Short answer. The right to choose passes to that person's own heirs. Article 943 of the Civil Code says that if the heir, legatee, or devisee who was granted the right to choose the legacy cannot make that choice, the right passes to his heirs. Once a choice is actually made, though, it becomes irrevocable.
What the law says
If the heir, legatee or devisee cannot make the choice, in case it has been granted him, his right shall pass to his heirs; but a choice once made shall be irrevocable.
Civil Code, Article 943 — When the Chooser Cannot Choose. Read the full provision →
Why the right survives the original chooser
Article 943 addresses what happens when the person given a right to choose among several things left as a legacy is unable to exercise that right, including through death before choosing. Rather than letting the right simply lapse or the legacy fail, the article provides that his right shall pass to his heirs. This means the choice is not lost; it passes down as part of what the original heir, legatee, or devisee is entitled to, carried forward by his own successors.
What this means for the deceased chooser's heirs
Because the right to choose passes to the heirs of the person who could not make it, those heirs step into the position their predecessor would have occupied, with the ability to select among the options the legacy allowed. This is treated as an inherited right rather than a separate, independent power the heirs are given on their own account; it is the same choice that would have belonged to the original heir, legatee, or devisee, now exercised by those who succeed to his rights instead.
Why the irrevocability rule still matters here
Article 943 closes with a separate but related point: a choice once made shall be irrevocable. This means that once the right to choose is actually exercised, whether by the original person entitled to it or by the heirs who inherited that right, the selection is final. The rule about the right passing to heirs when the original chooser cannot act is therefore paired with a rule ensuring whoever does make the choice cannot later change their mind about it.
How the heirs should exercise the inherited choice
Because more than one heir may inherit the right to choose together, exercising it in practice generally calls for those heirs to agree among themselves on which option to select, since the right passed to them collectively as successors to the original holder rather than being divided into separate, independent choices for each of them. Documenting how that agreement was reached can matter later, particularly given that Article 943 treats the eventual choice as final and no longer open to being revisited once it is made.
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.
- Amadea Angela K. Aquino vs. Rodolfo C. Aquino and Abdulah C. Aquino/Rodolfo C. Aquino, G.R. No. 208912 / G.R. No. 209018, December 7, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →