that they can be exempted from the bond, and that difference causes confusion. If what is argued is the inventory, count the two terms separately: thirty days from acceptance to begin, and sixty more from beginning to finish. If more time is needed, the heirs may extend it unanimously, and failing that the court may with just cause, with a six-month cap the text ties to that judicial route. What you will not find here is what the inventory must contain, who approves the final account, or what consequence follows from missing the terms: the Code does not say in this section. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Adding thirty and sixty as one term: they are two clocks, and the second starts when the inventory begins.
- Believing the will may exempt from accounting: Article 1767 holds such a clause as not written.
- Confusing the bond exemption with the accounting one: Article 1757 does allow the first.
- Applying the six-month cap to the heirs’ unanimous extension: the text ties it to the judicial extension.
- Expecting accounts only at the end: Article 1767 requires them quarterly.
- Accepting verbal or undetailed accounts: the article requires them in writing and in detail.
- Asking for the final account the same day the charge ends: it is rendered once three months have passed.
- Looking in this section for what the inventory must contain: Article 1782 defines it, in another Title.
Frequently asked questions
May the will exempt the albacea from accounting?
Article 1767 says any testamentary disposition exempting the executor from the obligation to render the accounts is held as not written.
How often must they account?
Article 1767 says they must render quarterly accounts, in writing and in detail, to the heirs, and a final account once three months have passed from the conclusion of the charge.
How long do they have to make the inventory?
Article 1765 says they must begin it within the thirty days of accepting their office and conclude it within the next sixty days from having begun it.
May that term be lengthened?
Article 1766 says the heirs may extend it unanimously and that, failing unanimous agreement, the court may if there is just cause, in which case the extension must not exceed six months.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 11, 2026
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Did you find out-of-date information?
If minors are among the interested parties, the executor’s bond shrinks but does not vanish
Article 1757 of the Civil Code of 2020 lets the majority exempt the executor, but the bond must be proportional to the interest of minors or incapacitated persons.
An executor’s pay may not exceed ten per cent of the rents or the net product
Article 1761 of the Civil Code of 2020 sets that cap and lets the will, the heirs’ agreement or, failing those, the court fix it.
If several executors are named without saying how they act, joint action is presumed
Article 1735 of the Civil Code of 2020 sets that presumption, and 1729 bars the person declared unworthy and the disinherited from the office.
An albacea may not sell estate goods unless the testator authorised it
Article 1741 of the Civil Code of 2020 leaves two routes without that authorisation: the heirs’ unanimous consent or judicial authorisation.
A creditor with written title may request an administrator be named for the estate
Article 1744 of the Civil Code of 2020 allows it, alongside the albacea, the forced heirs and the heirs or legatees.
The office is voluntary, yet staying silent fifteen days after being asked accepts it
Article 1750 of the Civil Code of 2020 calls the office of executor voluntary and 1751 creates a legal acceptance by the passing of fifteen days.