Law of Succession

Introduction
 Art.1 of the civil code- human person is subject of
rights/duties from birth to death
 Does that means those entitlement cease to exist?
 The rights and duties pass to other person except those w/c
are personal in nature
 Law of succession governs the manner in which those
rights are passed
 Deals with devolution of rights and duties?
 Related only to how estate of the deceased person passed
 An interrelated course to family, property, contract etc,
cross-disciplinary knowledge
Chapter one
DEVOLUTION OF SUCCESSIONS

 It deals with the issues like,

 what constitutes the inheritable property of the decedent
(or the deceased),
 what rights and powers does the testator (will maker) have,
 what rights and obligations of the heirs and/legatees have,
 the mechanisms of devolution of succession (via intestate
and testate ways),
 the formalities of making a will,
 mechanisms of revocation and lapse of will, etc.
General considerations of the
devolution of A succession
1. The Concept of Patrimony
 The literal meaning of patrimony is the estate that
descended from the father to his descendants
 However, this does not exclude the estate that
descends from the mother to her descendants and
beyond
 In the law of property, patrimony may have a different
meaning
 There is a link between a person and patrimony
Cont…
 This link can be expressed in the following four ways:
1. Only persons have patrimony with the exclusion of other beings.
Persons are beings that are capable of having rights or owing obligations.
2. Every person necessarily has a patrimony, irrespective of the fact that
the person has no property at all. Patrimony is linked to the personality
of the person.
3. Patrimony is a unit. All the property and all the charges of a person
form a single mass.
4. Patrimony is inseparable from the person. Therefore, there can’t be a
total transfer of property of the person while he/she is still alive.
 many legal scholars based on the above principle argue that a person
should not have the right to regulate his/her estate after his/her death,
as death has brought a complete separation of the person and and
patrimony.
Opening of Succession
 Art.826 cc- succession of the person opens at the place he/she had his/her
principal residence at the time of his/her death
 Article 174 of the Civil Code-the residence of the person is the place where he
normally resides
 The normality of residence will show that the person’s socio-economic life in
the society.
 When a person has many residences, one of such residences may be
considered as a principal residence of such person
 The succession of the deceased shall open just at the time of his/her death
 According to Article 1 of the Civil Code, the human person is subject of rights
(and also duties) from its birth to its death.
 This means a dead person has no rights or duties
 There are also rights and obligations of the deceased that terminate with
his/her death
 Some obligations of the deceased could also pass to his heirs and/or legatees
Things making up a Succession
 All property which were owned or possessed by the deceased on the
day of his/her death shall constitute his/her inheritance
 All the inheritable property left by the deceased at the time of his/her
death are called the hereditary estate
 the hereditary estate are not limited to corporeal(tangible) things
 they include incorporeal(intangible) things such as the works of mind
and literary rights
A. Art, 827 life insurance make inheritance- if no beneficiary is
designated or the contract is to the benefit of the heirs
 Art.701 comm.Code-An Insurance policy for the event of death-mean
to beneficiary
 Spouse and children shall be deemed to be specified beneficiary
though not mentioned
 Federal supreme court cassation decision- must be mentioned or
indicated
Cont…
B. Pension and indemnities
 Pension is money payable to person when he/she is unable to work
 the pension scheme has the purpose of supporting those persons who were maintained
by the pensioner during his/her life time
 Pension is money payable to the spouse, children or parents of the deceased person
based on conditions specified under pension Proclamation
 if a person who is a government employee dies, the widow or the widower would be
entitled to receive 50% of the pension to which the deceased was or would have been
entitled
 each of the deceased's children would receive 20% of the pension to which the deceased
was or would have been entitled.
 Orphans are entitled to receive this amount so long as they are less than 18 years of age.
 The money collected from pension allowance can be given to the persons who were
supported by the pensioner.
 Pension money is not the estate left by the deceased at the time of his death.
 The spouse or the relative of the pensioner has no right to pass the pension allowance to
which he/she is entitled to his/her heirs when he/she (the spouse or the relative) dies.
 Therefore, pension allowance does not constitute the hereditary estate of the deceased.
Cont…
 Indemnity is money to be paid to the spouse or
relatives of the deceased person
 The one who caused the death of the person may pay
compensation or indemnity to these persons.
 However, such money cannot form part of the
inheritance of the deceased
 For instance, if the person who is entitled to receive
the indemnity payment dies, the money cannot go to
his heirs.
Types of succession
 A person’s succession may be conducted in one of the two types
of successions.
 As it is prescribed in Art. 829, succession could be either testate
or intestate.
 It could also be the combination of the two types.
 Testate succession is a succession in which the estate of the
deceased person shall pass to his heirs and/or legatees according
to the order of the deceased in the will he/she made.
 If the deceased made a valid will, his/her succession would be
conducted in accordance with the will.
 A person who left a will is called a testator.
 If the testator had no will at all, or his/her will is not valid, the
succession of such person shall be conducted by the operation
of the law.
Capacity to succeed
 One is expected to have capacity to succeed
 The capacity to succeed depends mainly on two conditions.
 The first one is; the heir and/or legatee must survive the deceased person.
 The second requirement is such heir and/or legatee must not be unworthy.
 The first condition is an objective condition and the heir and/or legatee shall
lose his right to succeed the deceased for reasons outside his volition.
 The second condition is a subjective condition which occurs with a willful act
of the heir and/or legatee. Articles 830 & 831 of the Civil Code
 If two or more persons who have a reciprocal right to succeed each other die
together, say in an accident,
 how do we conduct the succession of these persons? That is, which person has
survived the other?
Cont…
 Art. 832. — Persons dying simultaneously
 Where two or more persons are dead and it is not
possible to prove which of such persons survived the
other, the succession of each one of such persons shall
be regulated as if he had been the last survivor
without, however, receiving anything from the
succession of the other persons.
Cont…
 DEATH OF HEIR
 If the heir is alive at the time of the death of the deceased
(i.e., at the time of opening of his succession), then such
an heir is said to have survived the deceased.
 If the heir survives the deceased, he/she fulfills the
requirement of survivorship.
 What will happen to his/her share from the succession of
the deceased?
 According to Art. 833, all the rights of the heir in the
succession of the deceased shall pass to the heirs of the
heir
Cont…
 UNWORTHINESS
 The second condition to succeed the deceased is related with unworthiness.
 That is, in order to succeed the deceased, the heir and/or the legatee must not
be an unworthy person.
 An heir and/or a legatee can become unworthy because of his criminal actions
 The rationale behind this rule is that a person may not profit from his/her own
crime.
 Arts. 838 – 840, there are several factors that can make an heir and/or a
legatee unworthy.
 The first crime that could make an heir unworthy is his intentional murder
of:
 The deceased himself,
 The deceased’s descendant,
 The deceased’s ascendant or
 The deceased’s spouse.
 The second reason that makes a person unworthy is, his/her attempt to kill the
persons enumerated under Article 838 (a).
Cont…
 The third reason that makes an heir or legatee unworthy is a
false accusation against the persons enumerated under Art
838(a).
 To make the heir or legatee unworthy, the false accusation must
entail the condemnation of any of such persons to capital
punishment or rigorous imprisonment for more than ten years
 The fourth reason that could make an heir or a legatee unworthy
is perjury. Someone commits perjury when he/she stands as a
false witness against somebody.
 The fifth reason relates to the interference with the right or
power of the testator in making a will.
 The heir or the legatee in this case, by taking advantage of the
physical state of the deceased, has prevented him from making,
modifying or revoking a will.
UNBORN CHILD

 As it is indicated in Article 1 of the Civil Code, the human

person is the subject of rights from its birth to its death.
 . However, this rule has an exception in that a merely
conceived child could be considered born whenever his
interest so requires.
 To attribute personality to a merely conceived child, it
must be born alive and show its vigor for survival by its
viability.
 “A child shall be deemed to be viable where he lives for
forty-eight hours after his birth…” (Article 4(1) of the Civil
Code)
OUTSIDE MARRIAGE AND
ADOPTED CHILDREN

 The Ethiopian law of succession makes no distinction

based on the status of a child whether such child is
born in marriage, outside a wedlock marriage or
he/she is an adopted child.
 An adopted child, for all intents and purposes, is
assimilated to a natural child.
 The only exception for this rule is, as prescribed under
Art. 182 of the Revised Family Law
 adoption cannot be effective against the ascendants
and collaterals of the adopter who opposed the
adoption
Sex, age and nationality of heir
 The FDRE Constitution has recognized the property rights
of women. Art 35(7)
 With respect to age, it cannot be a ground to discriminate
heirs. As long as there is no valid will left by the deceased
that discriminates the heirs based on their ages, the rights
of the heirs to inherit the deceased cannot be affected by
their age.
 That is, the eldest child has no special privilege in the
succession of parents.
 The same is true with respect to nationality of the heir.
 But this rule is subject to the provisions of the Civil Code
which restrict ownership of immovable property by
foreigners. (See Articles 390 — 393)
INTESTATE SUCCESSIONS
• In Ethiopia, most of the successions are intestate.
• When the deceased leaves no will at all or a court for
various reasons invalidates the will made by him, it is
said that the succession is intestate.
• In such a case, the distribution of the estate will be in
accordance with the operation of the law rather than
the volition of the deceased. Art.842-848
Devolution according to the degree
of relativity
 Takes into account the presumption that he/she would give his/her estate to
his/her closest relatives in the first place
 In the second place, relatives who are situated at a relatively distant position
when compared with the relatives of the first degree shall succeed the
deceased.
 Accordingly, the law considers the children of a person are his/her closest
relatives.
A. FIRST RELATIONSHIP
• Children or other descendants are number one candidates to succeed a person
(See Art. 842(1)).
• All children of the person who died intestate have equal rights in the
succession irrespective of their age, sex, etc. differences.
• A person who claims to have a right in a succession is expected to be alive at
the time of death of the deceased.
• This is the requirement of survivorship.
• representation could be taken as an exception to the rule of survivorship.
B. SECOND RELATIONSHIP
 If the deceased is not survived by his/her children or other
descendants, the father and the mother of the deceased will be called
to his/her succession
 His/her father and his/her mother are in the second order in the queue
of the relatives of the deceased.
 The father and mother of the deceased will take equal share of the
whole estate of the deceased.
 In the case where one of the parents has died before the deceased,
such parent shall be represented by his/her children (or other
descendants).
 In a situation where the father predeceased the deceased and where
descendants do not survive him, there is nobody to take the estate of
the deceased in the paternal line at that level.
 In this case, the heirs of the maternal line take the whole estate of the
deceased.
C. THIRD RELATIONSHIP
 A person has four grandparents, two on the paternal
line and two on the maternal line.
 If the deceased is survived by all of the four
grandparents, half of the hereditary estate shall be
devolved on the paternal grandparents and the rest
half will go to the maternal grandparents.
 Each of them shall be entitled to one-fourth of the
hereditary estate.
 If one of them predeceased the deceased and is
survived by descendants, he/she will be represented
by such descendants.
D. FOURTH RELATIONSHIP

