Short answer. Probably not on its own. Article 1270 makes condonation essentially gratuitous, requiring acceptance by the obligor, and provides that express condonation must comply with the forms of donation. A text message is good evidence of intention, but it is rarely the form the law asks for.

What the law says

Condonation or remission is essentially gratuitous, and requires the acceptance by the obligor. It may be made expressly or impliedly.

Civil Code, Article 1270 — Condonation or Remission. Read the full provision →

Forgiving a debt is a form of giving

Article 1270 provides that Condonation or remission is essentially gratuitous, and requires the acceptance by the obligor. It may be made expressly or impliedly. It then adds that both kinds are subject to the rules governing inofficious donations, and that express condonation must furthermore comply with the forms of donation. That last clause is what a text message runs into. Because giving up a claim is economically the same as giving away its value, the law applies the machinery of donation to it — including formalities that scale with what is being given away. A message typed on a phone is not obviously within them.

It also has to be accepted

The acceptance requirement is easy to overlook and easy to satisfy, but it is a requirement. Remission is not something a creditor does to a debtor; it is an agreement between them. A debtor who says nothing, and who keeps paying instalments afterwards, has not obviously accepted anything, and his own conduct will be read against him if the question is later contested. So reply. A short written acknowledgment that you accept the forgiveness of the stated balance costs nothing at the time and removes a whole line of argument later.

The implied route, and the document presumptions

Condonation may also be implied, and the Code gives two evidentiary routes that avoid the formalities entirely. Article 1271 provides that the delivery of a private document evidencing a credit, made voluntarily by the creditor to the debtor, implies the renunciation of the action which the former had against the latter. Article 1272 runs the presumption in the debtor's favour from the other end: whenever the private document in which the debt appears is found in the possession of the debtor, it is presumed that the creditor delivered it voluntarily, unless the contrary is proved. Recovering the original instrument is therefore worth more than any message about it.

What to do with the message you have

Do not delete it, and do not rely on it alone. Preserve the thread with its dates and the number it came from, then convert the intention into something that will hold: a signed release or quitclaim identifying the debt, the amount forgiven and the date, together with the return of the promissory note or loan document if one exists. If the creditor is willing to forgive the debt he will normally be willing to sign that, and his refusal to do so is itself informative. Where the amount is large, the formalities and the tax treatment of gratuitous transfers are worth checking before anything is signed.

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.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.