Text of the provision
Art. 1016. In order that the right of accretion may take place in a testamentary succession, it shall be necessary:
(1) That two or more persons be called to the same inheritance, or to the same portion thereof, pro indiviso; and
(2) That one of the persons thus called die before the testator, or renounce the inheritance, or be incapacitated to receive it.
(928a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
For accretion in a will, it is necessary that two or more persons be called to the same inheritance or portion thereof pro indiviso, and that one of them dies before the testator, renounces, or is incapacitated.
The phrase “pro indiviso” means undivided — co-heirs are called to the same inheritance or portion without their individual shares being separately identified in advance. For example, if a will names three friends jointly as heirs to “my residuary estate” without assigning each a specific fraction, and one of them predeceases the testator, both requisites of this article are satisfied: the heirs were called pro indiviso, and one died before the testator. Whether the vacant share then actually accrues to the others is governed by the following articles on how accretion operates once these threshold requisites are met.
Questions about this provision
- What happens to a specific item left in a will if the person named to receive it refuses to accept it?
- One co-heir's share in a will lapsed — does the rest of us absorb it automatically by accretion?
- When does a lapsed heir's share go to the co-heirs by accretion instead of back to the estate?
Related provisions
- Article 1015 — Accretion Defined.
- Article 1017 — 'In Equal Shares' Still Allows Accretion.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.