3. Conditional Testamentary Dispositions and Dispositions with a Term

Dispositions in Favor of an Unknown Person (Art. 845)

General Rule: Every disposition in favor of an unknown person shall be void.

Exception: The disposition is valid if the person can be identified with certainty by some event or circumstance.

Dispositions in Favor of a Definite Class

A disposition in favor of a definite class or group of persons shall be valid. (Art. 845)

Period of Inalienability of the Estate

General Rule: The dispositions of the testator declaring all or part of the estate inalienable for more than 20 years are void. (Art. 870)

Exception: In fideicommissary substitution, the period is the lifetime of the first heir.

Dispositions with a Condition or Term – Civil Code, arts. 871-885

SECTION 4

Conditional Testamentary Dispositions and Testamentary Dispositions With a Term

Article 871. The institution of an heir may be made conditionally, or for a certain purpose or cause. (790a)

Article 872. The testator cannot impose any charge, condition, or substitution whatsoever upon the legitimes prescribed in this Code. Should he do so, the same shall be considered as not imposed. (813a)

Article 873. Impossible conditions and those contrary to law or good customs shall be considered as not imposed and shall in no manner prejudice the heir, even if the testator should otherwise provide. (792a)

Article 874. An absolute condition not to contract a first or subsequent marriage shall be considered as not written unless such condition has been imposed on the widow or widower by the deceased spouse, or by the latter's ascendants or descendants.

Nevertheless, the right of usufruct, or an allowance or some personal prestation may be devised or bequeathed to any person for the time during which he or she should remain unmarried or in widowhood. (793a)

Article 875. Any disposition made upon the condition that the heir shall make some provision in his will in favor of the testator or of any other person shall be void. (794a)

Article 876. Any purely potestative condition imposed upon an heir must be fulfilled by him as soon as he learns of the testator's death.

This rule shall not apply when the condition, already complied with, cannot be fulfilled again. (795a)

Article 877. If the condition is casual or mixed, it shall be sufficient if it happen or be fulfilled at any time before or after the death of the testator, unless he has provided otherwise.

Should it have existed or should it have been fulfilled at the time the will was executed and the testator was unaware thereof, it shall be deemed as complied with.

If he had knowledge thereof, the condition shall be considered fulfilled only when it is of such a nature that it can no longer exist or be complied with again. (796)

Article 878. A disposition with a suspensive term does not prevent the instituted heir from acquiring his rights and transmitting them to his heirs even before the arrival of the term. (799a)

Article 879. If the potestative condition imposed upon the heir is negative, or consists in not doing or not giving something, he shall comply by giving a security that he will not do or give that which has been prohibited by the testator, and that in case of contravention he will return whatever he may have received, together with its fruits and interests. (800a)

Article 880. If the heir be instituted under a suspensive condition or term, the estate shall be placed under administration until the condition is fulfilled, or until it becomes certain that it cannot be fulfilled, or until the arrival of the term.

The same shall be done if the heir does not give the security required in the preceding article. (801a)

Article 881. The appointment of the administrator of the estate mentioned in the preceding article, as well as the manner of the administration and the rights and obligations of the administrator shall be governed by the Rules of Court. (804a)

Article 882. The statement of the object of the institution, or the application of the property left by the testator, or the charge imposed by him, shall not be considered as a condition unless it appears that such was his intention.

That which has been left in this manner may be claimed at once provided that the instituted heir or his heirs give security for compliance with the wishes of the testator and for the return of anything he or they may receive, together with its fruits and interests, if he or they should disregard this obligation. (797a)

Article 883. When without the fault of the heir, an institution referred to in the preceding article cannot take effect in the exact manner stated by the testator, it shall be complied with in a manner most analogous to and in conformity with his wishes.

If the person interested in the condition should prevent its fulfillment, without the fault of the heir, the condition shall be deemed to have been complied with. (798a)

Article 884. Conditions imposed by the testator upon the heirs shall be governed by the rules established for conditional obligations in all matters not provided for by this Section. (791a)

Article 885. The designation of the day or time when the effects of the institution of an heir shall commence or cease shall be valid.

In both cases, the legal heir shall be considered as called to the succession until the arrival of the period or its expiration. But in the first case he shall not enter into possession of the property until after having given sufficient security, with the intervention of the instituted heir. (805)

CONDITIONAL TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS and DISPOSITIONS WITH A TERM

The institution of an heir may be made conditionally, or for a certain purpose or cause. (Art. 871)

Three Kinds of Testamentary Dispositions

• Conditional dispositions
• Dispositions with a term
• Dispositions with a mode

Definitions

• Condition – Future or uncertain event, or a past event unknown to the parties, upon which the performance of an obligation depends (Art. 1179)
• Term – The day or time when an obligation either becomes demandable or terminates (Art. 1193)
• Mode – The statement of the object of the institution or the application of the property left by the testator or the charge imposed on the heir. (Art. 882) It is an obligation imposed upon the heir, without suspending the effectivity of the institution or the rights to the succession. (Rabadilla v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 113725)
• Disposicion Captatoria/ Scriptura Captatoria – A condition that the heir shall make some provision in his will in favor of the testator or of any other person. This is prohibited because it will make the making of the will a contractual act. (Art. 875)
• It is not merely the condition that is declared void but the testamentary disposition itself which contains the condition. (Balane, supra)
• Casual Condition – A condition is casual if it depends upon chance and/or upon the will of a third person
• Mixed Condition - A condition is mixed if it depends both partly upon the will of the heir himself and upon chance and/or the will of a third person
• Potestative Condition – One the fulfillment of which depends purely on the heir
• Suspensive Term – One that merely suspends the demandability of a right; happening is certain.
• Caucion Muciana – Bond or security that should be given in favor of those who would get the property if the condition not be complied with. (Art. 879)

Disposicion Captatoria refers to a testamentary disposition conditioned on the heir making a provision in the heir’s will in favor of the testator or any other person; the disposition is void under Art. 875.

