Short answer. Generally, no — most renunciations naming specific co-heirs count as acceptance. The exception: if the renunciation is gratuitous and made in favor of all the co-heirs who would already receive your share by accretion anyway, Article 1050 treats it as a genuine repudiation instead.
What the law says
If he renounces it for a price in favor of all his co-heirs indiscriminately; but if this renunciation should be gratuitous, and the co-heirs in whose favor it is made are those upon whom the portion renounced should devolve by virtue of accretion, the inheritance shall not be deemed as accepted.
Civil Code, Article 1050 — When an Inheritance Is Deemed Accepted. Read the full provision →
The general rule: naming a beneficiary is acceptance
Article 1050 treats several acts as acceptance even when the heir calls them a 'renunciation.' Selling, donating, or assigning the right counts; so does renouncing it, even for free, in favor of one or more specific co-heirs, and renouncing it for a price in favor of everyone. In each case the heir is directing where the property goes, which the law treats as inconsistent with a pure, disinterested repudiation.
The narrow carve-out
The third paragraph of Article 1050 adds a qualification for a gratuitous renunciation made in favor of all the co-heirs indiscriminately. If those same co-heirs are the ones who would receive the renounced portion anyway through accretion — the automatic enlargement of the other heirs' shares when one heir drops out — the renunciation is not deemed an acceptance at all. It is treated as a genuine repudiation.
Why the distinction matters
The difference is not just semantic. An heir who is deemed to have 'accepted' loses the ability to later repudiate the same inheritance, and the acceptance can carry tax and estate-settlement consequences of its own. An heir whose renunciation genuinely qualifies as repudiation, by contrast, is treated as if that heir never inherited at all, and the portion passes directly to the co-heirs by operation of accretion rather than through the renouncing heir. Extrajudicial settlement documents typically ask each heir to state expressly whether they are accepting or repudiating a share, so misjudging this exception can lead someone to sign away rights they meant to keep.
Where this comes up in practice
This exception matters most in a small family with only a few co-heirs, where renouncing 'to everyone' and renouncing 'to whoever would inherit it anyway' end up being the same group of people. Heirs weighing whether to give up a share for free should be clear about whether every other co-heir is included and whether they are, in fact, the ones entitled to the property by accretion, since falling outside either condition turns the renunciation into an acceptance instead.
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1050 — When an Inheritance Is Deemed Accepted
- Civil Code, Article 1049 — Express and Tacit Acceptance
- Civil Code, Article 1051 — How to Repudiate