Short answer. Succession is the mode of acquiring property by death. Article 774 transmits a person's property, rights and obligations — the obligations only to the extent of the value of the inheritance — to another or others, either through the will he made or, if he made none, by operation of law.

What the law says

Succession is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance, of a person are transmitted through his death to another or others either by his will or by operation of law.

Civil Code, Article 774 — Succession Defined. Read the full provision →

The definition, taken apart

Article 774 defines it: Succession is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance, of a person are transmitted through his death to another or others either by his will or by operation of law. Three things are packed into that sentence. Succession is a way of acquiring ownership, ranking alongside sale and donation. It is triggered by death and by nothing else. And it moves a bundle — not only assets, but rights and obligations attached to them.

Debts pass, but only up to what you receive

The clause to the extent of the value of the inheritance is the one that reassures most readers. An heir is not personally answerable for the deceased's debts out of his own pocket. The estate answers first, and what the heirs receive is what is left after the obligations of the estate are met. So inheriting a father's house does not import his creditors into your own finances; it means the house forms part of a mass that must satisfy his debts before anything is divided. The practical risk is not liability without limit — it is receiving less than expected, or nothing at all.

Three ways an estate can pass

Article 778 lists the kinds of succession: testamentary, legal or intestate, and mixed. Testamentary succession, under Article 779, results from the designation of an heir made in a will executed in the form the law prescribes. Where there is no valid will, the law itself supplies the heirs and their shares. Article 780 covers the common middle case — mixed succession, effected partly by will and partly by operation of law — which is what happens when a will disposes of only part of the estate, or when part of it fails.

Not everything a person had becomes inheritance

Article 776 draws the boundary: the inheritance includes all the property, rights and obligations of a person which are not extinguished by his death. Rights that are purely personal end with the person and never reach the heirs, however valuable they may have been to him. Working out what is inside the estate and what fell away at death is the first real task in any settlement, and it is usually settled by documents — titles, contracts, policies and account records — rather than by argument among the family.

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.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.