Short answer. Yes. Article 385 of the Civil Code specifically lists the heirs instituted in a will among those who may ask for a declaration of absence, provided you present an authentic copy of the will naming you — alongside the present spouse, intestate relatives, and those with a right conditioned on the absentee's death.
What the law says
The following may ask for the declaration of absence: (1) The spouse present; (2) The heirs instituted in a will, who may present an authentic copy of the same; (3) The relatives who may succeed by the law of intestacy; (4) Those who may have over the property of the absentee some right subordinated to the condition of his death.
Civil Code, Article 385 — Who May Ask for Declaration. Read the full provision →
Heirs instituted in a will can petition
Article 385 names four categories of people who may ask for a declaration of absence, and the second is the heirs instituted in a will, who may present an authentic copy of the same. Being named as an heir in a will is enough to give you standing to bring the petition — you do not need to be a spouse or a relative who would succeed under intestacy to qualify under this particular ground.
The authentic copy requirement
The article ties this ground specifically to producing an authentic copy of the will that names you. This connects your standing to petition directly to documentary proof: rather than simply asserting that you were named an heir, the provision expects you to be able to present the will itself, or an authentic copy of it, as part of establishing that you fall within this category of petitioner.
The other three categories of petitioner
Article 385 also allows the petition to come from the present spouse, from relatives who would succeed the absentee under the rules of intestacy, and from anyone who holds some right over the absentee's property that is subordinated to the condition of the absentee's death — for example, a right that only takes effect if the absentee turns out to have died. Any one of these four categories, on its own, is sufficient to bring the petition.
What the article does not cover
Article 385 addresses only who may ask for the declaration — it does not itself lay out the grounds or procedure for when a person qualifies as legally absent in the first place, or what happens once the declaration is granted. Those questions are addressed elsewhere; this provision's role is simply to establish that your status as a will-instituted heir gives you the standing to bring the petition forward.