Text of the provision
Art. 861. If heirs instituted in unequal shares should be reciprocally substituted, the substitute shall acquire the share of the heir who dies, renounces, or is incapacitated, unless it clearly appears that the intention of the testator was otherwise. If there are more than one substitute, they shall have the same share in the substitution as in the institution.
(779a)
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
If heirs instituted in unequal shares are reciprocally substituted, the substitute takes the share the substituted heir had, unless it clearly appears the testator intended otherwise.
Questions about this provision
- I named my heirs as each other's substitutes in unequal shares — what share does the substitute get?
Related provisions
- Article 860 — Brief or Compendious Substitution.
- Article 862 — The Substitute Takes the Same Burdens.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.