Skip to content
MiPRFácil
ESEN
Family

If a coheir is insolvent, even the victim pays part of their own indemnity

Last reviewed: September 11, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

The partition is not only the split: Article 1796 says it attributes to each titleholder of the inheritance the exclusive property of the goods adjudicated to them. That is where the community ends. But it ends with a tie between the former coheirs, and that is Article 1797: the coheir who is perturbed or deprived of their hereditary share may demand that the coheirs concur to make the perturbation cease or to indemnify them for the eviction. Two remedies, and the article sets no deadline to ask for them. Article 1798 lists three exceptions. One: when the testator makes the partition, without impairing the legítima, unless they expressly provide that such guarantee must be given. Another: when the perturbation or eviction proceeds from a cause later than the partition, or was caused by the adjudicatee’s fault. And in between is an item worth reading carefully, because as published it says the guarantee does not apply when it has been expressly agreed at the time of the partition. Read literally, agreeing the guarantee would switch it off, which is the opposite of what an exception list does. The article does not say what that "it" refers to, and this guide does not resolve it: it reproduces it and flags it. Article 1799 brings what nobody expects. The coheirs respond in proportion to their respective shares; and if one of them is insolvent, the share they should contribute is distributed among the others, including the one who must be indemnified. That is, the victim contributes to their own indemnity. Those who pay for the insolvent have an action against them when their insolvency ends. Article 1800 closes with credits. If a credit is adjudicated as collectible, the coheirs do not answer for the hereditary debtor’s later insolvency: they are responsible only for insolvency at the time of the partition. And if the credit was qualified as uncollectible, they do not answer; but if it is collected in whole or in part, what is received is distributed proportionally among them.

External link

Go to the official site

You'll leave MiPRFácilOpens in a new tab

bvirtualogp.pr.gov

What is it?

They are Articles 1796 to 1800 of the Civil Code of 2020: what effect the adjudication has, what guarantee the coheirs owe each other after dividing, when that guarantee does not apply, and how they answer for adjudicated credits.

Who can do it?

Any coheir of an already divided inheritance, and anyone who was adjudicated a good or a credit in the partition.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: The adjudication makes you sole owner

    Article 1796: the partition attributes to each titleholder the exclusive property of the goods adjudicated to them.

  2. Step 2: But a tie remains between you

    Article 1797: the perturbed or deprived coheir may demand that the coheirs concur.

  3. Step 3: Two remedies, not one

    The same article: make the perturbation cease, or indemnify the eviction.

  4. Step 4: When there is no guarantee

    Article 1798(a): when the testator makes the partition without impairing the legítima, unless they expressly provide the guarantee must be given.

  5. Step 5: Nor for a later cause or your own fault

    Article 1798(c): when the perturbation or eviction proceeds from a cause later than the partition or was caused by the adjudicatee themselves.

  6. Step 6: And an item that reads backwards

    Article 1798(b), verbatim: the guarantee does not apply when it has been expressly agreed at the time of the partition. The article does not say what that "it" refers to. Here it is reproduced and flagged, not resolved.

  7. Step 7: Each pays according to their share

    Article 1799: the coheirs respond in proportion to their respective shares.

  8. Step 8: Unless one is insolvent

    The same article: their share is distributed among the others, including the one who must be indemnified. The victim contributes to their own indemnity.

  9. Step 9: And the insolvent still owes

    Those who pay for them have an action against them when their insolvency ends.

  10. Step 10: If you were adjudicated a collectible credit

    Article 1800: the coheirs do not answer for the debtor’s later insolvency; only for that existing at the time of the partition.

  11. Step 11: If you were adjudicated an uncollectible one

    They do not answer; but if it is collected in whole or in part, what is received is distributed proportionally among all.

Where to do it

These articles regulate what the coheirs owe each other, not a procedure before any agency. Chapter IV does not say before which forum the guarantee is claimed, with what pleading, at what fee or within what deadline, and none of those four gaps is filled here.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If after the inheritance is divided someone claims the good adjudicated to you, or takes it outright, Article 1797 lets you demand that the other coheirs concur: either they make the perturbation cease, or they indemnify you for the eviction. Before claiming, check the exceptions in Article 1798. If the testator made the partition and did not impair the legítima, there is no guarantee, unless they expressly provided otherwise. And if the problem arose after the partition, or you caused it, there is none either. Item (b) of that article is drafted so that it reads the reverse of what one would expect, and we say so here instead of fixing it on our own. If the guarantee does apply, Article 1799 spreads the cost by shares, and brings the surprise: if one of the coheirs is insolvent, their part is spread among the rest including the victim themselves. What they pay for the insolvent they may claim from them when their insolvency ends. If what you were adjudicated was a credit, look at how it was qualified: if adjudicated as collectible, the others answer only for the debtor already being insolvent at the time of the partition, not for going bust later; if qualified as uncollectible, nobody answers, but if something is eventually collected, that something is shared among all. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.

Common mistakes

  • Believing every tie ends with the partition: Article 1797 keeps the reciprocal guarantee.
  • Thinking money is the only remedy: the article also allows demanding the perturbation cease.
  • Claiming the guarantee when the testator made the partition without impairing the legítima: Article 1798(a) excludes it.
  • Claiming it for a problem born after the partition: Article 1798(c) excludes it.
  • Claiming it when the adjudicatee themselves caused the problem: the same item excludes it.
  • Taking item (b) of Article 1798 at face value without noticing that, read literally, it switches the guarantee off when it is agreed.
  • Assuming the insolvent’s share is spread only among the others: Article 1799 includes the one to be indemnified.
  • Believing the coheirs guarantee the debtor will pay: Article 1800 limits them to insolvency at the time of the partition.
  • Keeping what is collected on a credit qualified as uncollectible: Article 1800 shares it proportionally.

Frequently asked questions

Do the other heirs answer if I lose what was adjudicated to me?

Article 1797 lets you demand they concur to make the perturbation cease or to indemnify the eviction, except for the exceptions in Article 1798.

What if one of the coheirs cannot pay?

Article 1799 distributes their share among the rest, including the one to be indemnified, and leaves those who paid an action against them when their insolvency ends.

I was adjudicated a credit and the debtor is not paying. Do I claim from my siblings?

If adjudicated as collectible, Article 1800 makes them responsible only for insolvency existing at the time of the partition, not for later insolvency.

And if the credit was adjudicated as uncollectible and is eventually collected?

Article 1800 says what is received is distributed proportionally among the coheirs.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

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.

MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.

Was this guide helpful?

Did you find out-of-date information?

Did you find out-of-date information?

No account needed. We don't ask for personal data.