Short answer. Yes. Article 731 classifies a donation made subject to the resolutory condition of the donor's survival as a donation inter vivos — one made and effective during the donor's lifetime, not one governed by the rules on wills. Tying the gift's fate to whether the donor outlives you does not turn it into a testamentary transfer.

What the law says

When a person donates something, subject to the resolutory condition of the donor's survival, there is a donation inter vivos.

Civil Code, Article 731 — Donation Subject To Donor's Survival. Read the full provision →

What the article actually classifies

Article 731 addresses how a donation is categorized when the donor's continued survival is built into its terms as a resolutory condition. Rather than treating that kind of conditional arrangement as something closer to a will — because it involves the possibility of the donor outliving the donee — the article puts it firmly on the donation side of the line: it is a donation inter vivos. The classification matters because inter vivos donations and mortis causa transfers are governed by entirely different bodies of rules, with different formalities and different consequences for creditors and heirs.

Why survival-based conditions don't make it testamentary

It might seem that conditioning a gift on the donor outliving the donee brings it closer to a will, since both involve uncertainty tied to who dies first. Article 731 rejects that instinct for this specific structure. A resolutory condition does not suspend the donation's effect until some future event — the gift is understood as already made, with the condition affecting whether it holds up rather than whether it exists at all. That is different from a transfer meant to only take effect after the donor's death, which is governed by the rules on succession instead.

Why the classification has real consequences

Whether a donation is inter vivos or testamentary in character decides which formalities apply, when the donee's rights actually vest, and how the transaction interacts with the donor's estate later on. A donation classified inter vivos under Article 731 is generally treated as a completed transfer during the donor's lifetime, subject to the donation rules on acceptance, form, and revocation, rather than needing to comply with the requirements for a valid will. Getting the classification right at the drafting stage — rather than discovering it in a dispute later — is what this article is actually protecting.

Where the line between the two actually falls

The neighbouring articles show where the real dividing line runs. Article 728 provides that donations which are to take effect upon the death of the donor partake of the nature of testamentary provisions and are governed by the rules on succession — that is the mortis causa case. Article 729 puts the opposite case: where the donor intends the donation to take effect during his lifetime, it is a donation inter vivos even though the property is not to be delivered until after his death. Article 730 adds that fixing an event, or imposing a suspensive condition which may occur beyond the donor's natural expectation of life, does not by itself destroy the inter vivos character unless a contrary intention appears. Read together with Article 731, the question is never simply when the donee gets the thing; it is whether the donor meant to part with it now or only at death.

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.