In short
To institute an heir is to name who will succeed you. Article 1659 defines it: the institution of heirs is the designation made in a will of the person who will succeed the testator, as heir or as legatee, in the title to the goods that make up the inheritance. Note the article puts both figures — heir and legatee — under one name. The most surprising part comes in the next article. Article 1660 says, in a single sentence, that the will is valid even if it does not contain the institution of heirs or this turns out ineffective. That is: a will that names nobody is still a will, and still holds for everything else it says. Article 1663 resolves silence about shares: heirs instituted without designation of share inherit in equal parts. If the will names three and does not say how much each gets, it is a third each. And Article 1665 resolves two ways of naming that people often confuse. The first: if the testator institutes a person and their children, all are understood instituted simultaneously, not the mother first and the children after. The second: if they institute some heirs individually and others collectively, all are understood called individually, unless a different intention appears clearly. Put the two rules together and you get a result many do not expect: “I leave everything to my sister and her three children”, with no shares, reads as four individual heirs and, under Article 1663, as four equal parts. Not half for the sister and the other half split among the children.
What is it?
They are Articles 1659, 1660, 1663 and 1665 of the Civil Code of 2020: what instituting an heir is, whether a will that institutes nobody is valid, how it is split when no shares were set, and how individual and collective callings are read.
Who can do it?
Anyone writing a will in Puerto Rico, and any heir or legatee reading one.
Requirements
- The institution of heirs is the designation made in a will of who will succeed the testator, as heir or as legatee.Verified against the official source
- The will is valid even if it does not contain the institution of heirs or this turns out ineffective.Verified against the official source
- Heirs instituted without designation of share inherit in equal parts.Verified against the official source
- If a person and their children are instituted, all are understood instituted simultaneously.Verified against the official source
- If some are instituted individually and others collectively, all are understood called individually, unless a different intention appears clearly.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
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Step by step
Step 1: What instituting is
Article 1659: designating in the will who will succeed the testator, as heir or as legatee, in the title to the goods.
Step 2: Naming nobody, the will still holds
Article 1660: the will is valid even if it does not contain the institution of heirs or this turns out ineffective.
Step 3: Without shares, equal parts
Article 1663: heirs instituted without designation of share inherit in equal parts.
Step 4: A person and their children: at once
Article 1665: all are understood instituted simultaneously. There is no queue.
Step 5: Some by name and others as a block
The same article: all are understood called individually, unless a different intention appears clearly.
Step 6: And the two rules together
“To my sister and her three children”, with no shares, is four individual heirs and four equal parts, under Articles 1665 and 1663.
Where to do it
These articles describe no procedure before any agency: they fix how a will is read. The open will is executed before a notary and the holographic one is handwritten; both forms have their own guide on this site. You will find no form, fee or deadline here, because these four articles publish none.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you were told the will is useless because it names no heirs, Article 1660 says the opposite: the will is valid even if it does not contain the institution of heirs or this turns out ineffective. That does not mean the goods are ownerless; it means the document still stands for whatever it does say, and the destiny of the uninstituted goods is settled by other rules, those of intestate succession, which have their own guides here. If the will names several but does not say how much each gets, there is nothing to fight over: Article 1663 orders equal parts. And if it named someone “and their children”, or mixed proper names with a group, look at Article 1665 before dividing: the default rule is that all are called individually and at once, and you leave that only when it clearly appears the testator wanted otherwise. The article does not say what suffices for it to appear clearly, and that gap is not filled here. Nor is “ineffective” defined. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing a will with no named heirs is void: Article 1660 says it is valid.
- Believing that if the institution turns out ineffective the whole will falls: the same article saves it.
- Thinking Article 1659 covers only the heir: it defines the institution as heir or as legatee.
- Arguing over shares when the will is silent: Article 1663 orders equal parts.
- Reading “to my sister and her children” as two turns: Article 1665 institutes them simultaneously.
- Splitting half to the named one and half to the group: Article 1665 calls all individually by default.
- Leaving that rule by inference: the article requires the other intention to appear clearly.
- Assuming these articles say what happens to uninstituted goods: that is the intestate succession.
Frequently asked questions
Is a will that names no heirs valid?
Article 1660 says the will is valid even if it does not contain the institution of heirs or this turns out ineffective.
The will does not say how much each gets. What happens?
Article 1663 says heirs instituted without designation of share inherit in equal parts.
It leaves everything “to my sister and her three children”. How is it split?
Article 1665 institutes them simultaneously and calls them individually; with Article 1663, that is four equal parts unless another intention clearly appears.
Does the institution also cover the legatee?
Yes. Article 1659 defines the institution as designating who will succeed the testator, as heir or as 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 11, 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.
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