Short answer. Through a guardian. Article 1048 provides that a deaf-mute who cannot read and write has the inheritance accepted by their guardian, while a deaf-mute who can read and write may accept or repudiate personally or through an agent. The guardian may repudiate the inheritance only with judicial approval.
What the law says
Deaf-mutes who can read and write may accept or repudiate the inheritance personally or through an agent.
Civil Code, Article 1048 — Deaf-Mutes. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Should they not be able to read and write, the inheritance shall be accepted by their guardians. These guardians may repudiate the same with judicial approval.
Civil Code, Article 1048 — Deaf-Mutes. Read the full provision →
The rule turns on whether the person can read and write
Article 1048 draws its line based on literacy rather than the disability itself. It first addresses a deaf-mute who is literate: Deaf-mutes who can read and write may accept or repudiate the inheritance personally or through an agent. That person is treated as capable of managing this decision on their own, whether by making the choice directly or by authorizing someone else to act as their agent. Being deaf-mute alone does not limit their ability to accept or reject an inheritance under this article.
When the person cannot read and write
For a deaf-mute who cannot read and write, the article shifts responsibility to someone else: Should they not be able to read and write, the inheritance shall be accepted by their guardians. Because that person cannot communicate their acceptance in the way the law otherwise expects, a guardian steps in to accept the inheritance on their behalf, ensuring the beneficiary is not left without a way to receive what has been left to them simply because of the communication barrier.
Repudiation needs a judge's approval
Acceptance and repudiation are not treated the same way for the guardian. The same article continues: These guardians may repudiate the same with judicial approval. While a guardian can accept the inheritance without needing a court's permission first, turning it down requires that extra safeguard. This reflects that repudiating an inheritance gives up something of value on behalf of a person who may not be able to weigh that decision themselves, so a court is brought in to confirm that rejecting it is genuinely in the beneficiary's interest.
Why the law splits the two situations
The distinction protects the beneficiary's autonomy where it can safely be exercised, while adding protection where it cannot. A literate deaf-mute has a real way to understand and express a choice, personally or through an agent they select, so the law leaves that choice to them. Someone who cannot read or write has no equivalent channel, so the law substitutes a guardian's judgment for acceptance, but still checks that judgment through the courts before allowing the more consequential step of giving up the inheritance entirely.