 A person has eight great-grandparents, four on the

paternal line and the other four on the maternal line.
 The distribution of the estate follows the same pattern
as that of the case of parents and grandparents.
Paterna paternis-materna
maternis
 Art.849-852
 Articles 842 to 848 describe the rule in which intestate succession is governed.
 That is, the closest relative of the deceased would succeed him/her. This rule has an
exception.
 The exception is — although there are closer relatives of the deceased, a certain property
may devolve upon far distant relatives.
 The law calls this exception as paterna paternis materna maternis.
 The exceptional rule of paterna paternis materna maternis is designed to allocate an
immovable property that is obtained by the deceased from one of the lines by way of
donation or succession to the heirs of the line from which the property is obtained
 relative of the deceased and should have succeeded the deceased, but lost his right as a
result of paterna paternis materna maternis, will have a usufruct right on the immovable
 A usufruct right is a right to use a property or to derive a fruit from that property
 If the immovable property is acquired from the paternal line, there has to be an heir in
that line. In case of absence of any heir in the paternal line, the immovable property
shall devolve upon the maternal line. The converse is also true
Cont….
 To apply the rule paterna paternis materna maternis, the
following five conditions must all exist together. If one of them
is missing, it cannot be applicable. The five conditions are:
 The deceased must die intestate. (The exceptional rule cannot
be applied if there is a will)
 His/her own descendants must not survive the deceased. (If
there are descendants, Art. 842 shall apply)
 The property must be an immovable one. (Art. 849 (1) & (2))
 The property must be acquired by the deceased from either
paternal or maternal lines by way of succession or donation.
(Art. 849 (1) & (2))
 There must be an heir in the line from which the property has
originated. (Art. 851)
Escheat
 When there are no heirs of the deceased up to the 4th
relationship, the property shall devolve on the State.
 This condition is usually said to be Escheat. Escheat is
reversion of property to the state in the absence of legal
heirs or claimants.
 The State takes the property of the deceased not by way of
succession, but because such property has no one to claim
it.
 Property which is bona vacantia (ownerless or vacant
property) belongs to the State and it is via this principle
that the Government is taking the property of the deceased
that has no heir up to the 4th relationship. (See Article
852)
Representation and renunciation
A. Representation :- Article 853, Civil Code
 It can be said that there two modes of succession,
succeeding directly and succeeding through representation
 However, the persons who are to be called to succeed
directly and personally might have died before the opening
of the succession, by leaving descendants behind them.
 In such a case, the law allows such descendants to be called
to the succession
 As a rule, the heir must survive the deceased. But this rule
is excepted by representation.
B. Renunciation
 An heir who is a successor may not necessarily be willing to participate
in the succession.
 In such a case, he could renounce the succession. Renunciation is a
refusal to accept the succession. A person may renounce the succession
for various reasons.
 If he/she is relatively in a better economic position, he may renounce
the succession to the benefit of his co-heirs.
 The heir who has renounced the succession shall never be seen as the
heir of the deceased.
 The heir who has renounced the succession shall never be seen as the
heir of the deceased.
 He/she has forfeited his/her right in the succession and hence he/she
will not be represented by his/her descendants.
 However, as it is prescribed in Art. 854(2), the person whose succession
has been renounced may be represented.
 WILLS
 A will is the most satisfactory means of arranging for the
devolution of a person’s property after death.
 In Ethiopia many people do not make wills even if there is no
comprehensive data on the percentage of wills and intestate
successions.
 While making a will, the testator makes a disposition of his/her
property through a unilateral declaration of intention which
does not require receipt by another party to become complete.
 The valid execution of a will requires that the testator possessed
testamentary capacity at the time of execution and that the
formal legal requirements were observed.
 A will is a juridical act that shall have a legal effect after the
death of the testator or the will maker
Cont...
 There are different kinds of wills made by fulfilling the
formal requirements that the law prescribes.
 The law is very strict with respect to the formality of
making a will. A will that does not satisfy the required
formalities is invalid by the court of law.
 Will is different from donation in that donation is a
contract whereby a person, the donor, gives some of his
property or assumes an obligation with the intention of
gratifying another person, the donee (Art.2427)
 Will is a unilateral juridical act which is different from
contract, in which the latter needs at least two parties
Cont…
 Since donation is a contract, it needs the acceptance
by the donee.
 The most significant difference, however, between
donation and will is the time in which they are
effected.
 Donation shall take place while both the donor and
the donee are alive.
 As it has bees discussed above, will is ambulatory and
hence becomes effective after death of the testator.
Article 2436, Civil Code
Conditions for the validity of wills
 The conditions prescribed by the law must be satisfied to
make a will a valid document.
 The will becomes effective after its maker has died. The
testator is not in a position to express his/her wish while
the will is effective.
 Because of this, the law has opted to enumerate very
stringent conditions and formal requirements for the
validity of wills.
 A will is the only evidence for the expression of the true
intention of the testator.
 To serve this important purpose, it needs to fulfill all the
necessary conditions for its validity.
A. PERSONAL NATURE OF A
WILL(ART.857

 The testator should seek the assistance of no one else.

 He/she should make the will by himself/herself.
 No any other person may take part in the making of a will on behalf of
the testator or by way of assisting him/her.
 Nor the testator could appoint another person to represent him/her as
far as making, modifying or revoking a will is concerned
 Art. 2199 — Definition
 Agency is a contract whereby a person, the agent, agrees with another
person, the principal, to represent him and to perform on his behalf
one or several legally binding acts.
 The testator is not in a position to express his/her true wishes after
his/her death.
 If someone is allowed to make a will on behalf of the testator, he/she
can take advantage against the true intention of the testator very easily
Cont…
 Another scenario of the personal nature of wills is the
one stipulated in Article 858.
 According to Article 858 of the Civil Code, no two
persons may make a will together using the same
document
 The law believes that the testator cannot express
his/her free intention when he/she makes a joint will.
 It would be difficult for the testator to alter and revoke
a will if he/she makes a will together with another
person
B. CAPACITY TO MAKE A WILL
Articles 860 - 864

 Testamentary capacity is a special form of legal capacity.

 According to the Revised Family Code, testamentary
capacity commences upon the completion of the 16th year.
 Prior to this, the minor cannot make a will even with the
consent of his/her legal representative.
 Persons lacking testamentary capacity are those who, due
to a state of mental disturbance, mental deficiency or
unsound mind, are unable to understand the meaning of
the declaration of intention they have made or to act in
accordance with this understanding in the execution of a
will
Cont..
1. Minors
• A Minor is a person of either sex who has not attained the full age of eighteen years.
 Art. 295 — Will.(revised family code)
 The tutor may not make a will on behalf of the minor.
 A minor may not make a will before he attains the age of sixteen years.
 The will made before he has attained such age shall be of no effect, notwithstanding that
the minor has not revoked it after having attained the age of sixteen years.
2. Judicially interdicted persons
• Judicially interdicted persons are those who are declared by a court of law not to perform
juridical acts, such as making a will. O
• ne of the reasons for a judicial interdiction is a mental illness. Arts 861, 368 and 862.
3. Insanity
As indicated in Art. 863, a will made by an insane person is valid unless it is proved that the
person was a notoriously insane person at the time of making the will.
• There are scarce conditions in Ethiopia that make a person notoriously insane
• Therefore, getting a judicial interdiction of an insane person is a wise step to make the
will made by such person ineffective
C. PROVISIONS DIFFICULT OR
IMPOSSIBLE TO EXECUTE

 Article 865 (1) tells us that a testamentary provision

which fails to specify in a sufficiently clear manner its
beneficiary or its object shall be of no effect.
 From this it is clear that the provisions of a will must
clearly indicate who will be the beneficiary and what
things or portion of things has been allocated to such
beneficiary.
 if a provision of a will contains orders of the testator
which cannot be put into action, such provisions shall
be invalidated e.g things belonging to another person
D. ILLICIT PROVISIONS
 In Art 866 the word “object” is to mean the aim, purpose or goal of the will.
 If the purpose of the will is unlawful, its provision shall be of no legal effect
 Moreover, the provisions of a will shall be of no effect if their purpose or aim is
immoral.
E. Violence
• The testator has to make a will only by his/her free volition. That is, the
testator should not make a will under a threat or under any condition that
could affect his/her freedom in the making of a will.
• Violence vitiates the freedom of making, modifying and revoking a will.
• The violence may not necessarily be directed toward the testator. It may
happen against one of the testator's descendants, ascendants or against the
testator's spouse.
• Articles 1706-1709 and 1808-1818 are the provisions of the general contracts and
they shall apply by analogy to treat the cases of violence with respect to
making, modifying and revoking a will.
F. Undue influence (Art. 868 to 875

