Text of the provision

Art. 775. In this Title, "decedent" is the general term applied to the person whose property is transmitted through succession, whether or not he left a will. If he left a will, he is also called the testator.

(n)

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

‘Decedent’ is the general term for the person whose property is transmitted through succession. If he left a will, he is called the testator.

The Title on succession uses “decedent” as the broader of two related terms: it covers anyone whose property passes to others through succession, regardless of whether that person left a will. “Testator” is the narrower term, reserved for a decedent who did leave a will. Every testator is therefore a decedent, but not every decedent is a testator — a person who dies without a will still transmits an estate through succession and is still called the decedent, just not the testator.

Questions about this provision

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.