In short
Many people write a will believing they can divide everything as they please. The Code says not always. Article 1621 defines the piece: the legítima is the part of the inheritance that the law reserves for determined persons, called legitimarios. It is the law that reserves it, not the testator’s will. Article 1622 says who they are, in the order and measure this Code establishes: the descendants, the surviving spouse and, failing these, the ascendants. Note where the phrase “failing these” falls: it comes before the ascendants’ item. Article 1623 carries the only figure in this chapter, and it is the one worth memorising: the decedent who has legitimarios may freely dispose of half their goods; if they have no legitimarios, they may freely dispose of all their goods. That half is the so-called free-disposition share. And here comes the limit of what this guide can tell you. The question everyone asks — exactly how much each forced heir gets within the other half — is not answered in this chapter. Article 1624 sends it elsewhere: the legitimarios concur in the legitimate portion using the rules of concurrence and order of exclusion established for the intestate succession. Those rules are in Title V, the intestate succession, which has its own guides on this site. Even so, here you will find the half of Article 1623 and no per-person fraction, because Article 1624 borrows the concurrence rules and does not say the legítima equals the intestate share.
What is it?
They are Articles 1621 to 1624 of the Civil Code of 2020: what the legítima is, who the forced heirs are, how much the decedent may freely dispose of, and where the Code points to calculate each portion.
Who can do it?
Whoever is going to make a will in Puerto Rico and wants to know what part they may divide freely, and whoever believes a law-reserved share is due to them.
Requirements
- The legítima is the part of the inheritance the law reserves for the legitimarios.Verified against the official source
- The legitimarios are the descendants, the surviving spouse and, failing these, the ascendants.Verified against the official source
- The decedent who has legitimarios may freely dispose of half their goods.Verified against the official source
- If they have no legitimarios, they may freely dispose of all their goods.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: What the legítima is
Article 1621: the part of the inheritance the law reserves for determined persons, called legitimarios. The law makes the reservation, not the will.
Step 2: Who the forced heirs are
Article 1622: the descendants, the surviving spouse and, failing these, the ascendants.
Step 3: Where “failing these” falls
The phrase comes before the ascendants’ item. This guide reports the order exactly as the article writes it and does not rank items (a) and (b) against each other beyond that.
Step 4: The free half
Article 1623: the decedent who has legitimarios may freely dispose of half their goods. It is the only figure this chapter carries.
Step 5: And if there are no forced heirs
The same article: they may freely dispose of all their goods. With no forced heirs there is no legítima to reserve.
Step 6: How much each one gets
Article 1624: the legitimarios concur in the legitimate portion using the rules of concurrence and order of exclusion established for the intestate succession.
Step 7: And why this guide does not tell you
Because Article 1624 borrows the concurrence rules of the intestate succession, but does not say the legítima equals the intestate share. Those rules have their own guide here; the fraction of your legítima does not come from this chapter.
Step 8: What that half is measured on
These four articles do not say, but Article 1787 does: from the estate valued at the moment of the partition the debts are subtracted and the computable gifts added, at the value they had when made. It has its own guide here.
Where to do it
These four articles describe no procedure before any agency and do not mention the court: they fix a legal reservation. The will before a notary and the declaration of heirs have their own guides on this site.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you are writing a will, the governing figure is in Article 1623: with forced heirs, half your goods are freely disposable and the other half is reserved. With no forced heirs, everything is free. If what you want to know is how much is due to you specifically, this guide cannot tell you, and it is worth knowing why: Article 1624 sends the calculation to the rules of concurrence and order of exclusion of the intestate succession, which have their own guides on this site — but borrowing those rules is not the same as saying the legítima equals the intestate share. Any per-person fraction you read elsewhere does not come from these four articles. If the will imposed conditions on your legítima, or you were made to sign a waiver, see the guide on encumbering and renouncing the legítima. If you were left out of the will, see the one on preterition. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing one may divide one hundred per cent of the goods when there are forced heirs: Article 1623 leaves half free.
- Thinking the testator decides the legítima: Article 1621 says the law reserves it.
- Forgetting the surviving spouse among the forced heirs: Article 1622 names them expressly.
- Taking for granted that ascendants are always forced heirs: item (c) is preceded by “failing these”.
- Looking in this chapter for how much each forced heir gets: Article 1624 sends it to the intestate succession.
- Assuming that with no forced heirs a reserved part still exists: Article 1623 leaves everything free.
- Believing the Code says here how the goods are valued: it does not.
- Taking for granted that lifetime gifts do not count: Article 1787 adds them to the estate if they are computable, though these four articles do not address it.
Frequently asked questions
May I leave everything to whomever I want?
Article 1623 says the decedent who has forced heirs may freely dispose of half their goods, and that with no forced heirs they may freely dispose of all of them.
Who are the forced heirs?
Article 1622 says the forced heirs are, in the order and measure the Code establishes, the descendants, the surviving spouse and, failing these, the ascendants.
How much does each forced heir get?
Article 1624 sends the calculation to the rules of concurrence and order of exclusion established for the intestate succession, which have their own guides on this site. This guide publishes no per-person fraction because Article 1624 borrows those rules without saying the legítima equals the intestate share.
And if I have no children, spouse or parents?
Article 1623 says whoever has no forced heirs may freely dispose of all their goods.
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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Did you find out-of-date information?
Conditions placed on your forced share are held as not placed
Article 1626 of the Civil Code of 2020 calls an encumbrance any charge, condition, term, mode, usufruct, obligation, prohibition or limitation.
Leaving a child out of the will does not void it: it re-divides the forced share
Article 1629 of the Civil Code of 2020 says preterition does not annul the institution of heir and entails dividing the legítima among all the forced heirs.
Disinheriting requires naming the cause in the will, and the heir bears the proof
Article 1632 of the Civil Code of 2020 requires the disinheritance and its cause to appear expressly and clearly. Challenging it lapses after two years.
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.
An inheritance can be debts alone: the Code says so in those words
Article 1552 says the inheritance comprises rights and obligations even where obligations exceed rights, or where there are only obligations.
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.
The most recent gift is the first to fall
Article 1792 of the Civil Code of 2020 reduces lifetime gifts from the most recent date back to the most remote, and 1791 shuts the creditor out.
A false reason in the will does not knock down the inheritance
Article 1664 of the Civil Code of 2020 annuls the designation only if the will itself reveals two things at once, and deletes an illicit motive.