 According to the Ethiopian law of succession, undue influence is not a ground

to invalidate a will.
 This is the rule. Undue influence is more of psychological than physical.
 Someone may exert an excessive influence on the testator to have a will made,
modified or revoked to the benefit of oneself.
 However, there are exceptional circumstances in which undue influence could
be a ground to invalidate a will or reduce the amount indicated in the will.
 Generally, the exceptional situations depend on two circumstances:
 On the conditions of the testator; and,
 On the identity of the person who exerts the undue influence on the testator.
 The conditions of the testator put him in a weak position in that he/she needs
the help or assistance of other persons.
 The conditions that force him to seek the assistance of other persons could be
his being a minor, sick, etc.
Cont..
 The identity of the person who is exerting the undue influence is the
one who, by taking the advantage of the conditions of the testator, gets
benefit from the will of the testator.
 This person could be the guardian or tutor of a minor testator, or
he/she could be a physician who prescribes or applies a medical
treatment to the testator or he/she could be a clergyman who prays for
the testator or gives him a spiritual assistance.
 A person, who takes part in the making of the will as a witness,
interpreter, etc., can effectively exert undue influence on the testator
and this situation is an exceptional one.
 Irrespective of the undue influence exerted on the testator, if the one
who has exerted the undue influence is a relative by consanguinity of
by affinity to the testator or if such person is the spouse of the testator,
the will which is made to the benefit of the one who exerted the
influence shall not be affected, that is, it becomes effective. (Read Arts
870 and also 871—876)
F. FRAUD
Article 876
 Fraud is a deceitful act. However, it is not a ground to invalidate a will,
if the will benefits the fraudster (the person who commits fraud).
 For instance, the fraudster may promise to do something to the
testator, if the testator makes a will to the benefit of such a fraudster.
G. ERROR(ART.877)

• When a will is made as a result of error, the provisions of the Civil

Code relating to invalidation of contracts shall apply. (Refer to the Civil
Code provisions (Arts 1697 — 1705 and 1808 — 1818))
• Generally, the mistake which led the testator to make the will in such a
manner must be fundamental.
• The error must be of a kind that, had the testator known the truth,
he/she would not have made a will in such a manner.
• Moreover, the mistake must be clear from the wording of the will itself
or from another document to which the will refers.
Form and proof of wills
 There are three types of wills (See Art 880).
 All of them are required to be made by following the
formal requirements prescribed by the law.
 Failure to fulfill these formal requirements may cause
the invalidation of the will as a whole.
 The law is so strict as far as fulfilment of the formal
requirements is concerned.
A. Form of wills
1. Public wills : Art. 881 to 883,
 A public will is a will that is read in the presence of the testator and of four witnesses.
 The testator can write the will in the presence of the witnesses.
 He/she can also write the will in the absence any person.
 That is, the testator may write the will by himself/herself or he/she may get it written by
another person under his/her dictation in the presence of witnesses or even in the
absence of the latter.
 The most important thing, as far as a public will is concerned, is the will has to be read in
the presence of the testator and of four witnesses.
 Reading the will in the presence of the testator and of four witnesses is not sufficient.
 There must be an indication of the fulfillment of this requirement in the will itself.
 It can be indicated in the following manner:
 “...This will is read in the presence of the testator and of four witnesses.”
 If the will does not contain such an indication, it could be invalidated
 Moreover, the testator and the four witnesses should put their signature immediately
after the will is read
 Cassation bench decision: file no. 5780- the fact that the term read in presentence
of testator and four witness doesn’t make the invalid.
Cont…
 Can a deaf person take part in the making of a
public will as a witness? What about the blind?
Cont…
 A deaf person can take part in a will as a witness if he/she is literate.
 He/she can read the contents of the will just after it is drawn up.
 If he/she is unable to read the contents of the will, his/her presence
serves no useful purpose as he/she has no mechanism of knowing the
contents of the will.
 Blind people may take part in a will as witnesses so long as they hear
when the contents of the will are read.
 The only thing expected of them is to understand the language in
which the will is drawn up.
 The law in Art 882 prescribes that the number of witnesses could be
reduced to two if one of them is a court registrar, a notary or a judge
(See the Amharic version) in his/her official capacity.
 So a judge, or a notary or a court registrar represents three ordinary
witnesses, if such person acts as a witness in his/her official capacity.

2. Holograph will Art. 884 to 886
 Holograph will is a will that is totally made by the testator himself/herself in
the absence of witnesses.
 Only literate persons may make a holograph will.
 It is the testator that writes a holograph will totally and if there is an additional
word (even if it is a single word) written by the hand of another person, that is
a sufficient cause to invalidate the will wholly.
 The testator must explicitly indicate, in the holograph will, that it is a will.
 Absence of such an indication is also a ground for the invalidation of the will.
 As a rule, the testator himself/herself should fully write a holograph will.
 A machine-written document has no individual style and it is not possible to
identify who has written it.
 Therefore, the law requires a handwritten indication of the fact that the
testator writes the will using a machine.
 The handwritten indication should be included on every page of the will.
 This is to confirm that the machine written holograph will has been really
made by the testator.
Cont…
 Art 886 of the Civil Code advises the testator not to simply reproduce graphic
symbols without understanding their meaning.
 you can copy a document that is written in French or Sidama language, as these
languages use the same script (the Latin script).
 If you do so, it is said that you have reproduced graphic symbols without
understanding their meaning.
 With respect to Art 888, the will refers to another document.
 You cannot understand the provisions of the will without referring to another
document.
 When the will refers to another document or when it is impossible or difficult
to understand the will without referring to another document, such a
document must have been written and signed
 E.g “I hereby bequeath a villa to my child whom I acknowledged or recognized
sometime ago”.by the testator.
 Can a blind person make a holograph will by using a brail machine?
3. Oral will Art. 892 to 894

 Oral will is a will made verbally to two witnesses. As you might

have understood from Art 892 of the Civil Code, the testator
does not make an oral will under normal circumstances.
 He/she makes such a will when he/she feels that he/she is going
to die within short period of time, particularly after accidents,
shocks or similar situations.
 It can be said that oral will is not a proper will.
 The testator can make only restricted testamentary dispositions
through an oral will.
 That is, the testator cannot make any order of his wish by way of
an oral will.
 The law has listed down the contents of an oral will.
 The testator cannot add other testamentary dispositions, which
are not included in Art 893.
Cont…
 The law allows the testator to make several wills
during his/her lifetime.
 This is also the manifestation of his right to make,
revoke or alter a will at any time.
 The contents of different wills made by the testator
may or may not contradict each other.
 If the provisions of various wills contradict each other
and cannot be enforced together the latest will shall
prevail. (See Art 895)
B. PROOF OF WILL

 The one who claims a right in a will has to prove one

or both of the following two things.
 First, he/she has to prove the existence of the will.
 That is, he/she has to show a will made by the
testator. Second, he/she has to prove the contents of a
will.
 In other words, the claimant has to show the fact that
he/she is beneficiary of the will.
Cont…
 From Art 897, one can see the following important points:
a. The existence and contents of a will (whether a public or holograph will)
shall be proved only by producing the original will itself or the copy of the
original will, certified to be true by the court registrar.
• The court registrar could issue the copy of the original will, if he/she had
received the original will to be deposited in his/her archives. Otherwise, the
claimant shall only present the original will.
b. To benefit from the will, approval by presenting the will itself is obligatory
and no any other means of evidence can be possible.
• For example, witnesses cannot prove the contents of a public will.
c. If someone destroys or causes the destruction of a will by his/her fault or
negligence, such a person may be obliged to pay compensation to the beneficiary
of the will.
• To get compensation from the person who has destroyed or caused the
destruction of the will by his/her fault or negligence, the beneficiary can prove
the fact that he/she is a beneficiary by any means of evidence.
• For instance, he/she can prove that he/she is beneficiary of the will by
producing witnesses.
Revocation and lapse of wills
A. REVOCATION OF WILLS ART.898 to 901
• A will is always revocable, until the death of the
testator.
• A testator may make an agreement with a beneficiary
not to revoke the will.
• However, sometimes elderly people who have no
descendants of their own may promise to leave some
property to a person, on condition that the latter
nurses the former.
• This promise cannot be enforced as the will is still able
to be revoked.
Cont…
• There are various ways in which a will may be voluntarily
revoked:
1. By Another will
• The testator may, in his will include works like: ‘I hereby revoke
all former wills and testaments made by me’. The testator may
revoke specific clauses of a will, while leaving the rest of it
intact.
• As has been stated above, a new will usually impliedly revokes a
previous will.
• But sometimes, it may be disputable whether it was the
intention to supplement the previous will.
• This may be the case if the two wills are not inconsistent.
• The second will may thus operate as a kind of codicil.
• A codicil is a formal document which varies, but does not
revoke, a will.
2. An intention to revoke
 A will may be revoked by any other written
instrument, provided it is executed with the same
formalities as are required for a will.
 For instance, the testator may revoke wholly or some f
the provisions of a previously made will not by a new
will but by a document made by following similar
formalities.
 Even if such document is not a will it has a power to
revoke a valid will.
3. Destruction

