Short answer. Thirty days. Article 1057 gives heirs, devisees, and legatees thirty days after the court orders distribution of the estate to tell the court whether they accept or repudiate. Staying silent past that window is not neutral: the law deems you to have accepted the inheritance by default.
What the law says
Within thirty days after the court has issued an order for the distribution of the estate in accordance with the Rules of Court, the heirs, devisees and legatees shall signify to the court having jurisdiction whether they accept or repudiate the inheritance.
Civil Code, Article 1057 — Thirty Days to Signify. Read the full provision →
What the law says
If they do not do so within that time, they are deemed to have accepted the inheritance.
Civil Code, Article 1057 — Thirty Days to Signify. Read the full provision →
The thirty-day window starts at the distribution order
Article 1057 fixes a clear deadline tied to a specific court event, not to the date of death itself. It provides that within thirty days after the court has issued an order for the distribution of the estate in accordance with the Rules of Court, the heirs, devisees and legatees shall signify to the court having jurisdiction whether they accept or repudiate the inheritance. The clock does not start running the moment your relative dies; it starts once the court handling the estate settlement actually issues its order distributing the estate.
Silence is treated as acceptance
This is the part that catches people off guard. The article continues: If they do not do so within that time, they are deemed to have accepted the inheritance. Doing nothing does not preserve your options or leave the question open. It resolves the question against you in one specific direction: you are treated as having accepted, with everything that comes with an inheritance, including its share of the estate's debts and obligations, even though you never affirmatively said yes.
Why the law forces a decision
An estate cannot stay in limbo indefinitely while heirs quietly wait to see what happens. Once a court has ordered distribution, the settlement needs a definite answer from each heir, devisee, and legatee so the estate can actually be closed out and handed over. Defaulting to acceptance, rather than to repudiation, also reflects a general preference in succession law: an inheritance is presumed to be something a person wants, so inaction is read as going along with it rather than as rejecting it.
What to do if you are unsure about accepting
If you are weighing whether to accept or repudiate, particularly because the estate may carry debts, treat the thirty-day period after the distribution order as a real deadline, not a formality. Once it passes without your having signified repudiation to the court, the default of acceptance takes hold, and undoing that later is far more difficult than acting within the window the law actually gives you.