Short answer. Yes. Article 824 of the Civil Code says a mere charge on the estate for the payment of debts due at the time of the testator's death does not prevent the testator's creditors from being competent witnesses to his will. Being owed money by the estate does not, by itself, disqualify a witness.
What the law says
A mere charge on the estate of the testator for the payment of debts due at the time of the testator's death does not prevent his creditors from being competent witnesses to his will.
Civil Code, Article 824 — Creditors as Witnesses. Read the full provision →
Being a creditor does not disqualify a witness
A common worry when a will is signed is whether someone with a financial stake can properly witness it. On this specific point the law is reassuring. It states that a mere charge on the estate of the testator for the payment of debts due at the time of the testator's death does not prevent his creditors from being competent witnesses to his will. In plain terms, the fact that the estate owes a person money, an ordinary debt payable on the testator's death, does not strip that person of the capacity to act as a witness to the will.
Why a debt is treated differently from a gift
The reason lies in the nature of the interest. A creditor is simply owed what he is already due; his claim exists independently of the will and is paid as a charge on the estate whether or not the will exists. He does not gain anything extra from the document he is witnessing. That is very different from a person named in the will to receive a gift, whose benefit depends on the will taking effect. The law's concern is with witnesses who stand to profit from the will itself, and a plain creditor is not in that position.
The limits of this provision
This article answers one narrow question and should not be stretched further. It confirms that a debt owed by the estate is not a disqualifying interest, but it does not do away with the other requirements the law sets for who may witness a will and how it must be executed. A witness must still meet the general qualifications for competency, and the will must still comply with the formalities the law demands. So a creditor is not barred as a witness, yet the will's validity still depends on satisfying those separate rules in full.
Practical caution when choosing witnesses
Even though a creditor is competent, it is often wiser to choose witnesses with no financial connection to the estate at all. Doing so removes any later argument that a witness had something to gain and keeps the execution of the will above suspicion. If a creditor does serve, it helps to be able to show that his role was purely to attest to the signing and that the debt was a genuine, pre-existing one. The rule protects such a witness's competency, but a clean, disinterested slate of witnesses spares the estate needless disputes down the line.