Short answer. The value used for collation is the value at the time of the donation, not today's market value. Article 1071 is explicit: the property itself is not returned, only its value when donated is counted. Any increase in value since then, including land appreciation, belongs to you as the donee.
What the law says
The same things donated are not to be brought to collation and partition, but only their value at the time of the donation, even though their just value may not then have been assessed. Their subsequent increase or deterioration and even their total loss or destruction, be it accidental or culpable, shall be for the benefit or account and risk of the donee.
Civil Code, Article 1071 — Value at the Time of Donation. Read the full provision →
Collation uses value at the time of the donation
Article 1071 answers the question directly: "The same things donated are not to be brought to collation and partition, but only their value at the time of the donation, even though their just value may not then have been assessed." The property itself does not go back into the estate. What gets computed in the partition account is the peso value the donation had when it was made. Even if the land was worth two million pesos when your parent transferred it to you and is now worth twenty million, only the two million enters the collation calculation. The gain stays with you.
Subsequent increases and losses belong to the donee
The second sentence of Article 1071 is equally important: "Their subsequent increase or deterioration and even their total loss or destruction, be it accidental or culpable, shall be for the benefit or account and risk of the donee." This rule works in both directions. If the land appreciates dramatically, that appreciation is yours — your co-heirs cannot claim a share of the gain. But if the donated property is destroyed by fire, typhoon, or any other cause, that loss is also yours. The estate bears neither the windfall nor the misfortune that comes after the donation date.
What happens when value was not assessed at the time
Article 1071 acknowledges a practical problem: many donations are made informally, without a formal appraisal or stated value. The statute handles this by providing that the value at the time of donation controls "even though their just value may not then have been assessed." This means the absence of a contemporaneous appraisal does not prevent collation — the parties or the court will need to reconstruct what the property was reasonably worth at the time of the donation, based on whatever evidence is available. Old deeds, tax declarations from that period, and comparable sales can all help establish the historical value.
Implications for your partition
When your family sits down to divide the estate, the collation computation starts with the estate's assets at death, adds back the value of donations made to compulsory heirs at the time those donations were made, and uses that combined figure to determine each heir's legitime and partition share. Your appreciated land enters that computation at its donation-era value — not its current value. Your co-heirs therefore cannot argue that the current appreciation should reduce what you receive from the remaining estate. If there is a dispute about what the property was worth when it was donated, that historical valuation question will need to be resolved, likely through documents and expert evidence.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Teresita N. De Leon, Zenaida C. Nicolas and the Heirs of Antonio Nicolas vs. Hon. Court of Appeals, Hon. Pablo P. Inventor and Ramon Nicolas, G.R. No. 128781, August 6, 2002 — read the decision on LawPhil →