This type of arrangement is generally considered void in many legal systems because it tends to undermine the principle of free testamentary disposition. The concept is rooted in the idea that a will should be a reflection of the free and independent will of the testator, without undue influence or conditional agreements that might compromise this freedom.

In the context of the Philippine Civil Code, such dispositions are typically void as they are seen to limit the free will of the testator, which is a fundamental principle in the law of succession. The Code aims to ensure that wills and other testamentary instruments are executed based on the genuine and uninfluenced intent of the testator.

Interpretations

• When in doubt whether there is a condition or merely a mode, consider the same as mode.
• When in doubt as to whether there is a mode or merely a suggestion, consider same only as a suggestion.
• A suspensive condition postpones the acquisition of rights until it is fulfilled; a resolutory condition does not suspend effectivity. A mode imposes an obligation without, by itself, suspending the institution.

Conditions Prohibiting Marriage

General Rule: An absolute condition not to contract a first or subsequent marriage shall be considered as not written. (Art. 874)

Exception: The condition has been imposed on the widow or widower by the deceased spouse, or by the latter’s ascendants or descendants. (Art. 874)

The right of usufruct, or an allowance or some personal prestation may be devised or bequeathed to any person for the time during which he or she should remain unmarried or in widowhood. (Art. 874)

Positive Potestative Condition (Art. 876)

General Rule: It must be fulfilled as soon as the heir learns of the testator’s death.

Exception: The condition, already complied with, is of such nature that it cannot be fulfilled again.

Negative Potestative Condition (Art. 879)

If the potestative condition imposed upon the heir is negative, or consists in not doing or not giving something, the heir shall comply by giving a security (caucion muciana) that he will not do or give that which has been prohibited by the testator, and that in case of contravention he will return whatever he may have received, together with its fruits and interests.

Constructive Compliance (Art. 883, par. 2)

If the person interested in the condition should prevent its fulfillment, without the fault of the heir, the condition shall be deemed to have been complied with.

The estate shall be placed under administration until:

• Condition is fulfilled, or
• Until it becomes certain that condition will never be fulfilled, or
• Until arrival of the term

The same shall be done if the heir does not give the security required as in negative potestative conditions. (Art. 880)

Suspensive Term (Art. 878)

A disposition with a suspensive term does not prevent the instituted heir from acquiring his rights and transmitting them to his heirs even before the arrival of the term.

NOTE: The heir’s right vests upon the testator’s death. Should the heir die before the arrival of the suspensive term, he merely transmits his right to his own heirs who can demand the property when the term arrives. (Balane, supra)

Dispositions with Modes

Dispositions with modes may be claimed at once, provided that the instituted heirs give security for compliance with the wishes of the testator and for the return of anything he or they may receive, together with its fruits and interests, if he or they should disregard this obligation. (Art. 882, par. 2)

Indicators of a Modal Institution

The testator states the following:

• The object of the institution;
• The purpose or application of the property left by the testator;
• The charge imposed by the testator upon the heir. (Rabadilla v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 113725)

NOTE: An obligation imposed upon the heir should not be considered a condition unless it clearly appears from the will itself that such was the intention of the testator. In case of doubt, the institution should be considered as modal and not condition. (Rabadilla v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 113725, 2000)

Nature of Reservatarios’ Right

• The reservatarios have a right of expectancy over the property;
• The right is subject to a suspensive condition. (The expectancy ripens into ownership if the reservatarios survive the reservista).
• The right is alienable, but subject to the same suspensive condition.
• The right is registrable. (Sienes v. Esparcia, G.R. No. L-12957)

When Ownership Vests

• Pure and determinate property – Upon testator’s death
• Pure and generic property –
• If the property came from the testator’s estate – Upon delivery of the property by the executor or administrator
• If the property is acquired from a third person – Upon delivery of the property by the executor or administrator
• Devises or legacies with a suspensive term – Upon arrival of the term, but the right to it vests upon the testator’s death
• Devises or legacies with a suspensive condition – Upon the testator’s death, if the condition is fulfilled. (Art. 948; Paras, supra)

Fruits

• Pure and determinate property – Upon testator’s death
• Pure and generic property – The fruits and income belong to the testator’s estate until delivery to the legatee or devisee
• Devises or legacies with a suspensive term – Upon arrival of the term
• Devises or legacies with a suspensive condition – Upon the happening of the condition, unless the testator provides otherwise (Art. 948; Paras, supra)

NOTE: If the legacy or devise is of a specific and determinate thing pertaining to the testator, the legatee or devisee does not acquire the income which was due and unpaid before the testator’s death. (Art. 948)

From the moment of the testator’s death, the specific and determinate thing bequeathed shall be at the risk of the legatee or devisee, who shall bear its loss or deterioration, and shall be benefited by its increase or improvement, without prejudice to the responsibility of the executor or administrator. (Art. 948)