Short answer. Usually no. A charge like building a chapel is treated as a mode, not a suspended condition, unless the testator clearly meant it as a condition. Under Article 882 you may claim the property at once, provided you give security that you will carry out his wishes and return the property if you fail.
What the law says
The statement of the object of the institution, or the application of the property left by the testator, or the charge imposed by him, shall not be considered as a condition unless it appears that such was his intention.
Civil Code, Article 882 — Modal Institution. Read the full provision →
What the law says
That which has been left in this manner may be claimed at once provided that the instituted heir or his heirs give security for compliance with the wishes of the testator
Civil Code, Article 882 — Modal Institution. Read the full provision →
A purpose or charge is a mode, not a condition
The law draws a careful line between a condition and a mode. Article 882 provides that the statement of the object of the institution, or the application of the property left by the testator, or the charge imposed by him, shall not be considered as a condition unless it appears that such was his intention. A condition suspends the gift — you get nothing until it happens. A mode does not. When the testator says he leaves you land "so that" you build a chapel, he is stating the purpose or imposing a charge, not making your inheritance wait. The default reading is that the chapel is a duty attached to a gift you already receive, not a hurdle you must clear before the gift exists.
You can claim the property now, with security
Because it is a mode, you are not made to build first and inherit later. The article says that which has been left in this manner may be claimed at once provided that the instituted heir or his heirs give security for compliance with the wishes of the testator. So you take the property immediately, but you post security guaranteeing that you will actually carry out the charge — here, that the chapel gets built. The estate is protected not by holding the property back, but by the guarantee you give that the testator's wishes will be honored after you receive it.
If you ignore the charge, you give it back
The security is not a formality. Article 882 requires it to cover the return of anything you receive, together with its fruits and interests, should you disregard the obligation. In plain terms: if you take the property and then fail to build the chapel or otherwise flout the testator's wishes, you can be made to return what you were given — plus the income and interest it produced in your hands. The mode is a real, enforceable duty. It simply does not delay your inheritance; it hangs over it, backed by the security, until you comply.
When the testator really meant a condition
The whole rule yields to a contrary intention. If it genuinely appears that the testator meant the chapel to be a true condition — that you inherit nothing unless and until it is built — then it is treated as a condition and the gift is suspended accordingly. Everything turns on reading the will to see what the testator intended. Where the wording is doubtful, the law leans toward treating the requirement as a mode, so that the gift takes effect now and the duty is enforced through security, rather than leaving the property in limbo.
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.
- Johnny S. Rabadilla vs. Court of Appeals and Maria Marlena Coscuella y Belleza Villacarlos, G.R. No. 113725, June 29, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Camarines Sur Teachers and Employees Association, Inc., represented by its President, Dr. Antonio A, G.R. No. 199666, October 7, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →