In short
A will may set a date. Article 1683 allows both kinds: the testator may set the date on which the institution of heir begins or ceases to have effect. And it answers what everyone asks first, which is who holds the goods meanwhile: in both cases, the legitimate heir is understood called until the set date arrives, or after the term concludes. Now the part that changes things, and which applies to only one of the two cases. When what is set is the date the inheritance begins, that legitimate heir will not enter into possession of the goods until after making an inventory of them and posting sufficient bond, with the intervention of the instituted person. Read it slowly: there are three requirements and they go together. Inventory, sufficient bond, and the participation of the very person who will inherit when the date comes. The article says “in the first case”, so that lock does not apply to a term that ends an inheritance, and it is not applied to it here. Article 1684 resolves the uncertain term, and does so the reverse of how the Code resolves conditions: an uncertain term set only to suspend execution until a sure and determined event occurs does not prevent the heir or legatee from acquiring their respective rights and transmitting them to their heirs, even before it is verified. Compare it with Article 1682, which requires a suspensive condition to be fulfilled during the heir’s lifetime and is headed non-transmissibility. The hinge is the phrase “sure and determined event”: a term is something that will happen, a condition something that might. That is why a right under a term transmits and a conditional one does not.
What is it?
They are Articles 1683 and 1684 of the Civil Code of 2020: how a date is set for an inheritance to begin or end, who holds the goods meanwhile and under what guarantees, and why a right under a term does transmit.
Who can do it?
The heir instituted under a term, the legitimate heir called meanwhile, and anyone drafting a will with a date.
Requirements
- The testator may set the date on which the institution of heir begins or ceases to have effect.Verified against the official source
- In both cases the legitimate heir is understood called until the date arrives or after the term concludes.Verified against the official source
- When the date marks the beginning, that heir does not enter into possession without making an inventory and posting sufficient bond.Verified against the official source
- That inventory and bond are made with the intervention of the instituted person.Verified against the official source
- An uncertain term suspending execution does not prevent acquiring the rights or transmitting them to one’s heirs.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The testator may set a date
Article 1683: the date the institution’s effect begins, or the date it ceases.
Step 2: Meanwhile the legitimate heir inherits
The same article, in both cases: until the set date arrives, or after the term concludes.
Step 3: But touches nothing without an inventory
When the date marks the beginning, they do not enter into possession until after making an inventory of the goods.
Step 4: Nor without sufficient bond
The article requires both, not one. And it does not say how much is sufficient or who decides.
Step 5: With the instituted person present
The phrase is “with the intervention of the instituted person”. Whoever inherits later takes part in the inventory and the bond.
Step 6: That lock belongs to the first case only
The article says “in the first case”. For a term that ends an inheritance it requires neither inventory nor bond.
Step 7: An uncertain term does not freeze you
Article 1684: it does not prevent acquiring the rights or transmitting them to your heirs, even before it is verified.
Step 8: And there is the difference from a condition
Article 1682 requires a suspensive condition to be fulfilled in the heir’s lifetime. A term is a sure and determined event; a condition is not.
Where to do it
These two articles describe no procedure before any agency. The Code does not say here who fixes the bond’s amount, how much is “sufficient”, who holds it, what the instituted person’s intervention consists of, or what happens if the legitimate heir cannot or will not post it. Nor does it say who administers the goods or collects their fruits while the term runs. None of those gaps is filled here.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If the will says you inherit in five years, the first question is whose the goods are meanwhile, and Article 1683 answers it: the legitimate heir is understood called. The second question is what stops that temporary heir from spending them, and the same article answers: they do not enter into possession until after making an inventory and posting sufficient bond, and both are done with your intervention. If you are told the inventory was already made without you, the article says otherwise. Mind the scope: the article ties that inventory-and-bond requirement expressly to the first case, the date on which the inheritance begins. About a term that makes an inheritance cease it says nothing similar, and nothing is added here. If what worries you is dying before the date arrives, Article 1684 reassures you where a term is concerned: it does not prevent acquiring your rights or transmitting them to your heirs, even before it is verified. That holds only if it really is a term — a sure and determined event. If it is a condition, the rule is the opposite and lives in Article 1682, with its own guide here. What the Code does not say is how much a sufficient bond is or who decides, and this guide sets no figure the article does not carry. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing the goods are ownerless until the date arrives: Article 1683 calls the legitimate heir.
- Letting that heir enter into possession without an inventory: the article requires it first.
- Accepting the inventory without the bond: the article asks for both.
- Allowing the inventory and bond to be done without you: the article says “with the intervention of the instituted person”.
- Demanding inventory and bond when the term makes the inheritance cease: the article ties them to the first case.
- Putting a figure on the sufficient bond: the article gives none.
- Believing dying before the term erases your right: Article 1684 allows acquiring and transmitting it.
- Applying Article 1684 to a condition: there Article 1682 governs and says the opposite.
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the goods until the date arrives?
Article 1683 says the legitimate heir is understood called until the set date arrives.
May that heir dispose of the goods?
They do not even enter into possession until after making an inventory and posting sufficient bond, with the instituted person taking part.
If I die before the term arrives, do my children lose the right?
Article 1684 says an uncertain term does not prevent acquiring the rights or transmitting them to one’s heirs, even before it is verified.
And if instead of a term it is a condition?
The answer changes: Article 1682 requires the suspensive condition to be fulfilled during the life of the heir or legatee.
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 12, 2026
MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.
MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.
Was this guide helpful?
Did you find out-of-date information?
An impossible or illegal condition is deleted and the inheritance stays
Article 1676 of the Civil Code of 2020 considers it not written: the condition falls, not the designation of heir or legatee.
If the will forbids you something, you collect now and post a bond
Article 1680 of the Civil Code of 2020 does not make you wait a lifetime: you receive the inheritance by bonding that you will not do the forbidden thing.
A will that names no heirs is still valid
Article 1660 of the Civil Code of 2020 says so in one sentence, and 1663 splits in equal parts when no shares were set.
How to make a will in Puerto Rico
The 2020 Civil Code’s kinds of will, who may execute one, and the rule that changed: with forced heirs you may freely dispose of half.
With no will, the children and the spouse inherit in equal parts
Article 1721 of the Civil Code of 2020 says so, and 1719 opens intestate succession also when the will is ineffective or insufficient.
Standing surety: never more than the debtor, but costs are included
Article 1475 bars the surety from owing more than the debtor, and 1474 folds accessories, costs and fees into the suretyship.