Short answer. Generally no. Article 952 of the Civil Code requires the heir or executor to deliver the very thing bequeathed if they are able to do so, and they cannot substitute a cash payment for the specific item. The rule applies unless you agree to accept cash, or the thing is lost or impossible to deliver.
What the law says
The heir, charged with a legacy or devise, or the executor or administrator of the estate, must deliver the very thing bequeathed if he is able to do so and cannot discharge this obligation by paying its value.
Civil Code, Article 952 — The Very Thing Must Be Delivered. Read the full provision →
The rule: the thing itself, not its cash equivalent
When a will leaves you a specific object — a piece of jewelry, a car, a painting, a piece of land — Article 952 requires that you receive that actual item. The heir or executor must deliver the very thing bequeathed and cannot discharge this obligation by paying its value. The testator chose to leave you that particular thing, not a check for what it is worth, and the law respects that choice. Substituting cash without your agreement defeats the testator's intention.
One clear exception: when delivery is impossible
The duty to deliver the thing exists only if he is able to do so. If the specific item has been destroyed, lost, sold before death without a replacement provision, or is otherwise genuinely impossible to deliver, the heir cannot comply literally. In that situation, the value may become the remedy. But the inability must be real — an heir who could deliver the thing but prefers to offer cash instead cannot invoke impossibility as a justification.
Money legacies are paid in cash
Article 952 includes a separate rule for a different type of bequest: legacies of money must be paid in cash, even though the heir or the estate may not have any. If the will leaves you a specific sum of money, the heir cannot give you other property in lieu of cash — they must pay you in money, even if it means they have to sell estate assets to do so. This is the mirror image of the main rule: just as a specific item must be delivered as itself, a money legacy must be satisfied in money.
Delivery expenses and the legitime
Under Article 952, the expenses necessary for the delivery of the thing bequeathed are for the account of the heir or the estate. If the item needs to be transported, insured, or otherwise prepared for handover, that cost does not come out of what you receive — it is an estate expense. However, the article adds a qualification: all of this is without prejudice to the legitime. The compulsory shares of the forced heirs take priority; legacies and devises are satisfied after the legitime is secured. If the estate is not large enough to fully cover both, the legacy may be reduced.