Short answer. No. If the testator ordered payment of a debt he believed he owed but did not in fact owe, Article 939 treats that direction as not written, so the estate need not pay it. And where a real debt exists but the will orders more than the true amount, the excess is not due unless a contrary intention appears.
What the law says
If the testator orders the payment of what he believes he owes but does not in fact owe, the disposition shall be considered as not written.
Civil Code, Article 939 — Paying a Debt the Testator Believed He Owed. Read the full provision →
What the law says
If as regards a specified debt more than the amount thereof is ordered paid, the excess is not due, unless a contrary intention appears.
Civil Code, Article 939 — Paying a Debt the Testator Believed He Owed. Read the full provision →
A debt that never existed is not paid
A will cannot manufacture a debt out of the testator's mistaken belief. Article 939 provides that if the testator orders the payment of what he believes he owes but does not in fact owe, the disposition shall be considered as not written. Because the order rested on an error — the testator thought he was settling a real obligation that did not exist — the law simply erases that instruction. The estate is not required to pay, and the supposed creditor cannot enforce it. Treating the clause as "not written" means it drops out of the will entirely, as though the testator had never included it.
Overstating a real debt
The article also handles a genuine debt whose amount the will inflates. If as regards a specified debt more than the amount thereof is ordered paid, the excess is not due, unless a contrary intention appears. So if the testator truly owed a sum but the will directs payment of a larger figure, the creditor collects only what was actually owed; the surplus is not payable. The exception is a clear contrary intention — where it appears the testator meant the extra as a genuine gift on top of the debt. Absent that, the estate pays the real obligation and no more.
Why the law reads it this way
The provision protects the estate and the true heirs from paying out on illusions or padded figures. A direction to pay a non-existent debt, or to overpay a real one, usually reflects the testator's mistake rather than a considered decision to give money away. So the law confines payment to what was actually owed, unless the will shows the testator really intended more as a benefit. This keeps the estate from being drained by errors while still honoring a testator who deliberately chose to give a creditor something beyond the strict debt.
Natural obligations are preserved
One important saving clause remains. The article states that its rules are without prejudice to the fulfillment of natural obligations. A natural obligation is one that is not legally enforceable but rests on conscience and equity — a duty the law will not compel, yet will respect if voluntarily honored. So even where a "debt" is not legally owed, a payment the testator directed may still stand if it answers to such a natural obligation. The takeaway: fictitious or overstated legal debts fall away, but genuine moral duties the testator chose to satisfy are not swept aside by this article.