 A will may be revoked ‘by the burning, tearing or

otherwise destroying . . . with the intention of
revoking the same’.
 Some formal act of destruction seems to be necessary,
although the whole of the will need not be destroyed.
 Merely throwing the will in a waste-paper basket is not
sufficient, even if the testator indicates to a third
person that he/she considers it to be an act of
revocation.
 Destroying inadvertently ?
 Has no capacity to make a will?
4. Alienation of the thing bequeathed
 By alienating the thing bequeathed, the testator can revoke
the will he/she has made.
 For instance, in his/her will made last year, assume he/she
gave a mule to his/her friend.
 Now, if the testator sells or donates the mule to some other
person, it means that he/she has revoked his/her will.
 You must note here that the thing bequeathed may come
back to the possession of the testator at a later date.
 However, that does not cause the revival of the will which
was already revoked. (See Art 900)
B.LAPSE OF WILLS
Art.902 to 908

 As discussed above, it is the testator by his/her wish who

revokes the will he/she has made.
 Lapse of will takes place by the operation of the law.
 There are a number of reasons for the revocation of a will
by the operation of the law.
 The reasons depend on the type of the will.
1. Failure to deposit a holograph will
 According to Art 903 of the Civil Code, a holograph will
shall lapse where it is not deposited with a notary or in a
court registry within seven years since it has been made.
 No such imposition exists for a public will.
2. Birth of child
 Another reason for the lapse of a will is birth of a child. If a child is born after
a will is made (whether a public or a holograph will) such a will, shall lapse if
the newly born child accepts the succession.
 From Art 905 of the Civil Code, you may observe the following points:
a. Although the law provides that the will shall lapse if a child is born to the
testator after making such a will, there is a situation where such will could
be maintained totally or partially by the court.
• The court may maintain the will irrespective of the birth of the child, if it had
been of the opinion that the testator would have maintained the will despite
the birth of the child.
• For instance, if the testator made a will while his wife was expecting a child, it
would be clear that the testator had intended to maintain the legacies ordered
in the provisions of the will even if a child was going to be born to him
b. When the will, which the testator makes before the birth of the child, is active
either wholly or partially, the newly born child should receive, at least,
three–fourths of the share he would receive in the intestate succession.
 That is, 75% of the value which he would be entitled in the intestate
succession.
3. Dissolution of marriage

 According to Article 906 of the Civil Code, legacies made

in favor of a spouse of the testator shall lapse where the
marriage of the testator with that spouse is dissolved
through divorce or court order when the marriage is
concluded without observing the conditions for the
validity of marriage.
 However, such a legacy cannot lapse where the marriage is
dissolved by death.
 When a husband or a wife makes a will to the benefit of
his/her spouse, it is believed that the testator has made the
will with the expectation taht the marriage would continue
until his/her death.
4. Death, unworthiness, or renunciation by a legatee
 Art 907 lays down the rule of lapse of legacies.
 According to Art 907, three factors cause the lapse of legacies.
1. When the legatee dies before the testator.
 In this case, the legatee has no capacity to succeed the testator since
he does not fulfill the requirement of survivorship.
2. When the legatee cannot succeed the testator.
 This has a relation with unworthiness.
 When a legatee is condemned as unworthy, anything destined to his
benefit shall lapse.
3. When the legatee does not want to take the legacy.
 This has something to do with the renunciation of the legatee to the
succession of the testator.
 The law passes the legacy when anyone renounces the succession of
the testator, as it does not consider him as the legatee of the testator.
Cont..
 According to Art 908(a), the legatee who died before the
testator would be represented if he/she is a legatee by
universal title (or a universal legatee).
 There is a very narrow chance for the existence of
representation in the case where the legatee is a legatee by
singular title (or a singular legatee).
 According to Art 908 (b), where the singular legatee dies
before the testator, the descendants of the singular legatee
shall represent him only when the legacy destined to such
singular legatee devolves upon the state as a result of
failure of the singular legatee to receive the legacy
 Discussion on universal and singular legatee shall be made
under Article 912 below.
Contents and interpretation of wills
A. Contents of wills
 The testator can determine the contents a will he/she makes
freely so long as the contents of his/her will do not violate the
law or so long as they are not contrary to public moral.
 Art 909 lists down the contents of a will.
 But this should not be seen as an exhaustive list. It only gives us
illustration.
 These enumerations may guide the testator.
 However, it does not mean that he/she has no power to declare
dispositions that are not listed in Art 909.
 You can infer this from Art 909 (e).
 The only limitation with respect to the contents of a will is, the
testator cannot declare in his will anything illegal and/or
immoral.
Interpretation of wills
 The general rules of interpretation of statutes may be helpful also to interpret
the provisions of a will.
 When the provisions of a will are doubtful, we may need to interpret them.
 The intention of the testator is a key element as far as interpretation of a will
is concerned.
 We, therefore, have to seek the intention of the testator.
 The will itself may reveal this or it may be obtained from other circumstantial
evidence.
 You should note here that getting the intention of the testator is not an easy
task.
 There are also well-developed ‘canons’ or rules of statutory interpretation,
which assist a court in construing laws made by the Parliament
 the courts must use these canons with more care when they apply them to
interpret wills. (See Articles 910 and 911)
Legacies by universal title
 Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between universal legacies and singular
legacies.
 The law itself does not clearly give the meaning these terms.
 You may have recognized from your reading of Art 912 (1) the following four
aspects of universal legacies
1. When the testator gives his/her whole estate to one person, the property
given to the beneficiary is a universal legacy and the beneficiary is a
universal legatee.
2. When the testator gives his/her whole estate to two or more persons, the
whole estate given to these persons is a universal legacy and such persons
are universal legatees.
3. When the testator gives a portion of his/her estate to one person, such a
portion of the hereditary estate is a universal legacy and the beneficiary of
the portion of the hereditary estate is a universal legatee.
4. When the testator gives a portion of his/her estate to two or more persons,
such portion of the hereditary estate is a universal legacy and the persons
appointed to receive such a portion are said to be universal legatees.
Cont…
 From the above points one can see that a universal
legatee is the one who is called to the succession to
receive a certain portion of the hereditary estate, not a
particular thing from the succession.
 Therefore, a universal legatee does not know what
thing he/she is going to receive from the succession.
Legacies by singular title
 What is a singular legacy and who is a singular legatee?
 According to Art 912(2), any other disposition (that is, outside
the ones discussed above) is a singular legacy.
 The general tendency of the law toward singular legacies is that,
singular legacies are minor testamentary dispositions usually
given to non–relatives.
 When a single item, such as a bicycle, a television, an overcoat, a
watch, a radio, etc., is given to someone, the property is a
singular legacy and the one who is in a position to receive such a
property in kind is a singular legatee.
 A universal legatee, in majority of the cases, does not know what
thing he is going to receive before partition of the succession.
Cont…
 Mr.X , in his testamentary disposition made the following
persons beneficiaries.
 My elder son Elias shall take 40% of my estate and in
addition to the 40%; he shall take my wristwatch.
 My little daughter Mary shall take 40% of my estate.
 Let the mule be given to my spiritual father Aba
Mathewos.
 The maidservant who has served me for the past 25
years shall take 2000 Birr.
 An environmental organization called Green Hill
Movement shall take 10% of my hereditary estate.
Legacies and rules of partition
1. Effects of universal legacies
 When a person is in a position to receive a universal legacy, he/she becomes a
universal legatee.
 The appointment of a universal legatee does not follow any special formality.
 That is, a public or holograph will that normally fulfills the formal
requirements could appoint a universal legatee.
 No special will with special formalities is required to appoint a universal
legatee (Art. 914).
 When someone is appointed as a universal legatee, he/she is assimilated to an
heir–at–law.
 When it is said that a universal legatee is assimilated to an heir–at–law, it
means that a universal legatee who is a non–heir (such as a friend, a servant, a
spiritual father, a spouse, etc.) shall be treated in all respects in relation to the
succession in the same manner as the legal heirs of the testator.
 The rights and responsibilities of such universal legatees will be similar to that
of the legal heir to the testator.
Conditional Legacies
Art.916 to 919
 The testator may make his succession to depend on certain conditions.
 The conditions are of two types.
 In the words of the Code, they are suspensive and resolutive
conditions.
 We also call suspensive conditions as condition precedent and
resolutive conditions as condition subsequent.
 Suspensive condition — In the case of suspensive condition or
condition precedent, the legatee shall wait until a certain time lapses or
until a certain circumstance occurs.
 Therefore, the legatee will not be entitled to receive the bequest until
the fulfilment of the specified condition.
 Resolutive condition — Resolutive condition or condition
subsequent is a situation where the legatee brings back what he
received from the succession when a certain condition is fulfilled.
 That is, in the case of resolutive condition, the legatee is automatically
entitled to receive the bequest, unlike the case of suspensive condition
Charges
 Charge is the order of a testator against his/her heirs
and/or legatees in which he/she binds them to take
some responsibility or take care of one or more
persons.
 However, the testator cannot bind the heirs and/or
legatees to give or to do something to specified
persons more than the value of the legacy.
Substitutio vulgaris
 Substitutio vulgaris was very common in Roman wills.
 An alternative heir was appointed in the event that the
person instituted as the primary heir failed to become the
heir (e.g. because he/she died before the testator or refused
the inheritance).
 According to the Ethiopian Civil Code, Substitutio vulgaris
is the situation where the testator orders another person to
take the legacy in cases where the appointed universal or
singular legatee fails to appear and receive what the
testator allocates to him/her.
 The causes for the disappearance of the appointed legatee
could vary from case to case. (See Article 928).
Entails
 It is a restriction of inheritance to a limited class of descendants for at least several generations.
 It is mainly linked with real estate.
 The object of entail is to preserve large estates in land from the disintegration that is caused by equal
inheritance by all the heirs and by the ordinary right of free alienation (disposal) of property interests
 In Ethiopia, the testator has the power to order that his/her heir and/or his/her legatee shall hand
over the legacy to one or more persons after such heir and/or legatee has benefited with the legacy.
 The testator may order the heir and/or legatee to transfer the legacy (or even portion of it) to the
specified person(s) upon the following conditions:
A. On the expiry of a certain period, for example, after 5 years from the opening of the succession;
B. Upon the death of the heir or the legatee; and,
C. On the accomplishment of a certain condition, for instance, when the testator's little daughter gets
married.
 Once the legacy is transferred into the hands of the holder entail, the holder entail needs to expect to
have only a usufruct right on the legacy.
 the holder should not have any attachment and alienation rights with such property for his/her
debts (Art. 931 (1)).
Cont…
 Courts are generally empowered to order the alienation or
transfer of a property or its attachment, if such order is
justifiable.
 However, in no case can the court authorize the alienation or
attachment of the property in the hands of the holder entail.
 Because, the holder entail is obliged to utilize the property by
taking all the necessary care not to cause a serious damage to
the property and finally hand it over to the true successor upon
the opening of the substitution (Art 932).
 The testator has the right to regulate only until the property is
transferred to the person who is called to succeed.
 Once the property is transferred to the person who is called to
succeed the testator loses the right to pass any order concerning
the property (Art 934).
Disherison Art.937-940

 In the Ethiopian law of successions, the testator has wider rights to disinherit
one or more of his/her heirs by the will he/she makes.
 His/her rights may even go to the extent of disinheriting all of his/her
children.
 Disherison is an order passed by the testator to exclude his/her heirs from the
succession.
 It usually serves as a means of punishment for the misbehavior of his/her heirs
 In Ethiopia, the law allows the testator to disinherit one or more of his/her
heirs.
 It seems that the law considered that the testator’s only power as far as
punishing disobedient children is disinheriting such children.
 The testator may disinherit his/her heir either expressly or tacitly.
 Express disherison is a kind of disherison in which the testator excludes
his/her heir from the succession in an explicit manner by stating clearly that
he/she has disinherited the heir.
 The testator may disinherit all of his/her heirs (descendants and other heirs)
expressly and appoint a universal legatee.
Cont..
 If the testator disinherits all his/her heirs and if he/she does not appoint someone as a
universal legatee, there shall be no one to take his/her hereditary estate.
 In such circumstances, the law has devised a mechanism to enable the descendants of
such disinherited heirs to take the property of the testator by way of representation (See
Art 937).
 Descendants can only be disinherited expressly.
 That is, no descendant may be disinherited tacitly.
 Moreover, the testator shall clearly state a justifiable reason why he/she has decided to
disinherit his/her descendants.
 The law makes such imposition on the testator with the view to protect the interest of
the descendants in succeeding their ascendants.
 A justifiable reason is a subjective standard.
 It is believed that it should impress a reasonable person.
 It should be a reason that is sufficient to move the testator to the decision of
disinheriting his/her descendant.
 The testator is expected to attribute some acts of the heir that have dissatisfied him/her.
 If the acts done by the heir were not illegal and/or not immoral, it would be difficult to
the testator to give justifiable reasons.
Cont…
 When the testator does not make someone beneficiary in his/her will, we
say that he/she has tacitly disinherited such a person.
 However, this kind of tacit disinheritance does not work against descendant
heirs.
 It works only against the heirs of second, third and fourth relationship.
 This is a mechanism of protection given by the law to the descendant heirs
(See Art 939 (1) & (2)).
 If the testator appoints someone as a universal legatee to receive the
whole property, that does not imply the disherison of the children of the
testator.
 In such a case, the universal legatee is called to succeed the testator as if
he/she is one of his children (See Art 939 (3)).
 Disinheriting heirs is a legally recognized power of the testator.
 However, if the law considers that the provisions of the will are defective with
respect to any matter, and if the heirs impugn the defective provision, then the
provision that disinherits the heirs shall be of no effect.
LIQUIDATION OF SUCCESSION
AND DETERMINATION OF
RIGHTFUL SUCCESSORS
 The Essence of "Liquidation"
 A succession, whether testate or intestate, opens when the deceased dies. And at the
time of its opening, it consists in the gross rights and obligations of the deceased.
Article 826 (1), the 1960 Civil Code of Ethiopia.

 It goes without saying that before any right over things making up the inheritance passes
to heirs-at-law and/or legatees by universal title, some kind of screening must be made.
 That means, before any property or right of the inheritance is delivered to properly
identified heirs, there should be a winding up of the deceased’s affairs.
 In particular, assets and claims the deceased owned should be identified and collected,
debts and taxes ascertained and paid, maintenance claims entertained, and singular
legacies ordered by the deceased, if any, paid.
 Article 1060 (1), Id., implies that a succession is partitioned among heirs-at-law.
 See, Article 915 (1), Id, which stipulates that unless otherwise provided by the testator,
legatees by universal title are assimilated to heirs-at-law.
 “Liquidation” is the technical term we use in the law of successions to refer to that
winding up process.
 partition does not take place unless and until the succession has been fully liquidated.
See, Article 1062, Id.
Cont…
 Article 944 of the Civil Code provides for what the
liquidation of a succession consists of.
 It states that liquidation means the process of
determination of the rightful recipients and
constituents of the succession; the recovery of debts
due to and the payment of debts due to it; the
payment of the legacies by singular title and the
taking of such other steps as are required to carry into
effect the provisions made by the deceased.
The Guiding Principles of
Liquidation
 Art. 942 of the Civil Code sets forth a very important principle.
 This principle serves as a guideline for the entire process of
liquidation.
 Art. 942. — Guiding principle.
 So long as a succession has not been liquidated, it shall
constitute a distinct estate.
 But, what does “a distinct estate” mean? Literally, a distinct
estate means some property set aside for a special purpose.
 Art. 942 obliges that the succession will constitute a distinct
estate pending liquidation.
 And one of the most important purposes of the device of
liquidation is the satisfaction of debts claimed from the
succession in favor of persons with rightful claims.
The Liquidator of a Succession
 Who is the "Liquidator"?
 Article 946 of the Civil Code establishes that
executing institution designated with the task of
carrying out the liquidation of a succession.
 The Article in question reads:
 “A succession, whether intestate or testate, shall
be liquidated by one or more persons…referred to
as ‘the liquidators’.
 The liquidator, therefore, is nothing but the
institution designated with the task of carrying out
the liquidation of a given succession
Mechanisms of Appointment of a
Liquidator

1. Designation by Law
 One of the mechanisms of appointment of a liquidator is designation
by the law.
 The law designates the capacity of liquidator to the heirs-at-law of the
deceased.
 Heirs-at-law assume the office of liquidator solely by the operation of
the law.
 Where a person dies wholly intestate; or where the deceased dies
without leaving a will at all; or where he dies leaving a will, but the
will is either subsequently declared invalid by a competent court
of law or fails to appoint a liquidator, the function of liquidator
will devolve to his heirs-at-law. Article 947, Civil Code.
 Article 947 of the Civil Code states that “on the day of death, the
capacity of liquidator shall pertain ‘ipso facto’ to the heirs-at-law”.
2. Appointment by Will
 A person has a right to specify, by a legally valid will, the manner in which his estate
should be disposed of after his death.
 He has also the power to name a person or persons whom he wants to oversee the
disposition.
 That in other words means, he can appoint the liquidator of his succession by his will.
 The testator has a right to bestow the capacity of liquidator to any person he thinks fit.
 He may choose one or more of his heirs-at-law to be the liquidator of his succession.
 He may even appoint an outsider who has no relation whatsoever with him
 the deceased may have left a valid will but had failed to make any express disposition as
to whom he wishes to be the liquidator.
 The law lends a hand to fill such gap. Article 948(2) of the Civil Code provides that in
such a case, the capacity of liquidator shall pertain “ipso jure” to the legatees by
universal title appointed in the will.
 Akin to the term “ipso facto” in Article 947, the term “ipso jure” in Article 948(2) of the
Civil Code appears to be confusing. The two terms seem to be misplaced erroneously.
They both would have been more sensible if they switched places.
 Article 948(3) of the Civil Code provides that where a legatee by universal title
happens to hold the office of liquidator by the operation of Article 948(2) of the Civil
Code, the heirs-at-law shall also act as joint liquidators.
Incapable Liquidator
 A person may be the heir-at-law of the deceased or might
have been appointed a legatee by universal title by the
deceased in his will
 But such a person may happen to be incapable in terms of
the language of the law.
 He may, for example, be a minor or an interdicted person.
 For all purposes, a minor or an interdicted person has the
same right as others.
 the law assigns the tutor of the incapable person to
represent the latter for the performance of the functions of
liquidator. Article 940
Appointment by Court
 It may happen that a succession remains without a liquidator even
after the application of Articles 947, 948, and 949 of the Civil Code.
 Such a scenario could happen where all the heirs-at-law and legatees
by universal title decline inheritance
 In such an event, the court intervenes. It appoints a liquidator upon
the application of any interested person.
 In the present context, a legatee by singular title or the public
prosecutor could be regarded as interested person
 When the succession is a vacant one. That is, when no person appears
claiming that he is an heir, or when all of the heirs renounce the
succession, or when all of the heirs do not want to liquidate the
succession.
 When the succession goes to the state. That is, where there is no
person legally entitled to receive the succession. Article 950(1)
Other Cases of Judicial
Appointment
 There is one more possibility for judicial intervention. The court may replace a liquidator
already appointed in terms of Articles 947, 948, 949, or 950 of the Civil Code.
 There are a number of various grounds for the court to make such replacement.
 The following are some of the grounds:
 Where, in the case of a testamentary liquidator, the validity of the appointment is
impugned;
 Where there are several liquidators and they unable to agree on the manner of the
liquidation of the succession;
 When one or more of the heirs is incapable or is not, for any other reason, in a position to
look after his interests;
 When the liquidator is no active or diligent, or is a squanderer or dishonest
Art.950(1)

