Short answer. Usually not. A legacy fails if the testator transformed the thing so that it kept neither its form nor its name. Both have to be lost — a repair, or a change that leaves the thing recognisably what it was, does not defeat the gift.
What the law says
The legacy or devise shall be without effect:
Civil Code, Article 957 — When a Legacy Is Without Effect. Read the full provision →
What the law says
If the testator transforms the thing bequeathed in such a manner that it does not retain either the form or the denomination it had
Civil Code, Article 957 — When a Legacy Is Without Effect. Read the full provision →
The test is form and name, and it needs both
Read the clause carefully, because the negative construction is easy to misread. The legacy fails where the thing does not retain either the form or the denomination it had — that is, it has kept neither. If the thing still has its original form, the clause is not satisfied. If it still goes by the same name, the clause is not satisfied. Only where both have gone does the transformation defeat the gift, which sets a demanding threshold.
Why transformation matters at all
The rule is really about the testator's intention, inferred from conduct. Someone who takes the thing they left you and turns it into something else entirely has, by that act, treated it as no longer the thing they set aside for you. The Code reads the transformation as a revocation in fact. Notice that the clause requires the transformation to be done by the testator — a change brought about by someone else does not carry the same implication about what the testator wanted.
Repairs, improvements and renovations
This is where most real situations land, and the threshold usually decides them. A house that has been repaired, extended or refurbished is still a house and still goes by the same description. Its form has changed in some degree; its denomination has not. On the wording of the clause, that is not enough. The provision is aimed at genuine conversion of one thing into another, not at the ordinary maintenance and improvement of property over a lifetime.
The other ways a legacy can fail
The same article lists two further grounds, and they are worth knowing together. A legacy is also without effect if the testator alienates the thing by any title or for any cause — and where only part was alienated, the legacy fails only as to that part. It is likewise without effect if the thing is totally lost during the testator's lifetime, or after his death without the heir's fault. Transformation is one of three routes to the same outcome.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Raquel Estipona (Lelandlord E. Sto. Domingo) and Sps. Alberto Co and Lulu Co, G.R. No. 207407, September 29, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →