Short answer. Almost certainly yes, and for a reason that comes before the forgiveness: taking from the decedent is not one of the causes of unworthiness the Code lists. Article 1033 would in any case wipe out a cause your father knew of and condoned in writing.
What the law says
The cause of unworthiness shall be without effect if the testator had knowledge thereof at the time he made the will, or if, having known of them subsequently, he should condone them in writing.
Civil Code, Article 1033 — Condoning Unworthiness. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The following are incapable of succeeding by reason of unworthiness:
Civil Code, Article 1032 — Unworthiness to Succeed. Read the full provision →
What the law says
must bring into the mass of the estate any property or right which he may have received from the decedent, during the lifetime of the latter, by way of donation, or any other gratuitous title, in order that it may be computed in the determination of the legitime of each heir, and in the account of the partition
Civil Code, Article 1061 — Collation Defined. Read the full provision →
What the law says
but the legitime shall in any case remain unimpaired
Civil Code, Article 1063 — Property Left by Will. Read the full provision →
Start with whether there is a cause at all
Article 1032 opens The following are incapable of succeeding by reason of unworthiness: and then gives eight specific causes: abandoning one's children; conviction of an attempt on the life of the testator or his close relatives; a groundless accusation of a serious crime; failing to report the testator's violent death; conviction of adultery or concubinage with the testator's spouse; procuring or preventing a will by fraud, violence or undue influence; suppressing or altering a will; and forging one. Taking money or property from the deceased is not among them. Unworthiness is therefore the wrong instrument for this complaint, forgiveness or no forgiveness.
What the forgiveness would have done
Had one of those causes existed, Article 1033 answers the question directly: The cause of unworthiness shall be without effect if the testator had knowledge thereof at the time he made the will, or if, having known of them subsequently, he should condone them in writing. Two routes, with different requirements. Knowing of the cause when he made the will is enough on its own, because instituting someone you know has wronged you speaks for itself. Learning of it afterwards requires written condonation — a spoken forgiveness at a bedside, however sincerely meant and however many relatives heard it, does not meet what the article asks.
Disinheritance would have been the other route
A father who wanted his son excluded had to do it in a will. Article 916 permits disinheritance only through a will in which the legal cause is specified, and the causes available against a child or descendant are those in Article 919 — an attempt on the testator's life, a groundless accusation, adultery or concubinage with his spouse, procuring a will by fraud or violence, refusal without justifiable cause to support him, maltreatment by word or deed, leading a dishonourable or disgraceful life, and conviction of a crime carrying civil interdiction. Article 922 adds that a later reconciliation renders ineffectual any disinheritance already made.
Where the forgiveness actually bites
If your father forgave what was taken, he arguably let his son keep it gratuitously — and that engages collation. Article 1061 requires every compulsory heir succeeding with others to bring into the mass of the estate any property or right which he may have received from the decedent, during the lifetime of the latter, by way of donation, or any other gratuitous title, in order that it may be computed in the determination of the legitime of each heir, and in the account of the partition. Article 1063 carries the same guard for property left by will — but the legitime shall in any case remain unimpaired. The practical answer therefore lies in the partition accounting, and it needs figures and dates.
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1033 — Condoning Unworthiness
- Civil Code, Article 1032 — Unworthiness to Succeed
- Civil Code, Article 916 — Disinheritance Must Be in a Will
- Civil Code, Article 919 — Grounds to Disinherit Children and Descendants
- Civil Code, Article 922 — Reconciliation Wipes Out Disinheritance
- Civil Code, Article 1061 — Collation Defined
- Civil Code, Article 1063 — Property Left by Will