 Finally, it should be noted that the court acts upon the application
of any interested person. That is, the court replaces a liquidator
only when an interested person applies to that effect. Art. 951, CC
Nature of the Functions of the
Liquidator
 The function of liquidator is voluntary. No person is bound to take the office of the
liquidator without his consent.
 In other words, no one is compelled to become a liquidator, even if he has been
appointed in terms of the provisions of the pertinent Articles.
 By the same token, the liquidator may resign after starting his functions.
 According to Article 954(1), the liquidator may resign at any time.
 However, an untimely resignation may entail personal liability. The liquidator may not
resign at a time “which is not convenient”.
 For instance, the liquidator may not resign while there are perishable goods out there
that seek his immediate attention.
 If he resigns at this particular time, he will personally bear the loss. (See Article 954(2)
cum. Article 961).
 The other point is that the liquidator may not necessarily be paid for his
functions.
 Article 959 provides that the liquidator shall be entitled to remuneration only where this
is justified by the work he has performed.
 And the remuneration, where any, is paid under the conditions determined by the
deceased, or by agreement between the heirs, or by the court.
Cont…
 When any interested person applies, the court may
require the liquidator to furnish security or some
other guarantee for the proper performance of his
functions.
 An heir-at-law, a legatee by universal or singular title,
or the public prosecutor could be considered an
interested person for this purpose
Powers and Duties of the
Liquidator
 The liquidator’s functions are enormous. The most important of his
functions can be generalized as follows by reading Article 944 of the
Civil Code in conjunction with Article 956 of the same Code.
1. Search for a will of the deceased: This is a very important step in
determining whether the succession is testate or intestate.
2. Determination of persons who are called to the succession
3. Determination of the property that constitutes the succession
4. Administration of the succession: This involves the day-to-day
tending of the succession by the liquidator.
5. Payment of debts of the succession: A number of creditors may
lodge claim against the succession for the payment of the debts due
to them.
Identifying Legitimate Successors
 Provisional Determination
 The rightful recipients of a succession – be it testate or intestate – must be identified with the utmost
care.
 The liquidator does most of the identification activity. The first and the foremost task of the
liquidator is to make a search for a will.
 The cumulative reading of Articles 962(1) and 956(a) of the Civil Code provides that:
 “The liquidator shall make a search to find out whether the deceased has left a will, and establish who
is to receive the property of the succession”
 The search may bear fruit and produce a will. It may also happen that more than one wills are
discovered
 Where the will found is public or holograph, it must be deposited without delay with a notary or in
the registry of the court where it is discovered or conserved. Article 964 (1), CC.
 The idea here is to protect the will and/or its terms from destruction and conversion.
 Where the will discovered is oral, the witnesses who have attested it must see to it that the will is
reduced to writing and deposited with a notary or court registry.
 And they must do this without delay.
 The justification for this seems to be the fear that witnesses, being fallible human persons, may
intentionally or for any other reason twist the dying wishes of the deceased, or change their places, or
forget the contents of the will, or may die.
Cont…
 Once a will has been discovered, it shall be opened.
 Opening means to formally publicize the will and its contents.
 According to Article 965 of the Civil Code, the liquidator opens the will.
 Article 965 prescribes also that the liquidator is expected to open the will forty
days after the death of the deceased. Article 965 (1), Civil Code.
 Article 965 (2) of the Civil Code provides for an instance where a will may be
opened after such date
 where a will has been discovered after the fortieth day of the death of the
testator, it shall be opened on a day fixed by the liquidator within the month of
its discovery.
 Article 967 of the Code stipulates the place where the liquidator should
open the will.
 Sub-Article (1) of this Article specifies that the will shall be opened at the
notary or in the registry of the court where it has been deposited during
the deceased’s lifetime or after his death.
 that in default of such deposit, the will shall be opened at the place where the
deceased had his principal residence at the time of his death.
Cont..
 all the potential successors of the deceased are expected to be present at the opening of
the will.
 Accordingly, the law imposes the duty to publicize the opening of the will on the
liquidator.
 Besides the liquidator and potential successors, the law authorizes the presence of
arbitrators at the opening of the will.
 Arbitrators are appointed to settle any dispute arising out of the succession
 At the time of the opening of the will, the liquidator and all other persons present shall
in the first place verify the validity or the form of the will.
 Then, the contents of the will shall be read out
 During the opening meeting, the liquidator shall oversee the reading out of the will.
 He shall make known who the heirs or legatees of the deceased are and to what portion
of the succession they are entitled
 Any interested person who feels aggrieved by the will, or a provision contained
therein, or the order of partition may challenge same
 Any interested person aggrieved by the manner of the devolution of the succession that
the liquidator proposed may challenge same.
 No interested person may contest the order of partition after five years from the death of
the deceased
Option of Heirs and Universal
Legatees
 In principle, an individual right is a right in the legal sense of the term.
 That is, an individual right generally is optional.
 The holder of a certain individual right has two options as far as that particular right he
holds is concerned.
 He is at liberty to opt to exercise the right or, if he so wishes, to renounce it single-
handedly so long as his act does not directly harm any right of others recognized by law
as valid and enforceable.
 where several heirs are called to the succession, it is up to each individual heir to make
the choice. Some heirs may accept the succession, while others renounce it. Art. 986,
 Even the personal creditors of an heir may not exercise the right of election
notwithstanding the likelihood that the heir will opt to renounce the succession at their
peril.
 But the rights of such creditors shall not be affected by the heir renouncing the
succession in fraud of their interests Article 977 (2),
 Once the heir has opted to renounce the succession, the creditors may, where it is
prejudicial to them, apply to the court to annul the renunciation by invoking the device
of “Actio Pauliana” . Article 993 (1), Civil Code.
Cont…
 However, Article 987 of the Civil Code provides that where the
heir who is called to the succession dies without making a
decision, the right to accept or renounce the succession will
devolve on his heirs.
 Article 988 demands that election must be pure and simple.
 Acceptance or renunciation may not be partial. An heir may not,
for instance, accept to take the benefits of a succession and
decline its debts.
 A valid election is said to be made only where the heir accepts or
renounces the succession in total. Art. 989 (1)
 The fundamental idea behind the “no partial election” rule is
simple: A person cannot be permitted to claim inconsistent
rights with respect to the same subject matter
Cont…
 The renunciation will be valid only where the heir makes it:
1. Within one month from the day on which the liquidator has informed him that
he is called to the succession; or
2. Where the court, upon his application, grants extension, within three months
from the day on which the liquidator has informed him that he is called to the
succession; and
3. In writing; or
4. If he has to make it orally, in the presence of four witnesses; and
5. Known to the liquidator before the expiry of the period stated under (I) or (II)
above as the case may be.
 If an heir makes the renunciation in favor of one or more specified
persons, then he is deemed not to have renounced the succession, but
rather to have accepted it. And such renunciation is legally considered
as an assignment of rights. Article 983 (2), Civil Code.
 If, on the other hand, an heir renounces the succession in favor of all
his co-heirs indistinctly without receiving any pecuniary compensation
in return, he is deemed to have renounced the succession
Cont…
 Once it has been validly made, renunciation produces
serious legal effects.
 The renouncing heir will be deemed never to have been an heir
for all purposes of the succession.
 And the portion which he has renounced will go to his co-heirs
who have accepted the succession, and where appropriate, to the
heirs who come next. Article 995 (1), Civil Code
 An heir who intends to revoke his renunciation must bring an
action before the court within two years from the cessation of
the violence or the discovery of the fraud because of which he
claims to have decided to renounce the succession
 However, renunciation may in no case be revoked ten years
after it has been made even though the alleged violence
did not cease or the fraud was not discovered within this
period. Art.995(2)
Cont…
 Acceptance is not as complicated as renunciation.
 It may be made either expressly or impliedly/tacitly.
 An heir who assumes the status of heir in writing is deemed to have accepted expressly.
Art. 980, Art.981
 Implied acceptance, in contrast, may be made in a wide variety of ways.
 An heir who fails to renounce the succession in compliance with the requirements of the
law is deemed to have impliedly accepted the succession
 Moreover, an heir who performs any act which shows unequivocally his intention to
accept the succession is also deemed to have impliedly accepted the succession.
 Failure to renounce a succession is taken as acceptance thereof

 Unlike renunciation, acceptance is totally irrevocable. In no case may acceptance be

revoked.
 The decision of an heir to accept the succession to which he is called is final and
conclusive.
 He may not seek the invalidation or annulment of his acceptance even by going to court.
Art. 990, Civil Code.
Certificate of Heir
 Blacks Law Dictionary defines the term “certificate” as follows:
“Certificate is a written assurance or official representation that some act has or
has not been done; some event occasioned; or some legal formalities have been
complied with. A written assurance made or issued by some court designed as a
notice of things done therein”.
 As can be inferred from the above definition, a “certificate of heir” is thus a
written assurance or official representation issued by the competent court to
confirm the inheritance right of an heir who meets the all the legal
requirements to succeed a deceased person.
 This expression is consistent with the provision of Article 996 (1) of the Civil
Code
 “An heir may apply to the court to be given a certificate of heir of the deceased
and the share of the succession which he is called to take”.
 As an official court document, certificate of heir produces binding legal effects.
 For example, so long as the certificate has not been annulled, an heir holding a
certificate of heir is deemed to have the status the certificate attributes to him.
Article 997 (1),Civil Code.
Cont…
 The right to succeed is a right the heir or the legatee acquires by
law or will, as appropriate.
 The court has no power to grant such right or to determine the
amount of the share of the succession to which an heir or a
legatee is entitled.
 By issuing a certificate of heir, the court simply officially
confirms a right that already exists.
 any person who claims to be an heir or a legatee of a deceased
person may apply for a certificate of heir anytime after the death
of the deceased.
 Upon receipt of such application, the court will require the
production of a will where the succession is testate and, where it
is intestate, evidences showing actionable relationship with the
deceased.
Petitio Haereditatis
 The danger of issuing a certificate of heir before the liquidation process is
wound up and rightful recipients of the succession are correctly identified is
that someone without a valid title or with a lesser title may obtain one.
 The person without a valid title or with a lesser title will, once he has a
certificate of heir in his hand, have the status which the certificate attributes to
him. Art.997(1)
 That happens regardless of the defectiveness of his title so long as his
certificate has not been annulled.
 He might enter into juridical acts in the capacity he derives from the certificate.
 He might even manage to take possession of all or a portion of the property
forming part of the inheritance. Art.999
 A lawful heir may sue the person who has obtained a certificate of heir without
a valid title with a view to redeeming his right.
 The suit such an heir institutes is technically called the action of “petitio
haereditatis”.

