Left something that was not theirs: valid if the testator knew, and proving it is on you

They are Articles 1693, 1694, 1695 and 1696 of the Civil Code of 2020: what happens when a will legates another’s good, one already the legatee’s, a mortgaged or pledged one, or one burdened with a real right of use.

Any legatee whose legated thing was not cleanly the testator’s, and any heir obliged to deliver it.

• The legacy of another’s good is valid if the testator, when legating it, knows it is not theirs.Verified against the official source
• The proof that the testator knew the good was another’s falls on the legatee.Verified against the official source
• If the testator was unaware, the legacy is null, unless they acquire the good after executing the will.Verified against the official source
• A legacy of goods already the legatee’s when the will was made produces no effect.Verified against the official source
• For a good given in guarantee of an exigible debt, the legatee pays the debt unless the testator provided the heir free them.Verified against the official source

• The will, with its date of execution: several of these articles are measured against that date.
• Proof that the testator knew the good was another’s, which Article 1693 places on the legatee.
• The guarantee document, if the thing is pledged or mortgaged.

1. 1

   Step 1: If the thing belonged to someone else

   Article 1693: the legacy holds if the testator knew, when legating it, that it was not theirs.

2. 2

   Step 2: Then the heir buys it

   The same article obliges them to acquire the good to deliver it; if not possible, to give you its fair estimation.

3. 3

   Step 3: But proving they knew is on you

   The sentence is literal: the proof that the testator knew the good was another’s falls on the legatee.

4. 4

   Step 4: If they were unaware, null

   Unless the testator acquires the good after executing the will: then the legacy is valid.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the thing was already yours

   Article 1694: it produces no effect, even if you later alienated it.

6. 6

   Step 6: Unless you bought it later

   If you acquired it by onerous title after the will’s date, you may ask the heir for what you paid for it.

7. 7

   Step 7: If it is mortgaged, you pay

   Article 1695: for a good given in guarantee of an exigible debt, the legatee is the one to pay it.

8. 8

   Step 8: Unless the testator said otherwise

   The same article excepts the case where they provided that the heir free the legatee of the obligation.

9. 9

   Step 9: And if someone is enjoying it

   Article 1696: you will respect that real right of use until it is legally extinguished.

These articles describe no procedure before any agency. The Code does not say here what a “fair estimation” is or who fixes it, what makes acquiring the good “not possible”, how the testator’s knowledge is proved, or what the “right or encumbrance” of Article 1694’s third paragraph refers to. None of those gaps is filled here.

• Treating a legacy of another’s good as void: Article 1693 saves it if the testator knew.
• Expecting the heir to prove what the testator knew: the article places that proof on the legatee.
• Discarding the legacy when the testator was unaware: if they acquired the good after making the will, it holds.
• Claiming a thing already yours when the will was made: Article 1694 says it produces no effect.
• Forgetting Article 1694’s way out: if you bought it later, you may ask for what you paid.
• Accepting a legated property without checking for a mortgage: Article 1695 leaves that debt to the legatee.
• Assuming the heir clears the mortgage by default: only if the testator so provided.
• Believing you get immediate enjoyment: Article 1696 requires respecting the real right of use.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov