Succession and Testament – What is a legacy?
Art. 872. Meaning of estate. The estate of a deceased means the property, rights, and obligations that a person leaves after his death, whether the property exceeds the charges or the charges exceed the property; or whether he has only left charges without any property. The estate includes not only the rights and obligations as they exist at the time of death, but all that has accrued thereto since death, and the new charges to which it becomes subject. Legacies can be particular, general, or universal. C.C. art. 1584. Even though technically a particular legacy is any legacy that is not a general or universal legacy (C.C. art. 1587), it is easiest to understand it as a legacy of a specific thing or things. A legacy is general when it is expressed as a proportion or a fraction of an estate after disposition of particular legacies. C. C. art. 1586. An example would be “1/2 of all the property I own at my death.” A legacy is universal when it is all of an estate or the balance of the estate after disposition of particular legacies. C. C. art. 1585. An example would be “I bequeath my entire estate to …. ”
Art. 1584. Kinds of testamentary dispositions. Testamentary dispositions are particular, general, or universal.
Art. 1585. Universal legacy. A universal legacy is a disposition of all of the estate, or the balance of the estate that remains after particular legacies. A universal legacy may be made jointly for the benefit of more than one legatee without changing its nature.
Art. 1586. General legacy. A general legacy is a disposition by which the testator bequeaths a fraction or a certain proportion of the estate, or a·fraction or certain proportion of the balance of the estate that remains after particular legacies. In addition, a disposition of property expressly described by the testator as all, or a fraction or a certain proportion of one of the following categories of property, is also a general legacy: separate or community property, movable or immovable property, or corporeal or incorporeal property. This list of categories is exclusive.
Art. 1587. Particular legacy. A legacy that is neither general nor universal is a particular legacy. Determining what happens to a legacy when it lapses (accretion), as well as preference of payments and reductions for rights of creditors, depends on whether the legacy iis particular, general, or universal. See generally C.C. arts. 1423, 1590, 1599.
Art. 1423. Decedent’s debts charged ratably. Debts of the decedent are charged ratably to property that is the object of general or universal legacies and to property that devolves by intestacy, valued as of the date of death. When such property does not suffice, the debts remaining are charged in the following order: (1) Ratably to the fruits and products of property that is the object of general or universal legacies and of property that devolves by intestacy; and (2) Ratably to the fruits and products of property that is the object of particular legacies, and then ratably to such property.
Art. 1590. Testamentary accretion. Testamentary accretion takes place when a legacy lapses. Accretion takes place according to the testament, or, in the absence of a governing testamentary provision, according to the following Articles.
Art. 1591. Accretion of particular and general legacies. When a particular or a general legacy lapses, accretion takes place in favor of the successor who, under the testament, would have received the thing if the legacy had not been made.
Art. 1592. Accretion among joint legatees. When a legacy to a joint legatee lapses, accretion takes place ratably in favor of the other joint legatees, except as provided in the following Article.
Art. 1593. Exception to rule of testamentary accretion. If a legatee, joint or otherwise, is a child or sibling of the testator, or a descendant of a child or sibling of the testator, then to the extent that the legatee’s interest in the legacy lapses, accretion takes place in favor of his descendants by roots who were in existence at the time of the decedent’s death. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to a legacy that is declared invalid or is declared null for fraud, duress, or undue influence.
Art. 1594. [Reserved].
Art. 1595. Accretion to universal legatee. All legacies that lapse, and are not disposed of under the preceding Articles, accrete ratably to the universal legatees.When a general legacy is phrased as a residue or balance of the estate without specifying that the residue or balance is the remaining fraction or a certain portion of the estate after the other general legacies, even though that is its effect, it shall be treated as a universal legacy for purposes of accretion under this Article.
Art. 1596. Accretion to intestate successors. Any portion of the estate not disposed of under the foregoing rules devolves by intestacy.
Art. 1597. Loss, extinction, or destruction of property given. A. A legacy is extinguished to the extent that property forming all or part of the legacy is lost, extinguished, or destroyed before the death of the testator. However, the legatee is entitled to any part of the property that remains and to any uncollected insurance proceeds attributable to the loss, extinction, or destruction, and to the testator’s right of action against any person liable for the loss, extinction, or destruction.
B. A legacy of a certain object is not extinguished when the object of the legacy has been transformed into a similar object without an act of the testator.
C. If the object of the legacy has been condemned or expropriated prior to the testator’s death, the legatee is entitled to any uncollected award and to succeed to any right of action concerning the condemnation or expropriation.
Art. 1598. Right of legatees to fruits and products. All legacies, whether particular, general, or universal, include the fruits and products attributable to the object of the legacy from the date of death, but the right of any legatee to distribution under this Article is subject to administration of the succession. Nevertheless, the legatee of a specified amount of money is entitled to interest on it, at a reasonable rate, beginning one year after the testator’s death, but the executor may, by contradictory proceedings with the legatee and upon good cause shown, obtain an extension of time for such interest to begin to accrue and for such other modification with regard to payment of interest as the court deems appropriate. If, however, the legacy is subject to a usufruct for life of a surviving spouse or is held in trust subject to an income interest for life, to or for the benefit of a surviving spouse, the spouse shall be entitled to interest on the money from the date of death at a reasonable rate.
Art. 1599. Payment of legacies, preference of payment. If the testator has not expressly declared a preference in the payment of legacies, the preference shall be governed by the following Articles.
Art. 1600. Particular legacies. preference of payment. A particular legacy must be discharged in preference to all others.
Art. 1601. Preference of payment among particular legacies. If the property remaining after payment of the debts and satisfaction of the legitime proves insufficient to discharge all particular legacies, the legacies of specific things must be discharged first and then the legacies of groups and collections of things. Any remaining property must be applied toward the discharge of legacies of money, to be divided among the legatees of money in proportion to the amounts of their legacies. When a legacy of money is expressly declared to be in recompense for services, it shall be paid in preference to all other legacies of money.
Art. 1602. Discharge of an unsatisfied particular legacy. Intestate successors and general and universal legatees are personally bound to discharge an unpaid particular legacy; each in proportion to the part of the estate that he receives.
Art. 1603. [Reserved]·
Art. 1604. Discharge of legacies, limitation of liability. In all the foregoing instances, a successor who is obligated to discharge a legacy is personally liable for his failure to do so only to the extent of the value of the property of the estate that he receives, valued as of the time of receipt. He is not personally liable to other successors by way of contribution or reimbursement for any greater amount.