Cont…
 However, with the exception of suits relating to family
immovables, the right to make use of the action of “petitio
haereditatis” does not hold forever.
 It stays put only for a limited period of time.
 An heir who intends to avail himself of such action must
institute it within the period specified under Article 1000
of the Civil Code.
 Otherwise, his right will be barred by limitation. Sub-
Article (1) of this Article provides that “an action of
“petitio haereditatis” shall be barred after three years
from the plaintiff became aware of his right and of the
taking possession of the property of the inheritance by the
defendant”.
Administration of the Succession
 A person has died means that he ceases to hold any right or duty.
 The deceased losses all humane rights he used to have, including, but not limited to, the right to
control and administer in his own name all the assets and liabilities he earned during his lifetime.
 The inheritance must be kept separate as a distinct estate, and administered as properly as the
deceased himself would have administered it.
 Article 1003 of the Civil Code provides that:
 “The liquidator shall administer the estate of the deceased from the day when he is appointed until
the persons having a right to the succession have received the shares or the property to which they are
entitled”.
 This Article charges the liquidator with the task of administering the estate of the deceased, which
includes his assets and liabilities.
 As a matter of fact, the liquidator will start to administer the estate as of his appointment.
 The liquidator is expected to administer the properties of the succession with the prudence and zeal
of a bonus pater familias.
 That means that the liquidator must act as honestly and diligently as a good head of a family
does.Article 1010 (1), CC.
 Immediately after the death of the deceased, any interested person, especially those having a right to
the succession, may apply to the court to order the affixing of seals on the effects, or on some of the
effects of the deceased
Cont…
 Within forty days from the death of the deceased, the liquidator must draw up an
inventory to establish what the succession is made up of.
 The inventory must show each constituent of the succession – be it an asset or a liability.
 The liquidator must also as necessary draw up supplementary statements for any asset or
liability discovered after this period within fifteen days from such property having been
discovered.Art.1005(1)
 The inventory so drawn up is open to whosoever is called to receive a share of the
succession.
 Such a person may require that a copy of the inventory be sent to him on condition that
he bears the expenses thereof
 Even the creditors of the inheritance, either of the deceased or of the succession, may
order a copy where so authorized by the court.
 Moreover, the liquidator must provisionally value each of the succession’s constituents,
whether an asset or a liability.
 He must make the valuation within forty days from the death of the deceased. He may,
where necessary, seek the assistance of expert valuators in carrying out the valuation.
Article 1006 (1),
Cont…
 Where an authorized person requests that the provisional valuation of a certain property
be revised, expert valuators may be called to revalue the property whose valuation has
been contested.
 If the expert valuators find the provisional valuation to be incorrect, the expenses of the
revaluation will be charged to the succession.
 Otherwise, the person who has requested it will bear the expenses of the revaluation.
 The liquidator must, under pain of being personally liable, perform all acts necessary for
the collection of the assets of the estate.
 Where necessary, the liquidator should commence legal proceedings for the recovery of
such debts.
 the liquidator should perform all the acts and institute all the actions necessary for the
preservation of the property of the succession. Article 1011 (a), Civil Code.
 He may sell such properties of the succession as fruits and crops, and other movable
chattels which are rapidly perishable or which require considerable expense or particular
care for their custody and preservation. Art. 1013 (1)
 He may not, however, sell any other type of movable unless the sell is required to pay the
debts of the succession.
 Likewise, except with the consent of all the heirs or the authorization of the court, the
liquidator may not sell any immovable property pertaining to the succession.
Payment of Debts Claimed from
the Succession
 The first category consists in debts which are imputable to the deceased
 the second those that are attributable to the succession.
 The debts which are imputable to the deceased include the
 expense of the deceased’s funeral,
 debts he assumed during his lifetime,
 claims of maintenance by his rightful,
 and properties he bequeathed to legatees by singular title.
 These debts are said to be imputable to the deceased because they are linked to
him in one way or another.
 The second category is composed of debts that are attributable to the
succession.
 These debts, which generally arise after the death of the deceased, have more
affinity to the succession that the deceased.
 These include the expenses of administration, liquidation, and partition
of the succession such as those incurred for affixing of seals, drawing up
of inventory, preservation of property, partition and delivery of the
inheritance to the heirs, etc.
Order to be followed
 Not all the debts of the inheritance have equal legal importance.
 The law has devised a hierarchy of debts in which each type of debt is placed on a
different rank depending on its perceived precedence.
1. Funeral Expenses
 Funeral expenses are expenditures required for the disposal of the body of the deceased.
 In Ethiopia, the most common practice of disposal of a dead body is burial.
 And funeral expenses include expenses incurred to buy a coffin, mortify and transport
the body, dig the grave, and host relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and other
acquaintances who show up to offer consolation to the deceased’s immediate families.
 Funeral expenses are legally considered as one of the most important debts of the
inheritance.
 The cumulative reading of Articles 1014 (a) and 1015 (1) of the Civil Code suggests that
funeral expenses are payable before any other debt provided that they are justified
 For purposes of indemnification, funeral expenses do not include expenses for the
commemoration of the deceased.
 The law even goes to the extent of expressly declaring that organizing commemoration
services is not a juridical obligation of the spouse or relatives of the deceased
2. Expenses of Administration and
Liquidation
 The administration and liquidation of the succession involve a number
of various activities that may require expenditure.
 Expenses incurred for purposes of administration and liquidation
should be paid next to the funeral expenses. Article 1014 (b), CC.
 Such expenses comprise:
 The expenses of the affixing of seals and of the inventory and those of
the account of the liquidation;
 The useful expenses incurred by the liquidator for the ordinary
preservation, maintenance and administration of the property of the
inheritance;
 The expenses of the partition and those of the transmission of the
property of the inheritance to the heirs;
 Estate duty. Article 1014 (a), C C.

3. Debts of the Deceased
 These are debts which the deceased actually incurred during his lifetime.
 These debts could be contractual, non-contractual, or penal by nature.
 Contractual debts are liabilities emanating from the deceased’s contractual
undertakings.
 Non-contractual debts originate in torts imputable to the decease.
 And penal debts, such as fines, arise as a result of sentence imposed on the deceased for
his criminal acts.
 Creditors of the deceased may be of either of the following types:
 Secured creditors;
 Creditors with special privilege under the law; and,
 Ordinary creditors.
 Secured creditors are those whose claims have been guaranteed by a personal
guarantor or who possess what is known as “real security” by way of a mortgage or a
pledge
 In the case of a real security, secured creditors have a priority right over the property
under pledge or mortgage.
 Other creditors may make recourse against such property only after the claims of
secured creditors have been satisfied. Banks are usually secured creditors.
Cont…
 Creditors with special privilege are such creditors
as workers claiming payment under employment
contracts.
 The debts could be salaries or unpaid occupational
safety claims, etc.
 Tax authorities are also creditors with special privilege
under the law, where there is any tax due.
 Ordinary creditors are creditors who do not have
any security or who are not conferred with a special
privilege by the law.
4. Debts Relating to Maintenance
 The obligation to supply maintenance is not just moral.
 It is also a legal obligation sanctioned by the law.
 Family law governs maintenance provision obligations that may exist as between persons
who are alive.
 According to Article 1026 of the Civil Code, the following three groups of persons may
claim for maintenance from the succession. These are:
 The spouse of the deceased;
 The relatives of the deceased, namely, his descendants, ascendants, and brothers
and sisters; and
 Other persons who lived with deceased or were maintained by him at the time of his
death.
 They are not entitled to claim for maintenance against the estate unless they are in need.
 That is, they must not have any own means to support themselves.
 They will not also have such right if they are in a position to earn their living by their
work.Article 1027, C C.
 there is a limit to the amount which he may receive.
 Such a person may only get money or things of a value equal to that he would have
received from the succession by virtue of the law,
5. Payment of Legacies by Singular
Title
 A legacy by singular title is not an indispensable element of a
succession.
 There will be a legacy by singular title only where the succession is
testate.
 That is, the deceased must have left a valid will.
 A legacy by singular title is a disposition whereby the testator calls a
person, otherwise called a legatee by singular title, to receive a specific
property which forms part of the inheritance.
 Legatees by singular title are, as a rule, are assimilated to creditors of
the inheritance.
 Article 912 implies that a disposition not relating to the whole or a
portion of the property of the inheritance is a legacy by singular title.
 However, unlike the creditors of the expenses of the funeral of the
deceased, the expenses of the administration of the succession, and
the debts of the deceased, the title of legatees by singular title is not
generally onerous.
Closure of Liquidation
 Liquidation is not a process which goes on indefinitely. It will come to
an end be closed upon the fulfilment of certain conditions.
 The law recognizes two alternative grounds that may lead to the
closure of liquidation.
 Article 1052 (1) of the Civil Code provides for the first ground for the
closure of liquidation.
 It states that “the liquidation of a succession will be closed where
the creditors of the succession who made themselves known and the
legatees by singular title have been paid their claim or legacy”.
 Article 1052 (2), which sets forth the other(second) ground
entailing closure, states that liquidation will be closed when all
the property of the succession is disposed of.
 That in other words means that liquidation could be closed before
legatees by singular title are paid and even at any earlier stage at which
the inheritance is left with no more resources.
PARTITION OF SUCCESSION

