Short answer. Yes, if they are subject to collation. Article 908 of the Civil Code requires that the value of donations subject to collation be added back to the net hereditary estate when computing the legitime, using the value at the time the donation was made.
What the law says
To the net value of the hereditary estate, shall be added the value of all donations by the testator that are subject to collation, at the time he made them.
Civil Code, Article 908 — Computing The Net Estate. Read the full provision →
How the estate is computed for legitime purposes
Article 908 of the Civil Code establishes a two-step method for computing the base on which legitimes are calculated. First, start with the value of property left at death and deduct all debts and charges — but not charges imposed in the will. This produces the net hereditary estate. Second: "To the net value of the hereditary estate, shall be added the value of all donations by the testator that are subject to collation, at the time he made them." The resulting total is the notional estate on which each compulsory heir's legitime is computed.
Why donations are added back
If large lifetime gifts were ignored in computing legitimes, a parent could effectively disinherit compulsory heirs by giving away most of the estate before death, leaving an artificially small residual for distribution. Article 908 prevents this by restoring donated property to the computation — not to the actual estate (which belongs to the donees), but to the notional figure used as the legitime base. The heirs cannot take back the donated property, but they can use the inflated base to show that their reserved share was impaired, and if so, to demand reduction of the excess donation.
Valuation at the time of the donation
Article 908 is specific about when the value is measured: at the time the donation was made, not at the time of death. This matters because property values change. If land donated ten years ago has tripled in value since then, only the value at the donation date is added back. Conversely, if the donated asset has depreciated, the lower historical value is used. This rule produces a fixed, knowable figure for each donation — preventing disputes over appreciation or depreciation that occurred after the donor parted with the property.
Not all donations are subject to collation
Article 908 adds back only donations "subject to collation." Donations that the law excludes from collation — such as those made to strangers who are not compulsory heirs, or those the donor expressly excluded from collation — are not brought back into this computation. This means the Article 908 calculation depends on first identifying which donations are collatable and which are not. In a large estate with multiple lifetime gifts to different recipients, sorting out which are subject to collation is often the first and most contested step in the legitime computation.
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.
- Pablo Uy, substituted by his heirs, namely: Mylene D. Uy, Paul D. Uy, G.R. No. 227460, December 5, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Spouses Bernardo Buenaventura, et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 126376, November 20, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →