Text of the provision
Art. 42. Civil personality is extinguished by death. The effect of death upon the rights and obligations of the deceased is determined by law, by contract and by will.
(32a)
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
Just as birth begins personality, death ends it. What happens to the deceased's rights and obligations afterward is settled by three sources: the law (chiefly the rules on succession), the deceased's contracts (some end at death, others pass to heirs), and the will. Purely personal rights die with the person; patrimonial ones generally transmit to the estate and heirs.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 43 — presumption when the order of deaths is doubtful.
- Article 774 — succession as the mode transmitting a decedent's estate (once built).
Cases citing this article
- Continental Steel Manufacturing Corporation vs. Hon. Accredited Voluntary Arbitrator Allan S. Montano, et al, G.R. No. 182836, October 13, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Belinda E. Soriano, et al. vs. Antonio V. Estrella, G.R. No. 236333, April 20, 2026 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Teofila Ilagan-Mendoza, et al. vs. Hon. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 171374, April 8, 2008 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.