 After the liquidation process comes to an end, the

following phase is partition of the remaining
hereditary estate among the heirs and universal
legatees.
 This phase shall exist only if some property is left from
the liquidation phase.
 That is, if the estate of the deceased is depleted in the
liquidation phase, nothing shall remain for partition
and hence there will be no partition.
Community of Hereditary Estate
 Partition may not necessarily follow when liquidation
comes to an end.
 The coheirs may jointly own the property that they
acquired from the succession.
 The joint ownership of property by the coheirs is
different from the community of property of spouses.
 What are the differences between the community
of property of spouses and that of coheirs?
Collation by Coheirs
 Collation is the bringing back of properties that were given by donation to a descendant
by the ascendant during the lifetime of the latter into the succession. Collation is devised
to bring equality among the coheirs.
 A descendant who has received some property by way of donation (liberality) shall bring
back such a property into the inheritance.
 But it is only descendant that has accepted the succession who should be obliged to
bring back the donations he/she has received from his/her ascendant or parent.
 That is, renunciation would relieve a descendant from collation.
 The testator may also exempt his descendant from collation. Arrt.1065
 As prescribed under Article 1066, the following donations or liberalities are subject to
collation.
 Any money that is given to establish the heir;
 Money paid to settle the debts of the heir;
 Property or money given to the heir during his marriage in the form of dowry.
 The purpose of collation is to ensure justice by distributing the estate left by the
deceased fairly among his/her children.
 Therefore, any value brought into the succession by collation can only be distributed or
partitioned among the coheirs
Cont…
 An heir who is bound to collate is considered to have
already received his/her portion from the succession
to the extent of the value he/she is bound to collate.
 Therefore, collation is made by taking less. Arts. 1074
(2) cum. 1076(1)).
The Modalities of partition
 The law prescribes that partition shall, first and foremost, be made as per the
terms of the agreement to be made as between the coheirs.
 But this may not always be possible.
 Where the coheirs fail to agree on how partition should be made, it shall be
made in accordance with the provisions of the law.Article 1079 (1), Civil Code.
 As a rule, partition must be made in kind.
 That is, instead of selling the property and dividing the liquid cash or the
money, the law considers it good to divide the property as it is.
 However, sometimes it could be very difficult or even impossible to partition
the property equally among the coheirs in accordance with the rule of partition
in kind.
 In such a case, the inequality of the shares in kind shall be setoff by payment of
sums of money.
 What is more, the law stipulates that an heir should be given the property
which is most useful to him, so long as that is possible. Article 1086 (1),Article
1086 (2), Article 1087 (2),
The Relation between the Co-heirs
after Partition
 The entire process of the devolution of a succession comes to an end with
partition.
 With partition also ends the relation between the co-heirs in regard to the
succession.
 Basically, there will be no binding relation, whether contractual or legal, as
between the co-heirs once the succession has been fully partitioned.
 However, with a view to protecting the interests of the co-partitioners, or of
one or some of them, the law has put in place provisions that extend the
relation between the co-heirs even after partition with respect to two issues.
 The first is the issue of warranty. The co-partitioners owe to each other
warranty in respect of their shares in the succession.
 The other is the issue of the annulment or correction of the partition.
 Partition may be annulled or corrected for the benefit of all, some, or one of
the co-partitioners in certain circumstances Arti 1097,Articles 1102 -
1109,
1. Warranty due by Co-heirs

 The fundamental idea pertaining to the warranty obligation in the Law of

Successions is that the co-heirs, who are the co-partitioners so to say, are
bound to provide warranty to each other to ensure the safe delivery of
their shares in the succession after partition.
 According to Article 1097 (1) of the Civil Code, in respect of the corporeal
things or movable properties placed in their shares, the co-partitioners owe
to each other the warranties which a seller owes to a buyer.
 warranty may not be due if the dispossession or the non-conformity
complained of by a co-partitioner is imputable to his own fault.
 Nor may it be due where the dispossession or the non-conformity results from
a cause that arises subsequent to the partition agreement Article 1101 (1).
 Nor may it be due where the dispossession or the non-conformity results from
a cause that arises subsequent to the partition agreement.
 Moreover, there will be no warranty where, in the words of Article 1101 (2), the
dispossessed or non-conforming property has been placed in the share of the
co-heir without warranty in accordance with an express provision to that effect
in the partition agreement.
2. Annulment and Correction of
Partition
 Partition is made by an agreement that is concluded between the co-heirs. As
such, a partition agreement is expected to meet all the validity requirements of
a contract as to consent, capacity, object, and form.
 Otherwise, it may be annulled in the same circumstances as other contracts.
Article 1102,
 Partition will not be annulled for the sole reason that a property forming part
of the succession is discovered subsequent to it.
 Article 1103 prescribes that without affecting the partition previously made, a
supplementary partition will be made in relation to such property. Article 1103,
 Article 1105 (1) provides that a person who has received in all less than three-
fourth parts of what he had a right to because of an erroneous valuation of a
certain property may apply to the court to order the correction of the partition
 As said shortly earlier, correction of partition is made by paying the aggrieved
co-partitioner an equivalent monetary indemnity.
 According to Article 1107, where the court allows an application for correction,
it will fix the amount of the indemnity due to the applicant as well as the
person by whom and the conditions on which such indemnity should be paid
The Right of Creditors Coming
after Partition
 Creditors of the inheritance may sometimes appear after
partition has been made.
 Such creditors do not loss their rights simply because the
succession has already been partitioned
 As a rule, a creditor coming after partition must divide and
forward his claim to the co-partitioners in proportion to the
value of the share received by each unless the debt due to him is
indivisible or there is an agreement made in the partition
whereby the whole debt or a larger part thereof is charged to one
or more co-partitioners
 But, what if one of the co-partitioners becomes insolvent after
partition is made? How would the creditor of the deceased
satisfy his claim? Article 1111 gives a solution to this problem.
Conventions Relating to an
Inheritance
 Succession is a strictly mortis causa process. Any act
relating to a succession will be of no legal effect unless it
occurs after the death of the person being succeeded.
 Any agreement as to how the succession of the deceased
shall devolve on the heirs or an agreement made between
third parties and heirs, particularly before the opening of
the succession shall be of no effect.
 Without prejudice to this, parents and ascendants may
partition their property among their children and
descendants by way of donations during their lifetime
Article 1114,
Pacts on Future Successions
 A “pact” is an agreement made between two or more
people.
 The law does not allow people to make agreements on a
succession that has not yet opened.
 in the words of Article 1114, any contract or unilateral
undertaking relating to the succession of a person alive
that is not expressly authorized by law is void ab initio.
 Article 1114 prohibits a likely heir or any other person to
make any kind of contract concerning the succession of a
person who is still alive.
 Seemingly in explanation of this, Article 1115 outlaws in
particular any advance acceptance, renunciation, or
assignment of rights pertaining to a future succession
Partitions made by Donations
 any contract or unilateral undertaking relating to the succession of a
person who is alive will have no legal effect, unless it is expressly
authorized by law.
 a contract by which a person undertakes, while alive, to leave his estate
or a portion thereof to one or more persons is not valid.
 However, under certain conditions, the law allows certain persons to
validly partition their properties by way of donations while they are
still alive. Article 1116,
 Article 1117 of the Civil Code sets forth the following rule:
 “The father and the mother and the other ascendants may make a
distribution and partition of their property among their children and
descendants”.
 such partition should be made in compliance with the formality
requirements prescribed by the law for donations inter vivos.
 Articles 2427 through 2470 of the Civil Code, which specifically govern
donations, provide for those requirements. Article 1118,
Cont…
 Donation inter vivos is one of the two legally
recognized types of donations, the other being
donation mortis causa.
 It is a donation made while the donor is alive.
 The donee receives the donated property during the
lifetime of the donor.
 In contrast, donation mortis causa is a donation
given effect after the death of the donor.
 This type of donation is similar with a bequest left by
a will. As such, it is subject to the provisions governing
wills
. Assignment of Rights to a
Succession
 it is not lawful for a potential heir or legatee to enter into a juridical act
in relation to a future succession.
 In particular, an heir or a legatee may not accept, renounce, or assign
any right pertaining to a succession in advance.
 Such an act is void regardless of the fact that the person whose
succession is concerned has agreed to it.
 see Article 1115 (1), Article 1115 (2),
 An heir may validly assign his rights to a succession in whole or in part
after the opening of the succession.
 However, an heir may assign his rights on a determinate or a specific
thing pertaining to the succession only after the thing has been
allotted to him as his own. Article 1124 (1), Article 1124 (2),
 a donation inter vivos of an immovable or a right on such property
will be of no effect unless it fulfills the formality requirements
stipulated for a public will by Articles 881 through 883 of the Civil
Code.