In short
Article 1690 defines the legacy as the testamentary disposition, by particular title, of determined or generic goods. That phrase, by particular title, is what separates a legatee from an heir; the article uses it and does not explain it, and neither does this guide. What causes the most trouble in practice is in Article 1691, and it is a prohibition: the legatee must ask the heir or the albacea to deliver the thing legated, and may not take possession of it on their own authority. Even though the will names you and the thing is right there, you do not take it: you ask for it. Article 1692 sets two rules on the other side that protect you. The first: the heir must deliver the same good legated with all its accessories in the state it was in when the testator died, and has no power to substitute the legacy for another thing. If you were left the car, you get the car, not its value nor a similar one. The second is about money: a legacy of money must be paid in that species, even if there is none in the inheritance. That the estate is in land rather than cash does not turn your legacy into land. And Article 1706 resolves the ugly case, which is when the goods do not cover every legacy. Payment then follows a six-step ranking: first the one the testator declared preferred; then the remuneratory one, or one in recognition of a service rendered; then the one of a certain and determined good forming part of the estate; then the one of alimentos; then the one of education; and finally the rest, pro rata. Note that a specific thing already in the estate is paid before food and education, and that the preference the testator themselves declared goes ahead of everything.
What is it?
They are Articles 1690, 1691, 1692 and 1706 of the Civil Code of 2020: what a legacy is, how it is claimed, what the heir must deliver, and in what order legacies are paid when the estate falls short.
Who can do it?
Any legatee named in a will, and any heir or albacea who must deliver a legacy.
Requirements
- The legacy is the testamentary disposition, by particular title, of determined or generic goods.Verified against the official source
- The legatee must ask the heir or albacea for delivery and may not take the thing on their own authority.Verified against the official source
- The heir must deliver the same good with all its accessories, in the state it was in when the testator died.Verified against the official source
- The heir has no power to substitute the legacy for another thing.Verified against the official source
- A legacy of money must be paid in money, even if there is none in the inheritance.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: What a legacy is
Article 1690: the testamentary disposition, by particular title, of determined or generic goods.
Step 2: Ask for it, do not take it
Article 1691: you must ask the heir or albacea for delivery, and may not take the thing on your own authority.
Step 3: You get the same thing
Article 1692: with all its accessories and in the state it was in when the testator died.
Step 4: And it cannot be swapped on you
The same article: the heir has no power to substitute the legacy for another thing.
Step 5: If you were left money, it is money
A legacy of money must be paid in that species, even if there is none in the inheritance.
Step 6: If there is not enough for everyone
Article 1706: first the one the testator declared preferred; then the remuneratory one or one recognising a service rendered.
Step 7: Then the certain and determined thing
Third, the one of a certain and determined good forming part of the estate. It is paid before food and education.
Step 8: And last, pro rata
Fourth food, fifth education, and the rest pro rata. Six steps, and the article does not reorder them.
Where to do it
Delivery is asked of the heir or the albacea, before no agency. These articles set no deadline to ask, do not say before which forum one goes if the heir refuses, do not say who pays the cost of delivering, nor what happens when two legacies tie within the same rank of Article 1706. None of those gaps is filled here.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
The commonest and costliest mistake is taking the thing. Even though the will names you and nobody else is using it, Article 1691 makes you ask the heir or albacea for delivery and forbids you taking it on your own authority. Ask first. If it is delivered but altered, Article 1692 is on your side twice: the heir must give you the same good, with all its accessories and in the state it was in when the testator died, and has no power to substitute it. If what you were left was money and you are told there is no cash in the estate, the same article answers: a legacy of money is paid in money even if there is none. If the problem is that the estate cannot cover every legacy, it is not divided by eye: Article 1706 sets six ranks, and they are worth reading because they are not the ones you would assume. The preference the testator themselves declared governs above everything else, and a certain and determined good already in the estate is paid before a legacy of food or education. What the Code does not say — and this guide does not invent — is how long you have to ask for delivery, before whom you claim if the heir refuses, and what happens if two legacies compete within the same rank. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Taking the legated thing without asking: Article 1691 expressly forbids it.
- Accepting that the heir give you something similar instead: Article 1692 denies them that power.
- Receiving the thing without its accessories: the article orders it delivered with all of them.
- Accepting the thing damaged as if nothing: it is delivered in the state it was in when the testator died.
- Believing a legacy of money is paid in kind if there is no cash: the article says otherwise.
- Dividing pro rata from the start when there is not enough: pro rata is Article 1706’s last rank.
- Putting food and education ahead of the certain and determined thing: the article puts them after.
- Ignoring the preference the testator declared: it heads the list.
Frequently asked questions
May I take the thing legated to me?
No. Article 1691 says you must ask the heir or albacea for delivery and may not take it on your own authority.
The heir wants to give me something else. May they?
Article 1692 says the heir has no power to substitute the legacy for another thing.
I was left money and there is no cash in the estate. What then?
Article 1692 says a legacy of money must be paid in that species, even if there is none in the inheritance.
In what order are legacies paid if there is not enough?
Article 1706 sets six: the testator’s declared preferred one, the remuneratory one, the one of a certain and determined good, food, education, and the rest pro rata.
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
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