Text of the provision
Art. 1042. The effects of the acceptance or repudiation shall always retroact to the moment of the death of the decedent.
(989)
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
The effects of acceptance or repudiation always retroact to the moment of the decedent's death.
Because acceptance or repudiation retroacts to the moment of death, an heir who accepts is treated as having owned the inherited property continuously from the instant the decedent died, never from the later moment he actually accepted — and an heir who repudiates is treated as if he had never been an heir at all. This avoids any gap in ownership while the inheritance sits undecided, and it is part of why Article 1043 insists on certainty before the decision is made: the retroactive effect is too significant to attach to a choice made in doubt.
Questions about this provision
- Does accepting or refusing an inheritance take effect from the death or only from the acceptance?
- When exactly does inheritance pass to the heirs in the Philippines?
Related provisions
- Article 1041 — Acceptance Is Purely Voluntary.
- Article 1043 — Certainty Is Required First.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.